It's no secret that each young author needs a boost of confidence to develop into excited, imaginative, independent writers. With an idea, a partner, and a writing celebration, your students will gain the courage to jump into writing with self-reliance.
Sharing
An important piece of writing is sharing it. Not all writing needs to be shared, but in a classroom of blooming writers, sharing builds confidence, fosters a community of writers, and provides a real-world audience experience.
Sharing can be a two minute task or a well planned party. Either way, the goal is for students to see themselves and their classmates and authors and illustrators.
Partner Sharing
When I ask my students what they enjoy most about writing, they tell me it's working with a partner. Partnerships give students the opportunity to find a safe place to share with peers and to practice giving and receiving feedback. New young authors become interested in their partner's writing and pride themselves on being able to help each other.
First pair students with a partner. This can be done in different ways. Here are some ideas:
- need (e.g. spelling)
- personality
- writing goals
Next set up guidelines for working with a partner. This includes:
- where to sit
- ways to help
- how to give feedback
- questions to ask
This doesn't come naturally to most kids, so you'll need to model and give specific examples. Show students how to compromise on a spot to work. Or how to give help without giving the answer.
Finally make sharing with a partner exciting. Provide tools that add novelty to the task. Here are some ideas:
- plastic glasses
- small microphones
- badges
For more ideas, read Writing Buddies Make Great Writing Partnerships to find out more about writing partners.
Sharing with the Class
As with partner sharing, sharing with the class builds community. It gives students the opportunity to find their voice as writers. Students gather ideas from classmates and learn to give feedback to their peers.
Begin classroom shares by setting up a schedule. This can be done in a variety of ways. Here are some ideas:
- have students share based on genre (e.g. nonfiction, fiction, poetry)
- choose one student to share each day
- create a schedule for students to share one time each week
Add anticipation by making share time extra special by designating an author's chair that students sit in as they read.
Keep in mind that not all students will want to share. Give students time to build confidence and eventually most, if not all, will want to share once they realize you have created a safe environment.
Publishing Party
Now this is where it gets good! A writing celebration ties together the hard work your students have done and shared with their partners and the class. It's a chance to share a finished product and, well, celebrate.
A publishing party is what you make of it. It can be big, small, or somewhere in between. And the word “party,” in this case, is a pretty loose term. Here are some writing celebration ideas to get your wheels turning:
- Author Party: students share their writing with drinks, snacks, and decorations
- Young Author Books: make a copy or use the original of each students' writing and make a class anthology. Better yet, make a copy of the book for everyone and have students sign their page.
- Certificates: hand out certificates to each student or award certificates for different categories (e.g. “Best Handwriting,” “Beautiful Illustrations,” “Best Word Choice”)
- Book Signing: if your students make several books, have them sign the books and give them out to classmates
- Video Read Alouds: record students reading their books and post them on social media (use your discretion and respect the privacy of students) or a platform that gives parents the opportunity to see them
Publishing Party Snacks
A publishing party wouldn't be complete without snacks. Here are some kid friendly snacks:
- goldfish crackers
- fruit gummies
- cookies
- chips
- fruit
- veggies
- juice boxes
- cheese and crackers
- pretzels
- trail mix
- donut holes
- popcorn
- mini muffins
An alternative to snacks is to have students eat their lunch in the classroom, which wouldn't cost you a thing.
You can get the snack labels and We Are Authors banner here.
Invitations
An author celebration needs a publishing party invitation even if it's just your students attending. It makes the celebration feel that much more special. If you're inviting families, other classes, or administrators they'll need writing celebration invitation as well. You can:
- have students make the invitations
- make a class invitation using shared writing
- print an invitation and have students fill in the information
- create signs and post them on the door or around the school
Publishing Party Decorations
Do you need them? No. But like any party, decorations make the party feel more like a party. You can have students decorate their desks to incorporate artifacts to go with the writing they've done.
For example, if your students wrote personal narratives, they can bring photos or souvenirs from a trip. If the genre is nonfiction, your students might want to decorate their desks with figurines or other books on the same topic.
Another idea is to have each young author fill out an “about me” page along with a name tag to have on their desks. Of course, a crown would be in order for students to show off their young author books and their accomplishments.
The Writing Celebration
The celebration gives students the opportunity to share writing in a big way. They get to be in the spotlight with something their proud of. Your young authors get to feel the excitement of celebrating something they've put their heart into.
It's also a time that the audience is able to admire the work of each student and give compliments that will bring smiles to your students' faces. This is the part that students live for.
A great way to help students along with the compliments is to have a pre-made poster or a writing celebration compliment sheet for students to use as they write compliments to fellow classmates. After each student shares, you can have students hand out their compliments to their friends, and you'll see their confidence soar right away.
These young author secrets truly bring the community and love for writing into your classroom. Sharing and celebrating shows students that writing is meant for others to enjoy.
Many of the resources you've seen in this post can be found in this Publishing Party Kit.
