Creating Picture Books with Kids: Summary Post

Over the past several weeks, I've written about a student learning project called "Writing Fractions Stories for First Graders." This was a project I facilitated for a group of exceptionally bright fifth grade students who needed additional challenge and enrichment. The project incorporated learning targets in both math and writing (and it created learning enrichment for a first grade buddy class when it came time for the student authors to share their finished books).

The project was described over a series of posts. You can find them here:

Creating Picture Books with Kids: Introduction and Initial Research

Creating Picture Books with Kids: Researching Other Authors' Books

Creating Picture Books with Kids: Summarizing Our Research

Creating Picture Books with Kids: Sharing Our Ideas and Writing Our Stories

Creating Picture Books with Kids: Revision (Rubric/Self Check/Adult Check/Peer Check

Creating Picture Books with Kids: Requesting Outside Feedback and Creating the Final Product

Creating Picture Books with Kids: Final Chapter, Author Visits to Little Buddy Classroom

This was an engaging and enriching learning experience for students, and it was fun to facilitate. It's definitely something I'll repeat with other students in the future. If you'd like me to visit your school or community-based program (in person or via Skype) to lead a similar activity with your students, or, if you'd like to lead the project yourself, but have additional questions, please get in touch. I'd also love to hear from you after you've implemented the project to hear about your experiences!

10/2013 Update: I now offer an inservice workshop based on this project. Please contact me if you would like to schedule this workshop at your location, or if you would like to access the PowerPoint slides.

Creating Picture Books with Kids: Final Chapter, Author Visits to Little Buddy Classrooms

This is my final post on the topic of "Writing Fractions Stories for First Graders," a series I originally introduced in March. This week's post celebrates the completed student projects and summarizes the culminating event: Students making an author visit to their first grade buddy classroom.





The student authors were extremely proud of their work and they were eager to share it with others. Here are some photos of their book covers and one interior page of each book:

 

 

 

 



I wish I could show photos of the students holding their books and reading to the first graders in their buddy classroom. There are too many waivers to manage, to show students' pictures, but suffice it to say that the young authors beamed with pride, and the young listeners listened attentively and asked great questions! It was as good of an experience for the first graders as it was for the student authors.


After the author visits, the plan was to put the books in the school library through the end of the school year. However, several of the student authors seemed a little bit nervous about potential damage/loss to their books (which was a definite risk). The plan was revised and students were told they could decide between one of three options:

1) Take the book home.
2) Have the book go into the school library until the end of the school year.
3) Have the book go into the first grade buddy classroom for a few weeks, and then go home.

Each of the options were exercised by one or more students.

This was a fun, interactive and educational project for students. It's definitely something I'll repeat in the future. If you'd like me to visit your school or community-based program (in person or via Skype) to lead a similar activity with your students, or, if you'd like to lead the project yourself, but have additional questions, please get in touch.

Congratulations, student authors! Well done!

10/2013 Update: I now offer an inservice workshop based on this project. Please contact me if you would like to schedule this workshop at your location, or if you would like to access the PowerPoint slides.

Creating Picture Books with Kids: Requesting Outside Feedback and Creating the Final Product

Today I return to the topic of "Writing Fraction Stories for First Graders," a project I originally introduced in March. This week I will summarize the final feedback loop the students participated in, as well as the process for creating the final product. 

For the final feedback loop, the student authors requested outside feedback from classroom peers who were not involved in the picture book-writing project. To prepare for this process, all of the students received a "mini" revision workshop. This workshop summarized the key points the student authors learned about revision during the project (this was a review for the student authors, but it was new information for some of their peers who would be giving them feedback). It was emphasized that it would likely be difficult to receive feedback on something that had been so long in the making, but than an outside perspective was an important part of the writing process. 

After the revision workshop, each student author met with a small group of classroom peers to receive feedback about their draft picture books. It was very impressive to see how mature the students were about listening, asking questions and considering alternatives. 

