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When I was in school and the teacher mentioned we would be writing an essay, the announcement was met with a collective "Ugh!" It might have had something to do with the single topic we had to write on or, quite possibly, the yellow-lined paper that we were forced to fill at least two pages front and back. As a student, deep down, I think I knew I liked to write, but my inner writing spirit didn't mesh with the way I was required to put words on paper while in school.

My name is Amie Newberry, and I teach high school English in Northern Nevada. I will be the first to tell you I don't feel like I am a "master" in the subject of teaching English, but I do feel like I do a good job of connecting with kids, listening to them, and helping them find their best as a student in class.

Even though publishing is slated at the end of the writing process--the metaphorical caboose of the train--I believe it's something you need to think about before you have your students write. If we want our students to embrace writing, or at least not throw daggers at us when we announce a writing assignment, we need to find creative ways to harness the final product into something they can be excited about, and obviously that has to happen at the birth of our project. Yes, the essay still has a place in our class (although I still have nightmares about that yellow lined paper), but there are other exciting ways to check their understanding.

In my opinion, publishing has two distinct parts: how the piece will be created and what is done with the created piece. On this page, you will find some great ideas that will tap into both of these important aspects of publishing. I hope the ideas here will help your students feel passionate about their writing pieces and see the many purposes of a published piece.

So much of children’s learning comes from the book form, it should follow that children are able to process learning by making and writing their own books. For years I have observed my own children as they have written and illustrated books of their own: hours upon hours of literacy development captured in books as evidence of eager young learners.

My oldest daughter recently graduated from high school. As I looked through years of photos, I also came across years of writing that she had done. Little books popped up from every box I opened. As a Writing Project consultant, I had taught many inservice classes on the publishing process, focusing on “Literacy and the Book Arts” when my children were small. My daughters were my sample makers, especially my older daughter, Lizzie, who has always loved to write. She wrote about flowers, plants, friends, family, activities, and vacations. As I revisited these little books, I realized what they had done for her as a writer, that is, enabled her to see herself as an author from a very young age.

When I took these books to Lizzie’s graduation party along with photos of her throughout her school career, she looked at me with wide-eyed amazement as in “Really, Mom? You are not going to embarrass me by sitting these out, are you?” I also had piles of high school newspapers for which she had written many articles and served as editor-in-chief. Of course, the books and newspapers were the hit of the party! Everyone enjoyed the writing and pictures and topics.

I firmly believe that these books serve as natural vehicles for young authors. In the book Library Mouse by Daniel Kirk, the title character challenges the boys and girls in the library to write their own stories by setting out a stack of tiny books for them. Young children (and even high school students) will rise to the challenge! In my first grade classroom, the book can be the inspiration for the writing. Knowing how a book is made can help the author with the initial intention for writing. The book can provide meaning and motivation. Critical thinking skills must be engaged to make decisions about layout, text, editing, etc. Many writing lessons are taught with a book in mind as the final publication, but sometimes empty books are presented and made with the children, waiting for the ideas to tumble into them.

Here are some of my favorite books to make with children. Carol Pallesen, a gifted calligrapher, artist, bookmaker, and good friend has been a mentor to me with these books, and I would like to thank her for teaching me the basics of book making.