Publishing a Class Book

This post is sponsored by Studentreasures.

One of my dreams is to have a book published someday.  I love to share those dreams with my students to hopefully inspire them if they wish to do the same.  I was so excited to find a company that makes their dream of writing and publishing a book come true at such a young age!  Studentreasures is a company that publishes class books for your students.  When I shared this with my students, they were ready to celebrate and get started writing!    I decided to use this opportunity to teach narratives, since it’s probably my least favorite writing style to teach.  I knew this would be a fun way to get them engaged in the writing process!

You can cover so many standards with just this one writing project!  You can cover narratives, informative, opinion, persuasive, or expository.  When you receive your book, during your celebration, you can work on those speaking and listening standards, as well, by having students read their page to the class.

We have been reading Sideways Stories from Wayside Schools for our just for fun read aloud.  If you have read the story before, you know that the final chapter reveals that one of the main characters is actually telling the story.  All of the characters in the book, as well as the school itself, is just that, sideways and ironic!  The character from whose point of view who we are told the stories, begins to tell them about a crazy school and class that is completely opposite from them, which turns out to be the reader’s school.  It’s such a fun book for a read aloud for pleasure, and my students developed such a love for it and its characters.  So, I thought it would be fun to create our own Sideways Stories about our school! 

Each student has a chapter (page) in the book all about themselves.  They wrote it in a narrative style that tells a made up story about them, but that incorporates their own interests and personality.

We began the process by planning out their character.  We found a great video from Teaching Without Frills to introduce us to do just that.  There are also great resources and lessons on Studentreasures.  Afterwards, I would always model by doing whatever was in the mini-lesson.  The first chapter is all about me, Mrs. Gannon.  They helped me come up with ideas for the story I would tell about myself.  I then had them go out and do the same for their own characters.

Once their character and story was established, we wrote rough drafts of our chapter on notebook paper first.  I had them then do another after revisions on paper just like they would be given from Studentreasures.  You can print as much paper as you need from their website, which is so convenient!  After receiving their rough drafts, including their illustrations, I made revisions for them on their papers.

After giving them back, they were ready to transfer their writing and drawings to their paper.  You do need to make sure you use a good black pen for the writing and washable markers for the illustrations.  You may want to add in another step for them to practice depending on the age. 

I love that Studentreasures sends an example of a published book to share with your class.  It gives students an end goal to work towards.  You get to dedicate the book to someone, so we chose our families.  You also get to design the cover.  We decided to include a photo of our class for the cover, since it’s all about us! 

They include everything you need in the FREE kit you receive and make it so simple to create your book.  I love the concise directions and the organization of the materials.  It couldn't be easier for the busy teacher!

I can’t wait to receive our book after it is published!  I will be sure to share with you all!   We will for sure have a huge celebration when we receive our copy, including a book signing party!  Parents also have the option of ordering a copy, too, at a very reasonable price.  Studentreasures makes everything super easy for you and your students!  That was super motivating for me when choosing to work with them to make my little writers dreams come true!  I love seeing them tell their friends in other classes that we are writing an actual book.  They're friends are even asking me to share with their teachers!  I can't think of a better way to build a strong writing community in your classroom and school!

Be sure to use my link below to order your own kit!  It’s free for you!

Once you click the link http://studentreasures.com/lemonadestandteacher

1.     Select your FREE classroom kit that works for you.  There are different options.

2.     Have students collaborate to write and illustrate their stories using their free resources.

3.     Publish your book!  Submit your kit and receive a FREE hardcover copy for your classroom!

http://studentreasures.com/lemonadestandteacher