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You
are here: Mr. Coulter's Internet Tendency: to Infinity and Beyond
by Brad Coulter
Web publishing is a simple and effective way to extend student writing to a wider audience. In my fourth grade classroom students see their work move from the classroom to the Internet via our online class zine.
It all starts much like the average classroom. Students draft in a variety of forms: journals, narratives, poetry, persuasive writing, procedural writing, descriptive writing, letters, etc. When the time comes, which is about once a month, give or take, students read through their journals and papers and select their best work, and a-publishing we go. I serve as a guide, but they make the choice. Once the pieces are chosen, the kids revise and edit, then publish their work in a form that takes it one step away from the class web page.
Much of our most genuine writing comes from journal writing. We write every day, first thing. After an initial period of 15 minutes of free writing, volunteers share their work. Peers comment and give constructive criticism. This leads pretty quickly to an atmosphere where writing is valued. Their writing is entertaining and informative. Kids find niches. They develop a following from their peers. Some gain notoriety for their voice, for their ability to tell a story, for their humor, for their talent as a writer. A culture of writing emerges. Often it's these pieces that garner the most interest from the class. They begin to take on a life of their own. These great pieces need to escape the confines of the classroom.
I've created a kid-friendly Word template to aid in publishing student writing. It helps the kids get down to the business of publishing. The formatting of the title and body text is selected for them when they open the template. It's all very simple. The goal is to get them focus on the act of typing words as opposed to focusing on appearance. The computer poses as a glorified typewriter at this stage.
My ground rules for publishing are clear: use the template, and no clip art, graphics, colors or font changes, no backgrounds . . . until the entire paper has been completed and turned in. Editing and revising are okay, but the focus is getting the work on disk. Further revision is done just before posting. They save their completed paper in the exact format they started in. Using the template assures uniformity of style. And, to be honest, if it's easier for me, it's going to happen more often.
I may post an entire set of papers related to one topic. More often I collect 'best pieces' on a variety of topics and post them. Other times a journal entry will catch my eye and I'll post just that piece of writing. When Payton's high school brother entered the Ding Dong eating contest between periods at a local professional hockey game and got caught cheating (he stuffed several Ding Dongs in his coat pockets) and was pummeled by the mascot-- that kind of stuff can't wait!
Our district has a fairly sophisticated computer network. All students have access to their own personal folder on a file server, allowing them access to their work from any computer in the building, or in the district for that matter. This allows us to get to work easily with a simple login via individual student usernames and passwords. We can work in the computer lab, library or classroom.
Once students finish typing a paper, they turn it in to an electronic 'drop-box'- a one-way folder that allows them to turn their work in and me to access it. I open each file and copy and paste the contents into a master Word file. I check to see that the headings, author lines and text are formatted the way I want them.
I utilize Format Painter, a handy feature of Word that allows me to quickly and easily create a uniform style for titles, author lines and body text across a document. Using Word 'Styles' works well too. Using format painter is easy. First I format all of the files in my master file in the text font and size I prefer. I go with 1.5 line spacing, which makes it a little easier on the eyes. (For primary grades one might increase font size and line spacing depending on the length of pieces.) Next I select one title and format it the way I want it, incorporating font size, centering, font type, etc. Once the title is formatted, select it and double-click on the Format Painter icon, which is a paintbrush. Then scroll through the document looking for titles. Simply drag the cursor across the title and it automatically takes on the characteristics of that style.
One of my goals is to keep the design of the site simple. The focus is on the writing, the words, not on anything flashy. Occasionally I let a graphic slip by if it adds to the writing.
Once all of the text is edited and ready to post, I log on to the web site and prepare to paste the text into FrontPage. This is where the prior use of the template comes in handy. All of the text is already formatted just the way I want it. I select and copy the text from the Word file, and I'm basically done with one paste into my FrontPage file.
(Contrasting that process with the traditional zine that I put out several times each year, it's easy to see the advantage of going online. It takes me a good week to publish a set of 30 books on the copier – pasting up the issue, copying, folding, stapling. Don't get me wrong, the paper copies are cherished. Books trump electronic publishing any day. The point here is that posting writing on the web is quick, easy, and immediate.)
