Nationwide Learning, a bookbinding company, provides the K-6th grade classroom teacher with materials, ideas, and a final product of student work. Students are more likely to be intrinsically motivated to write their very best compositions when they recognize there is an audience beyond the teacher. It is more than just getting a grade; it is completing a project for which they can be proud of for years to come.
Student Treasures Options
Student Treasures provides two options for the K-6th classroom teacher. First, a compilation book of student writings is a 26 page library-style book bound free of charge. The company provides the high gloss paper in either portrait or landscape styles, lined or blank pages, numbered or unnumbered pages. The second option is each student creates their own individual book. Browse nationwide-learning.com to view the details.
What’s the Catch?
The company requests that parents are informed that their child’s book will be “published” or bound by sending home a pre-printed flier. The flier gives parents the opportunity to order extra copies of the book for a fee. If no extra books are ordered, the parents must simply sign off at the bottom of the send-home slip that will be returned to school the next day and are under no obligation.
Writing Process
Students Treasures is teacher friendly, but there are some tips that make the process more manageable. After the student has drafted the story, he should lay out the words and sketch the illustrations in a 26 page mock book stapled as if it were bound. The bound book provides 52 pages – front and back – allowing students to plan the text and illustrations more easily. By planning which sentences or illustrations should be on each page, the final copy will be more appealing.
This process helps students visualize the writing on one side of the page with the illustration on the opposite side of the same page. Sentences on one page will have to correspond to illustrations on the facing page. Providing students with this tangible way of planning the book will make the process clearer.
Completing the Writing and Illustrating Process
After the mock book is complete, a final mock book should be created using 8 ½” X 11” white copy paper. If students are typing the text, it should be typed on the computer exactly as it was laid out in the first mock book. Should the students be writing the story in their own handwriting, using a black pen is a must.
Illustrations should be drawn for detail and colored with marker. Colored pencils or crayons are not recommended because they fade in the copying process. If crayons are necessary, make sure students use pressure to make the colors dark. It is not recommended that students use the Student Treasures paper for this process. Since the paper is glossy, markers smear and eraser marks will show. Even though this might save time, the finished product will not be satisfactory.
Putting it All Together
The final mock book must be the student’s best work. It is now time to use the glossy paper from Student Treasures and a color laser copy machine to duplicate the book. This can be a time-consuming project and one that takes thoughtful concentration so make sure there is adequate time.
As outlined in the directions from Student Treasures, odd numbered pages are colored and/or text, while even numbered pages are black and white, text only pages. Run a few test pages on regular copy paper first. One must determine the direction and side the copy machine will reproduce the final product. Without being careful to determine this, a lot of the glossy paper can be ruined.
Proud Parents and Excited Students
Although using Student Treasures takes time and extra work on the part of the students and the teacher, it is well worth it. Not only do students begin to recognize the hard work that goes into making and planning books, they have a rare treasure of their own writing to keep for years to come.
