Two responses to writing energize writers: getting read and getting published. Why should this be any different for students? In Tip #13, I wrote about teaching young writers to be mindful of their audience of readers—and about the importance of teachers ensuring that students’ writing gets read.
Publication is another way to validate students’ writing efforts, and classroom publications are not very difficult or time-consuming to produce. This is particularly true if students use a common word-processing program for the final copy of their manuscripts. That way, much of the publication work can be accomplished electronically. Compositions also can be shared electronically or, more traditionally, printed out and distributed or posted. For example, a dedicated bulletin board might be reserved for a rotating selection of students’ compositions that are posted for their classmates to read. Teachers might even consider providing a pad of sticky notes so that readers can post comments on their favorites. (Be sure to discuss how to give appropriate, positive feedback.)
Another class publication project is the anthology. Let’s say the assignment is an essay or a story about an animal that students have owned, admired, or come into contact with in some way. After writing, a team of student editors can organize the resulting compositions into several thematic anthologies, such as “Pets I Have Loved,” “Wild Things,” and so forth. Each anthology might include six to ten compositions, printed out and staple-bound, with covers designed by the students, too.
Sharing these anthologies within the class is one approach. But they also can be taken home to parents, placed in the school library, or even distributed on a wider scale. Such publications, whether naïve or sophisticated—depending on students’ ages and abilities—help to encourage students’ writing efforts and to make school writing more authentic.
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