Writing for a real audience | Mentoring in the Middle

Writing for a real audience

"Would you like to read the book I'm writing?" asked a student last year.  And then another one.  And then a third, who wrote a book of poetry.  I love watching their imaginations fly, and I want to give them real audiences to read their work.

Last year, my goal was to provide my students with a forum to publish their work if they wanted to.  At the top of my list was Stone Soup, but because they're a well-known publication, they're fairly competitive.  That won't stop us from trying, though!
 
So I took a look at other choices.  Several of my students submitted writing to a contest sponsored by Amazing Kids magazine.  It was a Wild Jungle Writing Contest, and they needed to start their essay with this:
 " I had no idea why they were standing there..."  

A number of students loved the idea and got to work.  They discovered that good writing is hard work, but still, I submitted about half a dozen essays.


Although none of my students won the contest, one of them did have her essay published on the front page of their magazine!  They haven't yet announced what the topic of their contest for 2015-2016 is.  I'll post something when I hear what the topic is.

Scholastic Magazine is another great resource.  Just this past week, I got an email inviting kids between the ages of 10-14 to become a Scholastic News Kid Reporter.  Perfect!  Already several kids are interested.  Scholastic puts out a number of great magazines - Scope and Action are two of my favorites!  Wouldn't it be cool if a student got to write for one of them?





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