About a month ago I decided to take a writing sample from each child, put it on construction paper, laminate it and I made it into a book. The students LOVE it! They fight over who gets to read it all the time. Since then I have made three more books. I just finished a Halloween book, which they were even more excited about. For some students the just like seeing their work in a book. For other students this is exciting because this is a book that they can actually read because they wrote one of the pages.
I have found that on days that I tell students we are writing to make a new book they really try a lot harder to write words correctly, include punctuation, and have a matching picture. These are all part of the first grade writing rubric. If only I had realized this before our writing test... I guess now I can focus on growth for the next test.
3 comments:
You go girl! Another first grade teacher and I go to the computer lab together. We had them do a writing project in PowerPoint this past Friday, and it was awesome. First, they have partners so they get to work together. But something about not having to worry about printing and getting to use a computer makes them really focus on spelling and punctuation (much like what you were saying about the book)! They had to either say something special about apples, pumpkins, or both and insert clipart. The outcome is a class, published book that I also mount on construction paper and laminate. We have a special basket in our library area called "books we've made" that we keep these books in, and it is also the most popular and fought over book basket! I even leave books from past years in there so my current students can find sibling entries or see what could be coming up for them.
Isn't first grade fun????
I love your idea! It sounds like your kids love it too. I have found that the same is true for my 3rd grade students. We have a rough draft and then our final draft. I am amazed at what their final draft look like. They try so much harder. I think that they want their best work to be up in the classroom. Great idea! It is great that you let them read them during class. That makes it extra special.
That sounds great. The K-1 class I did some of my student teaching in did that a lot. The students loved it. I recently heard about a teacher who has their students "read the room" when they are done with their work early. She has student writing all over the room.
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