Hard-Cover Book Making Project

Teacher Sarah Currier's 5th grade students use their Wolf Ridge experiences as the basis for a book they write, illustrate, and publish.

At Glendale Elementary in Savage, MN, we view the week at Wolf Ridge as a part of a much larger picture. Of course we value the lessons we learn about the environment, the peoples of the area, the importance of working together, etc. We use these lessons as a stepping off point to do a major writing project. Over the past several years, our MCA scores in writing have continued to improve. We believe this is in large part due to the Wolf Ridge writing project. I feel that the writing we do about our trip deepens and broadens the experience. In every book about writing I have read, I learn how important it is to write about what you know. We have had an incredible shared experience. Writing about this is much more meaningful than writing about an arbitrary assigned topic.
	While we are at Wolf Ridge, we focus our writing mainly on capturing the essentials. We spend a little time each day before supper and again afterwards writing down the things we won’t want to forget. Our parent chaperones help the children reflect on what they experienced. Many children make word webs. Others write lists of new words they learned. Many make sketches. See Journaling Resources Bibliography.
When we return to school, the real work begins. We spend a little time sharing what we included in our journals. I encourage children to add things as they are inspired by what their classmates wrote. Then we get the packets of materials we’ll use to begin the project. Student Handout: Project Description, Grading Rubric Sample, Self-Evaluation, Home Editing Help Before we begin working in the actual books, I have my students sketch out a plan of how they will use the pages. I use a template I made on a word document, but you could just as easily have the students divide a page into rectangles and number them. The blank books have 26 two-sided pages and an inside cover and an outside cover. If you would like me to e-mail you the word document I use, please contact me at scurrier@priorlake-savage.k12.mn.us We show the children books that children in previous years have made. Then we do a little “Backwards Mapping.” We discuss the steps that would be necessary to create such a beautiful finished project. We work with the children to identify the steps needed. In my room, I create a bulletin board where we organize our work.
	Each child writes and illustrates a book that includes ten essay topics of their choice about the week. I feel that without the writing project, the children would focus too much on the most obvious memories. While the ropes and rocks classes are important, I want the children to come away with more than those memories. By writing about ten topics, they are forced to reflect upon their experience and figure out what was important about each part of it.
One required topic is a persuasive essay titled “Why we go to Wolf Ridge.” By writing this, students must really think about the week and draw their own meaning from the experience. I tell the children to pretend they are writing for someone who doesn’t know what Wolf Ridge is, and isn’t sure it is a good idea. These essays are sometimes quite powerful. The children write about how important it was for them to go off and do something on their own. They write of making new and lasting friendships. They write of overcoming challenges. Many write about LOVING having roommates.
	When the books are complete, we invite the fourth graders to see them. This is always an exciting day. The children are eager to share their work. The fourth graders are eager to learn about the trip and admire the books.
I encourage other teachers to add a writing project to their trip. We have found that by doing only the pre-writing while we are at Wolf Ridge and then doing the actual books when we return, we get a much higher quality of writing. Sarah Currier, Glendale Elementary School, Prior Lake Schools, MN e-mail Sarah

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