One of the student discoveries was that it can also be difficult to give feedback. The students in this role took their jobs seriously and made excellent suggestions. Student authors received feedback about words/sentences that were confusing or too long, pictures that did fully align with the words, and ideas that could be added or cut. It was a great learning experience for all involved. 

The next step in the process was for student authors to consider and incorporate the feedback they'd received, and then create the final product. Each student received a blank, bound book (lined or unlined, their preference), that was purchased through a teachers' supply store. Their task was to transfer their final, revised text and illustrations to their blank books. 

Here are the instructions students received: 

*Plan how you're going to use the pages available BEFORE writing anything in the book.

*The first page should be the title page. (NOTE: Many students had fun with this, and also created a copyright page and dedications, etc).  

*If your story is short enough, the first page spread after the title page can just be pictures (but this really has to be planned out, because for longer stories, all of the available pages will be needed).

*If you bungle up a page, you can re-do that page on the immediate next page (and an adult will later help you remove the bad page with an exacto knife or scissors…), however, an important note is that if your goof is on the left side of a page spread, you will also need to redo the "back" side of that page (i.e. the right side of the immediately preceding page spread). (NOTE: Many of the students had at least one "oops" that had to be corrected in this manner).  

*It's okay that the last few pages of each book will be blank. Those pages can be used to write 'The End' or to do an ending illustration, or those pages can be cut out before the books are shared with buddies, or just left blank. (NOTE: Some students had fun with the ending pages of their books, too, creating "guest logs" for their readers to write in their names and/or "author notes" and other backmatter. Students were very clever and creative). 

Here are some "action shots" of students busy at work on their books: 

Stay tuned. In my final post for this series, I'll share the final products and share the experience of the young authors participating in an "author visit" to their first grade buddy class.  

Happy Birthday to Me!

I'm usually pretty low key about my own birthday, but the past week has been full of celebratory moments, and I find myself being more into the birthday groove this year! 

Over the weekend I attended the SCBWI-Oregon Conference, and it was FABULOUS on so many levels! I learned a ton, and happily, the sessions I attended drilled down into the exact things I needed to hear and learn RIGHT NOW. How lucky is that? I received helpful and encouraging feedback on two different works-in-progress, I laughed and socialized with other creative peeps, and I met my dream agent. That's exciting and scary all in the same breath because it means that I need to forge forward and share my work . . . and wait for a response . . . But first, more about my week.

On Sunday, I got my birthday present from my family, which was an Apple TV device. I'm not usually into TV-related things, but this device enables me to quickly and easily show my digital pictures on my television screen. My family and I watched "re-runs" of the glorious trip we took to Greece this past summer. It was heavenly.

On Monday, a friend spoiled me (and another birthday girl) with a finger food birthday feast. I would have taken a picture of all of the yumminess, but I was too busy EATING! On Tuesday, the YES! results came in for the school funding measure I've been busy advocating for over the past several months. It was very rewarding and encouraging to see ordinary people work together for a common cause and be able to achieve the desired outcome.

On Wednesday, I did an author visit at a local elementary school. I met with all the students in grades K-5. For the 4th and 5th graders, I taught one of my young writers' workshops (Gotcha! How to Find and Capture Great Writing Ideas). I was so excited to hear from one of the teachers that her students returned to her classroom (after their visit with me in the library) ENTHUSIASTIC about WRITING! Some of the students wanted to immediately get to work on the stories they started in my workshop. YAY!

Next came  the kindergarteners. I taught them the signs for the alphabet, featuring my book, "A to Z Sign with Me"). After that I got a quick lunch break. (I sat with some of the kindy kids who had just been in my session. Favorite quote from a kinder at the next table, talking to a student he was sitting next to: "Hey look, the author is eating!").

After lunch I met with the 2nd graders. We focused on signs for animals, featuring my books, "Famous Fenton Has a Farm" and "The Nest Where I Like to Rest." Yep, I wore the chicken hat for that one.

