It is important that writers are given the opportunity to share their writing with others. That is the reason that a writer write!
Publishing a piece just means that the author is given the chance to share their work. This can be done many ways. It doesn’t (and shouldn’t) always mean copying the story over again. Change it up to keep it fun and interesting!
Ways to Share Student Writing
- Give students daily opportunities to share parts of their writing with a partner and occasionally with the class. When I was having students share their entire story with the class it took forever and students were not engaged. So I started just having them share a small part. After we revised our leads, I could have a handful of kids share their lead. It was fast and effective.
- Have students share their writing during small group writing conferences. I divided my class into five groups and I met with one group each day during writing workshop. Students share their work and we helped them to make improvements and set goals.
- Give students some fun paper to write their final draft on. You can display the final drafts on a bulletin board or put them in a binder. The binder can be kept in the classroom library and students can read the stories during their independent reading time!
- Allow students to use technology to type their work.
- Allow students to record themselves reading their story.
- Host an author celebration at the end of a big writing unit!
What the heck is an author celebration?
I think of an author celebration as a party thrown to honor the authors in your classroom. It’s crazy fun!
My students would get so excited about having an author celebration at the end of a unit that they would work extra hard on their masterpiece. It was so motivating to them!
I have compiled a list of six of my students’ favorite author celebrations.
Author Celebrations
1. Story Time
I love snuggling under the covers reading a great book! Bring that cozy feeling into your classroom.
Have students come to school wearing their pajamas. They can bring blankets, a pillow and a stuffed animal. Move the desks out of the way and get comfy on the floor. Dim the lights and snuggle while student authors read their stories to the class.
To keep all students engaged, I recommend giving them 3×5 cards or scrap paper where they can write one specific compliment for each author.
It is so relaxing and a great break after all of their hard work.
2. Camp Share-A-Story
Who doesn’t love sharing stories next to a camp fire?!
Have students bring in a sleeping bag and camp on the classroom floor. I like to display a camp fire from you tube for the extra effect. Students take turns reading their stories using a flash light.
My students were still talking about this celebration months later!
3. Red Carpet Authors
How about treating your authors like celebrities?!
Grab some inexpensive red fabric and have your students get a little dressed up. They can take turns walking the red carpet while the paparazzi photographs them. Give them a microphone (that isn’t turned on) and have them share their story with their adoring audience.
Parents love to see the pictures!
4. Story Buddies
Do you have buddies from a younger grade level?
How about pairing up with a first grade class and having your students read their story to their younger buddy? They can even help their buddy edit their writing!
My students got very attached to their buddies and were constantly begging to see them!
5. Lights! Camera! Action!
Do you have access to technology is your classroom? How about using technology to have students make a video of themselves reading their stories?
Pop some popcorn and watch all of the videos together!
6. Open House
From time to time, it is fun to host an open house.
Invite parents and families to the classroom to enjoy student work. Student writing can be at their desk where they can read it to their parents. They can also show parents where they write, where writing materials are kept and give them a peek in their writing notebook and anchor charts.
Parents love feeling involved and students love showing off!
Celebrating your authors and giving them lots of fun ways to share their work, makes their writing more meaningful. Writing should be fun and these celebrations really make writing an exciting part of our classroom!
More Writing Resources
If you are looking for more information about how I teach writing, check out THIS blog post.
I also made a free video about my writing instruction that you can see HERE.
Do you want to step up your game as a writing teacher? I wrote a free email course with tons of tips for teaching meaningful writing lessons. You can sign up HERE.
Are you looking for writing resources that include EVERYTHING you need to teach writing? Check out my writing units. They have lesson plans, anchor charts, mentor text passages, student printables, task cards, rubrics and more!
Have a Not So Wimpy day!
Thanks for these excellent ideas!
I’m going to let my class choose between the camp out and red carpet 🙂
Both are great choices! I bet they will have a tough time deciding. Have fun!