Creating a classbook with your students is a great way to build their confidence as young writers. Not only does it give them a physical representation of their hard work, but it also promotes teamwork and collaboration, fosters creativity and increases parent involvement in the classroom. This article will discuss the seven most significant benefits of creating a classbook with your elementary school students.
1. It Builds Confidence in Young Writers
Although some students excel at writing from the very first time they put pen to paper, most young children do not have the same confidence right off the bat. Creating a classbook shows students that writing is more than just grammar exercises and spelling tests; writing is a way to express their thoughts and feelings. Seeing their work published in a classbook builds their confidence and shows them that they will be successful if they put their minds to their work.
2. It Promotes Teamwork and Collaboration
Learning to work well with others is a skill that students must learn from a young age, as they will use it for the rest of their lives. Teamwork and collaboration develop social skills by teaching your students to communicate their ideas in tactful ways and listen to other people’s ideas, even if they initially disagree.
Knowing that people hear their voices and listen to their ideas builds their confidence, increases students’ sense of self-worth and encourages them to work with others to accomplish the task at hand. The beauty of creating a classbook is it provides opportunities for your students to work together. You can brainstorm book ideas as a class, and when it’s time to write the book, your students can partner up and revise one another’s work.
3. It Encourages Creativity
Young children are naturally creative. You can see their creativity shine through in the imaginative stories they tell and the games they play. You can nurture your students’ creativity in many ways, but writing is one of the most effective. Creating a classbook encourages students to explore their creative potential as they contribute work to a collective project.
You can use writing to foster creativity in your students in many ways. One of our favorite ways is freewriting, a brainstorming technique that sparks creativity when students feel stuck. Other ways to foster creativity include playing instrumental music while your students write or allowing them to move around the classroom while they write. Your students will see their creative ideas take shape and come to life as they work on their individual pages to contribute to the classbook
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4. It Familiarizes Them with the Writing Process
The writing process provides structure and organization for students who are unsure of where to go next with their writing. The writing process shows students that it’s okay that their writing isn’t perfect, especially when writing first drafts, and that mistakes and improvement are an integral part of the creative writing process.
Creating a classbook involves every step of the writing process. Creating a classbook will familiarize your students with brainstorming, writing, revising and illustrating. They will continue to develop a firmer grasp of the writing process the closer your students get to becoming published authors.
5. It Creates a Keepsake
Creating a classbook gives your students a keepsake to hold onto for the rest of their lives. Your students will grow up, and their writing skills will continue to evolve, but the classbook they helped make in elementary school will always be there to remind them of when and where their love of writing began.
6. It Increases Parent Involvement in the Classroom
Time and time again, research shows that parent involvement plays a significant role in children’s education. However, we realize that parents are busy with jobs of their own, and prioritizing active participation in their children’s education is tough—which is why we work so hard to remind them of the crucial role they play in their child’s education.
Classbook projects are a fantastic way to encourage your students’ parents to participate in their children’s educational endeavors. Here are a couple of classbook project ideas that get parents involved in the action.
Idea #1 - Assign Family Interviews
One enjoyable and engaging way to involve parents in your classbook project is to use their knowledge and experiences as a source of inspiration for your students. Choose a topic that requires your students to interview their parents. A single question, such as “what was life like when you were my age?” will suffice for younger students, while 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students can write a list of questions to ask their parents.
PROJECT IDEA
Instead of researching and writing a biography about some old, well-known historical figure, have your students practice their nonfiction writing on their parents!
Your students can interview their parents about their life experiences and write short biographies using the information from their interviews. Then, have your students draw their parents at different stages of life—as children, as teenagers and as adults. This unique collection of never-before-seen biographies will make parents proud!
Idea #2 - Invite Parental Presentations
An even more direct way to involve parents in your school is to invite them to come and speak to your class about a topic of interest. This topic can be about anything from their careers to their hobbies to their funny and inspirational stories that spark curiosity and creativity. Inviting parents to present to your class shows them that you, your class and their child value their input, and it makes for quite the memorable get-together!
PROJECT IDEA
Are you considering a classbook topic about discovering passions or landing dream jobs? You should host a classroom career day!
Invite parents to visit the classroom and speak to your students about their jobs, what it took to get where they are and what it’s like to do what they do. Your students can use their presentations as inspiration for their writing, or you can have each student profile one career. Publish these profiles in a catalog-style classbook that your students can look to for information and inspiration!
7. It Gives You an Excuse to Celebrate!
The moment your classbook arrives and your students officially become published authors is unforgettable. Invite parents to participate in a post-publishing celebration so that they can share this special moment with their children. You can go all-out and plan a full-blown publishing party, or if the sound of a big bash leaves you feeling overwhelmed, host a small-scale box-opening and live-reading ceremony.
We have talked a lot about how creating a classbook benefits your students, but it benefits you as well! Classbook projects allow you to connect with your students on a deeper level as you nurture their creative potential and let their imaginations run wild. We hope you have a great time!
Don’t forget to sign up for your FREE classbook publishing kit, and check out our blog for additional teaching strategies and classroom activities!