Next came the third graders. Since they are currently working on verbs in class, I featured my book, "Silly Sue," so they could learn some signs for action words. My favorite part of their visit: When someone asked why the girl in the story ate dog food (and my revelation that it was because "the author" used to eat dog food when she was a girl" . . .), and then the kids' reaction when they "remembered" that "I" was "the author." I suspect there will be some kibble exploration going on in some area homes as a result. Nothing like inspiring our youth!

The day wrapped up with the first graders. In class they are working on seasons, weather and plant and animal changes, so I shared with them my stories, "SEE THE COLORS," (which explores the lifecycle of the garden) and Four Seasons! Five Senses! And then it was 3:00 PM. I was very tired, but FULL of JOY. I love working directly with young readers.

And, now, it's today. My actual birthday. Both of my kids have special events going on in their schools. My son "is" Andrew Jackson for his "Influential People" project, and my daughter is an array of mis-matched colors and patterns for her school's "Spirit Week: Clash Day."

Here is a fun note I just received from my daughter's friends from school:

And this weekend: Family Time and Writing Time in my favorite writing space. But first, I will get my agent submission SENT. And then I will wait (and of course, write some more).

Boo's Bad Day Blog Tour Stops Here

A writing colleague, Penny Lockwood, recently released a new, softcover picture book called, "Boo's Bad Day." Boo has been  busily making his rounds on his book release blog tour, and today is the day for his stop at my blog.

Over the past few months, I've written several posts about how to plan story times that incorporate sign language. In those posts I've typically focused on the books in my Story Time with Signs & Rhymes series, because the books in this series were designed to be signed along with. However, Boo's visit to my blog provides a great opportunity to share ideas for signing along with any book that you and your child enjoy together.

The first step is to start with a book that you and your child both enjoy and that you are confident reading. By this I mean, choose books that you are familiar with and that fit your child's interests and attention span. Start with stories that have shorter sentences and familiar vocabulary. It's also helpful if the pictures include images of words you already know the signs for (or are motivated to learn).

Classics like Goodnight Moon, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, and The Cat and the Hat are examples of books that are fun to read and easy to sign along with. Once you learn the sign for moon, bear, and cat, you will have an opportunity to use these signs over and over again as you read (and re-read) these books.  

Likewise, as you explore a new story, like "Boo's Bad Day," you can learn the signs for some of the familiar words in the story, such as outside, tree, and scared, and incorporate these words as you read. Another option is to learn the sign for the word where, and use that sign to tell your own story through the pictures in the book (i.e. "Where is Boo? There is Boo!  Where is Boo, now? Uh oh, Boo is outside."). You can also use the signs cat, dog and tree, and invite your child to "find the cat . . . find the dog . . . find the tree" when those images appear in the illustrations.

I hope you have fun signing along with your favorite books (and I hope Boo finds his way into the hands of young readers).

NOTE: If you're interested in learning more about Penny Lockwood's work, click here to link to yesterday's stop on Boo's blog tour (and Boo will be here tomorrow). As a fun extra, at the end of Boo's blog tour, author Penny Lockwood will be sending an autographed copy of Boo's Bad Day to one blog commenter (US Addresses only. If the name selected is outside of the US, a PDF copy of the book will be sent instead). I'd love to hear  some of your favorite books to sign along with. Share your ideas in the comment section below, and you will have the added bonus of being entered into Penny's drawing.

Summary Post: Book Trailers Made by Students

I'm starting to receive examples of book trailers that students have made for my books in the "Story Time with Signs & Rhymes" series using the student-directed learning project I outlined in earlier posts.

I thought it might be fun to have a consistent spot to post these as they come in. Here goes:

The Nest Where I Like to Rest (Book Trailer by Carli H., Julia T., and Josie B.)  I absolutely LOVE the clucking sound effects in this one!!

