Teacher Leadership Subscribe to RSS
Publishing Student Writing -- and Your Own
March 26, 2009 | Jim MoultonWhen I was a classroom teacher, my kids published a lot of books. We carefully finished our pages and then used the plastic spiral binder in the teachers' room to bind the pages into book form. We would put them on display in the classroom or in the library.
Publishing was important. It gave me the opportunity to take the moral high ground and ask the kids to do their very best because their writing was headed for publication. We all know that real audiences make a difference. And you've probably seen this when a classroom assignment goes from being something that only the teacher will see to something peers and the whole school will see. Effort and results go up.
Easier Than It Seems
But publishing a book doesn't only bring the best out of our students. For more than two years, I had been carrying an idea for a book in my mind and in my heart. I had the text mostly written but needed an illustrator and a publisher. I finally opened my eyes and found the illustrator living right here with me -- my wife. Now, all I needed was a publisher.
This is when I remembered talking with people who had self-published their books online through a Web site called Lulu. Two of those folks, David Warlick and Doug Johnson, I highly respect for their thinking on the effective and innovative use of technology to support schools, students, teachers, and their communities.
So it was now time to get this thing done. I got serious about cleaning up the text, and my wife got serious about doing the illustrations. First, I created my account on Lulu. As a frugal Yankee, I appreciated the fact everything was free and that I would have to pay only if I ordered hard copies of my book. I read forums on the Web site about what works and installed NeoOffice on my MacBook.
When the text and images were ready, I put them together in a NeoOffice document and exported it as a PDF file. Of course, I had to spend a bit of time figuring out how the numbering of pages works, where to put the title page, and other things a real publisher would have done for me. But I was learning, and the sense of empowerment when I uploaded the finished document was palpable -- I had done it!
Next, I used the supplied templates to create a cover. I inserted a photo of my wife and me on the back and a picture of a California gray whale fluking off the coast of Oregon for the front, along with the title. With the cover uploaded, the project was complete.
Hard Copies, or Virtual?
Credit: Jim Moulton
I was tempted at this point to put a link on my Web site and order a bunch of the books to sell at conferences. But Lulu has obviously worked with many rookies, and the site warned me to begin by ordering only one hard copy to make sure it really was the book I had carried in my mind and heart for so long. I listened to the site's counsel, ordered one, and waited impatiently for a week or so.
When it came, I read it, achieved a new level of humility, and set about fixing the multiple mistakes I found. Trust me, I have a new respect for editing. Yeah, I've edited stuff before, but this was our book. I made the changes, uploaded the updated files, and ordered another hard copy. That came, and I found one last flaw. I then uploaded one more set of updates and called it finished. But I still worried, just like a student. When the audience is real, the quality matters so much more.
So, there you go. Our published book is called Computers Can, Computers Can't.
Students as Published Authors
Ever since I used the Lulu Web site to create our book, I have been actively encouraging teachers to publish their books. I'm interested to find out how many educators there are out there like David, Doug, my wife, and me. Have you used Lulu or any other self-publishing utility to put your kids' work into a book? Are you an elementary school teacher who took that ABC book to a new level or a social studies teacher who has made oral histories of local old-timers part of the community collection of text in the school and local libraries? What about doing Anytown Middle School: Our Writing, 2009 and including in it one piece from each student?
And, of course, when you publish online, you can make your book available to anyone, or you can restrict access. So, how about creating a book with your class and sharing it with a class across town, across the state, across the nation, or across the globe?
The bottom line is, you can do so much. The only limit will be your creativity.
Remember, if you've self-published with your students, please share. I'd love to know what folks are doing and, as always, what you think are the best technology tools out there.
_0.JPG){kind=small}
Comments (48)
Comment RSSSign in or register to post comments
Jim, Thanks so much for
Jim,
Thanks so much for sharing your story of the publication process. I teach first grade and for the last two years our school has been using Nationwide Learning, Inc. to publish works written by our students and one that was a complilation done by the faculty. But these books can be expensive, especially when trying to sell them as a fundraiser. The information you shared about Lulu was great and I will definetley be looking into it as another option.
Thanks!
WOW! What a great idea! My
WOW! What a great idea! My brother-in-law created a book of my nephew's first year and it was beautiful but I had never thought to create a book for my classroom! I am going to put it on my to-do list for sure! Thanks for the inspirational article!
StudenTales
My 8th graders love to create class books. As an English/Language Arts teacher, it is always easy for me to have student writing published. However, this year I was very pleased with the books our students published as part of a project in social studies. You can tell the pride they feel from the looks on their faces once they receive the books.