The site has one main page where the freshest writing is collected. It's one page that is packed full of writing, up to thirty pieces or more scrolling on for many pages worth. It's simpler that way. The fewer links, the easier it is to rein in.
When I post a new batch of writing I save all previous writing and link it to an archives section so that kids have access to their writing all year long. At the beginning of the next school year I archive the entire year of writing. This takes up relatively little web server space because it's all text. Year after year kids go back to track down their old pieces.
I must mention a major influence: McSweeney's. McSweeney's is a literary journal published quarterly. Its web site is a haven for readers and writers of a certain ilk. The site features writing contributions ranging from the readership all the way to big names like founder Dave Eggers as well as Nick Hornby, Rick Moody and many more. The McSweeney's site is updated daily. I was initially attracted to its design simplicity. The simple format allows the writing to take center stage. In an age where web design is flashy, McSweeney's went with straight black text with a white background, a great way to keep the focus on the writing. Not only that, it cut the time necessary for design and upkeep. It struck me that a web site devoted entirely to text would be very easy to update.
The online class zine has caught on with my class. Aside from being a fairly simple publishing tool, it excites kids and motivates them to become better writers. It enlarges their audience to include not only their peers, but family and friends near and far as well.
Here are some current selections from the site.
Picture Day
By Gabby
Today is picture day. I am wearing my black plaid pants and my black & white sweater. . . my shoes are black high heels from Stride Write, or however you spell it. Any-hoo, my hair is in what I call Xenons because Xenon did her hair like that in one of her shows.
Yesterday for lunch my fortune (out of my fortune cookie) said, "Do something unusual tomorrow." So I did . . . First in the shower I washed my eyebrows, then when I got out I combed them. Then at school I wrote in my journal sitting backwards.
When I got to school and it was time for pictures I said, "Silly," because that is what the lady told me to do last year, so maybe my picture will look the same except for my outfit. I am excited to receive my pictures in an envelope with the name Gabrielle in small print.
I LOVE PICTURE DAY!
In Search of Silver Spot
By Ana
My fish are Koi fish. They are orange, black, and silver. My dad let me name one. I named it Silver Spot because it was orange with one silver spot on its back.
After a few weeks I couldn't find Silver Spot anywhere so I named a new one. I chose a fish that was completely silver with a flowing tail that shined in the sun so beautifully. I named it Angel. I went to see Angel every day and I fed her too. I still looked for Silver Spot but I never found her.
I always wonder where Silver Spot is. I think maybe Koi fish change color and Silver Spot is still there in the pond, but I don't know where or what she looks like. I hope that Angel doesn't change color very soon because she is so beautiful and I don't want her looking different. If she does change color I'll probably get to name one more. I think I'd name one of the babies we just got because they are so cute and small. Hopefully Angel will not change color soon.
Since I am moving soon, I might not be able to keep the fish, or at least not all of them.
I love my fish so very much.
Baxter and Minnie
By Stephanie
On Sunday, Ally and I were talking about how much longer Baxter is going to be alive. Baxter is Ally's cat. We don't want Baxter to die because Ally knew how hard it was for me when Scooter, Jasper, Buddy, Mimi, Spotty, Dotty, Shaggy, Twinkle, Baby, Caveman, and Minnie died. The vet said they might have to put Baxter to sleep really soon.
Ally knows that Baxter won't last that long. She misses Minnie a lot. Minnie is a cat that Ally used to have. Baxter and Minnie were in the same litter, but were separated because Minnie was bought three weeks before Baxter. Minnie died two years ago of a disease called black bug. I am not sure it is called that, Ally's mom just calls it that.
You can let the animal suffer or put the animal to sleep. They chose to put Minnie to sleep. It was very sad to watch.
See more at: http://schools.lwsd.org/lakeview/coulter/20045/index20045.htm
References
McSweeney's. Retrieved February 2005, from http://www.mcsweeneys.net
Brad Coulter lives in Seattle with his 12-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son. He teaches fourth grade at Lakeview Elementary in Kirkland, Washington. He has taught elementary school for 18 years, including every elementary grade but kindergarten, a grade he fears. He rides his bicycle to school and last year was the second-fastest runner in his fourth grade class. You can email him at bcoulter@lwsd.org
Brad Coulter
9400 Roosevelt Way NE
Seattle, WA
98115
©March 2005 New Horizons for Learning
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