Publishing student work is an excellent way to motivate students to do their very best. However, many teachers feel that this type of activity belongs only to the Language Arts instructor. Not true! No matter what subject you teach, your students will not only be motivated, but will learn about the connections between various skills, and will attain pride in their work!
Below are some ideas for publishing student work in your classroom.
Language Arts
ANTHOLOGIES - Take poetry, round robin stories, letters, or other cute writing projects and publish them in an anthology for each class.
BIG BOOKS - Students can write and illustrate their story or collection of poems on oversized paper (11 x 14). Have them create a front & back cover with oversized construction paper. Laminate the covers, insert the student's final copy, and bind each book separately using a plastic comb & book binding machine. Most schools and/or districts have these materials.
Social Studies
CORRESPONDENCE BOOK - This is a really neat idea I saw at a teacher conference. When studying about a particular time period, (for example World War II) have students choose a person (famous or not) and write a series of letters back & forth between themselves and that person. They create a "time warp" to explain how the letters are traveling back & forth in time. As students research about the time period, they ask their "corespondent" questions. Students show knowledge gained through letters they write from the "corespondent" answering their questions. Students should show a difference in their letters and the "old" letters. They could yellow the pages, sear the edges, or use sealing wax to show age. The final copies of the letters are then published in a photo album or some other type of book along with a cover page & introduction. If you are really interested in this project & would like more ideas, e-mail us and we'll gladly provide you with the lesson plans & the name of the author.
Science
POP-UP BOOKS - Have students create simple pop-up books to show their understanding of a particular concept. The top half of the book is the illustration/pop-up and the bottom half contains the information. These also could be used for mini-research projects.
EXPERIMENT LOG - Students show the scientific process and their understanding of the experiment through a log. The front and back cover should be illustrated and laminated if using construction paper. The inside pages should be neatly written and show the steps of the scientific method with illustrations or photos.
Math
VOCABULARY BOOK - Doing math vocabulary? Have students create a vocabulary book with a front & back cover. At the top of each page students write the word in big bold letters. Underneath they write the definition and draw an example of the term. The book should be colorful and neat.
SHAPE BOOKS - Students can show off their math know-how through shape books. Have students create a book in the shape of a number or symbol. The cover & pages should all be in the same shape. Inside, students show their math practice - neat & colorful!
Art / P.E.
PORTFOLIO - Collect student work throughout the six weeks or semester, and publish it in a portfolio. Students can use cardboard and construction paper to create the front & back cover. Work could be laminated OR placed in see-through plastic sheets.
PHOTO JOURNAL - Have students take photos of each other during various stages of an art project, or P.E. unit. Students keep an informal journal explaining each day's activities. At the end of the unit, students re-create the journal and illustrate it with photos of themselves.