I had never heard of Lulu before. It sounds like a great program, and is definitely one that I plan to check out. When I have published books with my students in the past, I have always used StudenTales (www.studentales.com). You do have to pay a small price for the publishing kits and for shipping, but each student receives a free copy of his/her book, with the option to purchase additional copies. In the past, my students have completed their books and sent off their kits so that we can host an author's tea just before Christmas break. We have refreshments, invite parents, and students share their books with the audience. Publishing these books with my students has truly been a rewarding experience!
Jim, Thank you for
Jim,
Thank you for introducing me to such a concept as Lulu. I have been publishing books for a few years now either on the spiral binding machine or just be having the books stapled together at the district duplicating center. However, having the books made in such a professional and polished fashion would be such a motivator to my third graders. Perhaps, as I advance in my career, it could even motivate me to do something of my own....
Thanks for the great information and I just want to add that I truly enjoy the Spiral Notebook blog.
Thanks,
Ashley
How did you find time to
How did you find time to create the book? I made a book when I taught first grade but now that I am teaching fourth grade I just can't find the time to have the students type their writings let alone put pictures with them and publish them into a book. Since I teach an older grade now, there a lot more types of writing that we have to cover throughout the year that we can only spend approximately 2 weeks on any one style of writing. That includes the book work from the curriculum and then the students doing their individual writing showing what they learned. I would love to create a class book but I just don't know how I would be able to find the time. How long did it take you to create yours?
Publishing Books as a young student
I loved when our teachers would publish our finished writing in large books. In second grade we wrote fiction stories and our teacher laminated them and binded them. We got to dedicate the book to someone special in our lives. I still read it from time to time and laugh at how creative I was at a young age. I think students take more pride in their work when it looks like a book they can pick up in their own library.
With the technology today and the knowledge students have of computers, I believe my students can create published work that I could never have dreamt of doing when I was younger. Students today are making greeting cards and powerpoints to display their work.
How cool was this
How cool was this blog?!?!!!!
I am a first year 3rd grade teacher and as a grade level, we do everything together. A few of the teachers that were on the team last year told me about a classroom book they had published and the kids loved it, so we tried it again this year. Each classroom allowed each student to create their own story based on a theme we selected for our classrooms and create their own story and illustration to accompany it in a published book that could be purchased as a keepsake. I was a little hesitant because truthfully speaking, my day doesn't allow for very much time to exactly TEACH writing, so I didn't know what to expect. Before we started the project, we discussed the writing process, looked at sample student writings and hoped for the best.
At first, many of the students were hesitant about writing because they were still trying to get a 'feel' and develop an understanding for writing. I chose to give the students the option of writing for the class book, which eliminated an excessive amount of revising and editing. However, once they saw a few of the finished illustrations and heard the the short stories read a loud by the other students, they soon became interested and wanted to be a part of the class project. I allowed a few of my higher level student writers to help the lower level student writers with their stories and they actually showed a significant difference in their writings when they were able to receive help from a peer, create their own story and their own picture.
Once the book came back, the students cheered and those that didn't order the first go round, definitely ordered the second go round. It was such a success that I'll definitely do it again next year! I think this is something that really encourages the teacher to make mor time for writing in their lessons (if they don't) and it also gives the child something to work towards, knowing that only the BEST writings are worthy to be put the published book for all to see!
Student Walls
You would think that by the 8th grade no student wants to look like they are doing well in the classroom. I have taught my students how to show off their accomplishments and be proud of what they do in the classroom. I have a big board where I place and make a huge deal about student work that is wonderful. They all ask when they get A's if I can place their work on the board. It is called "A Sea of Good Work." Showing off their work makes the feel good, challenges them to do better on the next assignment and promotes positive feedback from not only me, but their classmates. After reading this blog I am thinking more about publishing peices of their work and possibly placing them in the library. I have pondered the idea about it. Does anyone have any thoughts or ideas?
When I was younger, my
When I was younger, my elementary school would do school-wide publishing. Every student in each class would learn how to make pages on the computer and then carefully illustrate each page. The PTA moms would sew for hours, binding the books with wallpaper covered cardboard. Each year, I would put my heart and soul into my book. My parents still have all of them! Publishing is a great tool to get students fired up about writing. I never thought about using a publishing site but I love the idea! I will definitely use it.
Publishing Students Writing Empowers Confidence!
Allowing students to write and to publish their own writing empowers students to feel very successful and confident! I teach fourth grade and every marking period we concentrate on a specific literary genre and by the end of each marking period, students publish their own writing piece. This marking period, my students are in the middle of publishing their realistic fiction stories. It's coming out great! They are adding a variety of crafts and skills that they learned throughout the marking period, and it's a great assessment for me to see where each of my students are in their level of writing.