Today I attended a second grade Popcorn Poetry Party. All the second graders gathered in the shade outside with parents and fans (i.e., teachers) surrounding them. They took turns “popping up” to the mic to share their poetry. As a light breeze swept over us I was reminded of the importance of celebrating student writing.
Celebrations give students confidence and help them see first-hand the merit of writing well. They smile and have a renewed sense of themselves as writers. Although there are many, many, many things to finish at the end of the school year, I would encourage you to make a Writing Celebration a priority.
It doesn’t have to be fancy . . . it just has to be affirming. Here are a few quick and easy ideas for your final writing celebration.
- Each student submits a single piece of writing for a class anthology. Copy and distribute with punch and cookies. Writers share what they’ve learned about themselves as writers this school year. (Also, you may want to consider how to distribute the anthology electronically.)
- For the brave among us, host an Open Mic Celebration. Give students the opportunity to share their works (or excerpts from their writing) which mean the most to them.
- Have a toast. Bring in some sparkling grape juice and give each student a glass. Prepare a toast to the writers in your classroom ahead of time and announce it at the start of the celebration. Then give students an opportunity to toast the year and fellow writers. This is a short celebration, but will pack a punch.
What are your plans for the final writing celebration of the year? Promise me you won’t skip it. 🙂
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This is a great idea and a great way to end the year on a positive note! I’ve hosted poetry readings in the past with a cafe style to it, but I’ve been trying to think of another, and here it is. This is just a great idea; thanks for sharing!
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We are celebrating Poem in Your Pocket Day! I know we are over a month late, but this time of the year works better for us. Each student wrote many poems over the last couple of weeks. Yesterday, we built mini-books for our pockets to collect poems. Today each student, armed with 4 poems will go out to share poems with the school staff and students.
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For some of my celebrations, I take pictures of students working during the unit and then present it as a movie to the parents at the beginning of our celebration. I then ask parents to go around and listen to the children read their writing. Before leaving the, parents leave comments for the class on a large poster board and write individual comments on a comment page for each student.
Parents are always happy to come and listen to their child and their classmates celebrate their work. We also invite “buddy classes” to celebrate with us.
Celebrations may seem like a lot of work, but the rewards are worth it!
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I have always had the kids read to the audience with a microphone but this year I have several very shy students. I don’t want to make our celebration somthing they dread so…we are going to the cafeteria. Two authors will be at each round table. Six guests will be at each table as well. The authors will read their pieces and then the audience will move to the next table (Round Robin style). I hope the have the audience move four times which gives each author four chances to read. I will match my authors up so that they can support one another. There will be tea, water, and Juicy Juice as well as some kind of yummy cookie!
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