End of Year Writing Projects

End of Year Writing Projects
As the school year winds down, we always stay busy with writing and reflecting on the wonderful experiences we have enjoyed.  There are two big writing projects that are an integral part of our year-end wrapup.  The first is our class yearbooks and the second is our bookbinding project.  Please read below for information on both writing activities. Students may stay after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays if they need extra help, except if there are conferences, April 25-May 4th.
Bookbinding


Students will choose from their writing in their portfolios or side projects at home to create a novel or anthology of selected poems, short stories or expository texts.  The work will be revised and a final copy will be made on the computer to print into a book which will be bound in class by hand.  Students may type their final copies at home or school, but please email us the final copy so that we may format it into a bookfold which can be bound properly.  We will also assist with any illustrations that may be hand-drawn directly on the pages or scanned into the document before printing.  
We seek a few supplies if you have any of the following on hand:  thick, tagboard type cardboard that can be used for covers, fabric scraps, decorative paper, needles,  bookbinding and duct tape, and spray glue.  If you are interested in learning how to bind books and helping in the classroom, please let us know!
Suggested deadlines (will vary depending on the length of the book):  
Topic selection:   April 8
Rough Draft:     April 24
Final Copy:   May 10
Class Yearbook Project:
Every year, our students choose their favorite artwork, writing, photographs and other work to showcase in the two pages they get to design themselves as their contribution to our classroom yearbook.  This year, we will be sending out our 60+ page color yearbooks to the printer for a cost of only $14 each book.  We will also be able to offer copies of previous years editions for the same price.  The deadlines for the yearbook are a little more precise, due to the deadlines needed for payment and publishing.  If you would like to see a sample of previous yearbooks or if you are interested in assisting with any of the formatting of our book in progress, we would love to hear from you!
Hard Deadlines
Payment deadline for current and back issues:                                                        May 4
Page named and opened on google docs in class:                                                   March 31
Writing selected to be scanned and added to doc:                                                  April 8-18
Photos from google drive selected to be scanned and added to doc:                   April 10
Additional text added to google doc:                                                                          April 21
Special features created and added by sixth graders:                                              April 19
Writing/layout conferences:                                                                                         April 21-24
Table of contents and pages all merged into one document:                                 April 28
Final inspection editing conferences:                                                                           May 4
Yearbook sent to publisher                                                                                              May 5
Yearbooks will arrive                                                                                                         May 11/12


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please Cut and Return this portion to order your glossy color yearbook copy
Yearbook order form
Name____________________________   # of 2016/2017 yearbooks_____
Back issues ordered:     2013/2014   2014/2015  2015/2016   (please circle)

Quantity                            ______      ________ _______
Total quantity x $14 = amount due___________________
Cash or check enclosed_____________________________

--additional funds (if any) will go toward Room 102 Activities Budget

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