Keep kids writing all summer - Books of the Self project - includes related article

With Books of the Self, they'll never run out of reasons to write!

Summer is almost here. Soon your students will dash out the door, backpacks filled with a year's worth of papers and notebooks, heads filled with a year's worth of work. What can you give them that will keep them dancing along the path of creative expression and self-respect? Show them how to write Books of the Self, a project that will jazz up the last weeks of school, last through the summer, and into their future.

THE BOOKS' PURPOSE

Writing Books of the Self helps kids reflect on their experiences through writing and drawing. The entries might be heartfelt expressions of unrequited love (as only a fifth grader can experience it); a jocular description of a happening at the pool; or a full-fledged short story. By "thinking out loud" in words and pictures, children come closer to knowing - and liking - themselves. Here's how to start the project.

7 DAYS, 7 LISTS

During the last couple of weeks of school, give students seven 10-minute brainstorming sessions, each focusing on one writing topic, generating a list of ideas and memories. (See "12 Terrific Topics" on page 33.) If, for example, you select "Memories from Last Summer" for the first session, give students ten minutes to list in their notebooks details they remember about last summer. (Generally speaking, the older the child, the longer the list.)

After ten minutes, collect the lists and place each in a separate folder labelled with the student's name. In a day or two, present another topic for another list. The kids will want to know what the lists are for; smile mysteriously and tell them they'll find out the last day of school.

FROM LISTS TO NOTEBOOKS

On or near the final day of the school year, hand out folders (each of which should now contain at least seven different lists) and instruct each student to choose one of their lists. Then ask them to select one memory from that list to write about and/or illustrate.

After students share their stories, introduce the idea of keeping a personal Book of the Self, using either a loose-leaf book, a spiral notebook, or a blank book. (If feasible, buy students individual notebooks or blank books as going-away presents they'll cherish.) Help children insert or staple their lists to the books' inside covers.

SUMMER SEND-OFF

Discuss how students might use the books during the summer, and whet their writing appetites by talking about all the great activities summer holds in store. Let children know they can use their books to write about whatever they wish; but if they want a writing topic, a quick flip to the lists will spark some creative ideas. Emphasize that it isn't necessary to write every day, and that they can draw in the books, too. By encouraging children to choose their own topics, and conveying that they should write and draw when inspired, you demonstrate to them that they are true authors, in full possession of their Books of the Self.

The idea for Books of the Self was inspired by an eight-year-old named Fiona Ritter-Davis, who one day showed me a 50-page sketch book she began writing in kindergarten. "It's a book about my life," Fiona explained. Colorful scribbles careened across the first page. "This is a picture of my birthday, when I got this book. These are balloons and ribbons," Fiona said, pointing to the pictures.

Gradually, the scribbles gave way to more mature, narrative drawings. Several of them prompted Fiona to tell me detailed stories; clearly, the pictures were a kind of personal shorthand for her. Sometimes, a few letters decorated a picture. When I turned to a page containing the words Grink, Truusk, Xewvrick, Fiona said, "that was when I was learning about writing. It's a story about a cat. Nobody can read it but me." From that point in the book, words accompanied her drawings, first as labels, later as dialogue the heads of the speakers. A few pages later, Fiona began writing a sentence of two beneath the drawings - the beginnings of pure text.

COPYRIGHT 1994 Scholastic, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group