The Big Blue Bowl (Book Trailer by two fifth grade boys). I think this is such a clever use of props!

Shape Detective (Book Trailer by Mrs. Hembree, who has recently started a "Book Trailer Club" for her students). She created this using iMovie and her iPhone . . . over winter break! That's Dedication!

Keep them coming, folks! I will add more as I receive them and am able to upload them.

Cheers!

Creating Picture Books with Kids: Revision (Rubric/Self Check/Adult Check/Peer Check)

Today I return to the topic of, "Writing Fractions Stories for First Graders," a project that I initially wrote about in my March 22nd post. Last week I shared the fabulous story ideas the fifth grade students began working on for their first-grade buddy class. This week I will outline the revision process we incorporated into this project. 

I opened the class meeting with a discussion on the importance of revision in the writing process, and I shared the real-life file that holds many of the different revisions for one of my published picture books, THE NEST WHERE I LIKE TO REST (a 250-word book, that takes about three sheets of paper per draft . . .).

Here is the file: 

I am routinely asked by students how many revisions this manuscript went through, and this group was no exception. I do not have an exact count of the number of revisions this manuscript endured, but I know it was at least 15 or 20 significant rounds of revisions!

The revision process the fifth graders incorporated into the "Writing Fractions Stories for First Graders" project was as follows:

1) Self Check:  Complete your first ROUGH DRAFT, and then compare it against the grade-level writing rubrics used by the school:

a. Ideas
b. Organization
c. Sentence Fluency
d. Transitions

When students worked on their self check, they were encouraged to ask themselves: Are you satisfied with how you have 1) conveyed your idea  2) organized your story 3) your sentence fluency, and 4) handled your transitions?

We discussed that good writers REVISE, and students were challenged to make each of the following types of changes on EACH PAGE of their manuscript:

Change at least one word.

Add at least one word.

Cut/draw a line through at least one word or sentence.

Move/rearrange at least one word or sentence.

If students couldn't muster the strength to do each of these types of changes on each page, (which arguably is very difficult!), then at a minimum, they needed to make at least one of each of the above types of changes in their overall manuscript.

Once students completed their Self Check, they were ready for feedback/critique from an adult and from a student peer:

2) Feedback from an Adult:

Project volunteers were on hand to provide feedback. During the "feedback from an adult" process, students were asked:

1) To confirm that they had considered their work with respect to the rubric (i.e. ideas/organization/sentence fluency/transitions)

2) To show the changes they had made during their self check (i.e. What word(s) they changed, what word(s) they added, what word(s)/sentence(s) they cut and what word(s)/sentences they moved)

Then, the volunteer and student read through the manuscript in detail, and the volunteer made written notes of compliment and notes for suggestions to think about/consider in their next revision. (It was discussed that it is important for good writers to get comfortable having their rough drafts marked up...it's a rough draft and changes are expected . . . this is a hard experience to go through, but students did a great job). 

3) Feedback from Another Peer:

Students swapped manuscripts, and then gave each other feedback. Students were asked to use the following guidelines in sharing feedback:

1) Share what you liked

2) Share what questions you had (i.e. things that might have been unclear to you)

3) Share the suggestions you have

4) Thank the author for sharing their work with you (it's hard to have your work critiqued!)

After students completed their Self check, Adult Feedback and Peer Feedback, they worked on incorporating the feedback they were given and started putting their manuscript into the format of a  "book dummy," (For those who are not familiar with author lingo, a "book dummy" is the official publishing-world word for a manuscript that is drafted into more of a book-like form). Students figured out that it is easier to work on a dummy if you just fold the paper and don't staple it (and some students just used whole sheets of paper for their dummy). Here are examples of two real-world book dummies I used when I was working on one of my published books:

This is a folded dummy

This is a whole-sheet dummy

Once students completed their revised draft/book dummy, they met with another group students (who were not involved in the project) and received feedback from them, then they began work on their final product. I will share more about these additional steps in a future post.