Out of the mouths of babes...
First off, let me apologize for not posting since JANUARY, Yikes!
A quick life update. Since January I have...
1- Submitted ALL components for my National Board Certified Teacher Certification! AH!
2- celebrated my bachelorette party in beautiful Asheville, NC
3- gotten MARRIED!
4- traveled to St. Lucia on a fabulous honeymoon
Life hasn't changed too much since our May wedding, but I did promise to share my end of year writing project with everyone, so here it is!
Have you heard of Studentreasures?
A few years ago my teammate stumbled upon a company, Studentreasures that let you publish your students writing into a book for FREE! I initially thought it was too good to be true. So we decided to order the kits and see what we could make of it...while in the back of my mind I was preparing to have to shell out some money for this hardback beautiful book that my kids worked tirelessly on throughout the spring.
[Also this is NOT a sponsored post, although I would love to work more with them:)]
Fast forward a few weeks our kit arrived. With my Second Graders I chose to use Option C, the Landscape Primary lined. This has worked out fabulously the last 3 years!
Included for FREE in our kit is plenty of lined pages and corresponding blank pages for pictures. As well as cover, title, dedication, and author pages. ALSO a sample hard bound book for students to ooohhhh and ahhhh over and excite them about becoming real published authors themselves. A step-by-step guide, replacement pages and materials if needed, parent order forms, and other resources!
I mean can you believe this is all for FREE?! Yes, I too was still skeptical and thought it was too good to be true... just wait until you see their writing :)
The Writing Process
To make things simple I always create and copy a draft template for my students to guide their writing prior to them working on the pages from Studentreasures. I've used the same format for each year and students have loved it. The students pages are as follows:
"Hello my name is ____________. I am almost done with second grade! Here is some advice for you so you can make it through second grade too. My advice for you is _____________________. For example, __________________________________________.
_____________________________________________________.
Good luck in second grade!"
This darling is working on copying his draft onto the final studentreasures paper. I choose to do this at my small group table and preferably 1:1 because the company requests that you use PEN! Now if you're anything like me, I don't like my students to use ink pens unsupervised on these projects because it almost always ends in tears when they mess up and can't erase. There are extra pages provided in the kit, BUT I like to use this a a learning experience in using pen and doing our best work. So we go very slow and take lots of time to complete the pages.
After each student has met with me and copied their writing onto the book paper, I let them use markers and color a picture to match their advice that they wrote. These pages will lay side by side in the book.
After ALL my students have completed their final copies of writing with a pen and their picture. I box them all up, with my self-created cover and send materials back to Studentreasures. Once you submit materials, it a few weeks until you receive back the hard cover book you've created.
BUT it is so worth it!!
Below are all the books we've created throughout the years!
Oh, how I wish I knew about this my first year of teaching. I would have loved to have this book for that group of kids. Since then, I have completed this same concept yearly with each class. I always love reading this to my NEW classes each fall and the incoming students love it!
You can choose to make this any type of book you'd like! The sample I received one year was all about animals, and each student researched a different animal. My teammate I mentioned earlier, did one about how to have integrity, and their favorite second grade memory. The possibilities are endless!
Out of the mouths of babes...
Here is a sample from years past! Some of the advice students come up with is horrifyingly honest. For example, "my advice for you is don't wiggle your paper. This drives Ms. B crazy!" or "my advice for you is don't play with your shoes on the carpet when Ms. B teaches. She will make you take your shoes off." [whoops.... in my justification velcro shoes are SO NOISY!!!!!!] But hey, those examples are some solid second grade survival tips!
Lastly, at the end of each book we make I write a love note to my students and draw a picture. They absolutely love the surprise when they find it. :)
So if you've read this far, you're probably still wondering what the catch is... and if I actually paid any money for these beautiful books. The answer is...
NO!
I didn't pay a cent for them. No shipping. Nothing.
You as the teacher receive ONE free copy of the students book for your classroom just for completing it. If students/parents would like to purchase a copy, it varies in price pending on regular or deluxe version but is roughly $20. Most of my students parents will splurge and purchase one but are certainly not required to! I will always have a copy in my classroom during the years for students to read and reread. These books are an absolute favorite for our Read to Self Center.
So what do you have to lose? This process really helps enforce the writing process with my students and showcases their abilities and hilarious advice each year.
[this post is not sponsored in any way, just sharing the love because I can.]
