Last week students drafted their stories after brainstorming several topics they could write about. We looked at several examples of picture books, though most students had an idea already floating around in their mind.
Your students are writing original children’s stories that will be published and illustrated. The understanding for the assignment is that the writing should be around 1 1/2 – 2 pages single spaced in 12 point Times New Roman font. This equates to about 1,000 words. Most students have reached that length in their handwritten drafts (around 4-5 lined pages). When they prepare their books for publication, the have the option of changing the style and size of their font and adding digital pictures, clip art (though I’ve discouraged this), hand-drawn or computer generated images. Their text will be spread out over 7-8 pages in the book and they will complete their cover art, Title and Dedication pages and well as an About the Author section.
This week, students are going to be getting a little messier with their drafts. We are learning strategies such as Babysteps, snapshots and thought shots, and how to punctuate dialogue. Students will have computer lab time in class to type their papers next week. As always, if your son/daugther feels that they would benefit from additional time, they are free to take advantage of our open lab Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays after school if a home computer is unavailable.
The entire project is due no later than Friday, December 21st. I anticipate the final week before break being spent on the illustrations and hope to have things wrapped up on Thursday (12/20) since that last day before break is filled with other fun activities.
Finally, the books are being published through StudenTales and paperwork will be sent home shortly with details on how to order an additional copy of your child’s book. Be sure to ask for it!
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December 8th, 2007 at 6:21 pm
Erica brought home the paper to order the books, she is very excited about her book.
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