The School Story

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Writing & Editing A Book”

In this activity, students will work in pairs to write and edit their own short books for publication.

In The School Story, Natalie writes her own book and eventually must work through the revising and editing process with her mom. This activity parallels the ways in which authors and editors turn a manuscript into a published and polished book.

• Write a 2–3-page short story. Create a main character, provide that character a problem to solve, and have the character work toward a resolution. Make sure to include conflict, rising action, and a climax. Don’t forget to come up with an appropriate title. Space out your lines so your editor has room to write suggestions.
• Find a partner and trade stories.
• Edit your partner’s story. Think about how Natalie and her mom worked through Natalie’s story together. Consider things like character motivations and plot holes. Ask yourself what would make the story more enjoyable to a wider audience. Consider what the author wanted to communicate with this story. Don’t forget to help your partner with proper grammar and punctuation.
• Return the story to its original author.
• Work on revising and editing your story. While proper grammar and punctuation are important, it’s acceptable to not agree with all the revisions suggested by your editor. Consider what kind of story you want to tell; ask yourself if your editor’s suggestions would create a better story. Be sure to communicate with your editor about their suggestions to find out why they suggested certain changes.
• When you are done, rewrite your story with all your edits and revisions.
• Illustrate a fitting cover for your story.

Staple the cover to your final draft and “publish” the book in your class, so everyone can read it.

Teaching Suggestion: You might allow students several days to work through this assignment, so they have a chance to reflect on the length of the writing, editing, and publishing process. Students might review the etiquette of peer editing before commenting on their partner’s work. At the end of the activity, students might design their own a space in the classroom for “publishing” their work. Student stories on display can be read during quiet reading periods or downtime. 

Differential Suggestion: For students who prefer visual storytelling or those who would like to practice artistic skills, they might use the format of a comic or graphic story.