3rd Grade Gazette

Students will begin the year by being introduced to the writing process.

1- Brainstorming
2- Drafting
3- Revising
4- Peer Editing
5- Teacher editing
6- Revising
7- Photography
8- Publishing

Students will then be told that they are going to be creating their own newsletter each week. They should also be told that they are the authors. (When students think of themselves as authors, they strive for excellence).

The teacher should not give students too many limits about the things they can write about, only that they must be appropriate. By giving them a choice, they will become extremely interested.

The teacher should give the students categories that students may think about while writing, such as:
-sports
-national news
-local news
-international news
-weather
-history
-arts/entertainment

Studentsthen begin writing their articles following the writing process. Students can interview people within the school asking them about certain topics (Sports questions can be directed to the gym teacher; health questions to the nurse; history questions to a history teacher, etc).

At the beginning of the year, students will not be able to type their articles into Microsoft Publisher's newsletter templates, so the teacher will need to do this. By the end of the year, the goal is to have students entering their own information and entering their own photos.

After the first edition of the newsletter comes out, students should read their articles to the rest of the class. This will give the author a sense that their writing had a purpose. When a students knows his/her writing has a purpose, they want to write more. Students should aslo be given the oppurtunity to send their newsletter to someone in the community (Grandma, Aunt, Sister, etc). This will give them a chance to read their article to the person, giving them experience reading.

This project meets the needs of all students, not just higher level students. All students are writing at their own level, but since they are practicing and perfecting, they are also growing.