It’s been a long endeavor for third grade writers at Birch Lane Elementary School, but their hard work paid off with projects to be proud of. Students hosted writing celebrations on March 14, which was the culmination of weeks of research, writing, editing and designing.
Meagan Vazquez’s students created nonfiction books about animals. Each child became an expert on a creature, ranging from different breeds of dogs, to birds, to reptiles. They included information such as the animal’s body, diet and habitat. Students audio recorded their books and made a video “about the author” page.
For the writing celebration, students went around the room to view each other’s books and listen to the recordings. Later in the day, parents were invited to the writing celebration.
In Jessica Gill’s class, students could research any subject of interest for their nonfiction stories. Their topics included animals, famous people, sports and weather. They used BookCreator for their informative digital projects, which were filled with photos and graphics to enhance their writing.
During the publishing party, half of the students were with their projects, while the other half traveled around the room to view the digital books and talk to the authors. Each writer also created a display or did a demonstration relating to the topics. The readers then left one “glow” – a compliment on a writing technique used by the author. Halfway through, the readers and writers switched places so everyone got a chance to both share and explore.