After spending a school year working passionately on developing your students' writing skills, there is no better way to show off their writing talents than with a showcase. This spring, hold an Author Share Student Showcase to celebrate and share your students’ writing!

It can be incredibly motivating to your students to invite someone they care about to come and listen to them share their writing. You can make this event as big or small as you want. Over the years, I have organized showcases in a variety of ways. If you want to do something on the smaller side, hold your Author Share Student Showcase during the school day and limit your students to two guests. If you would like to do something on a larger scale, hold your Student Showcase after school or in the evening with no limit to the number of guests. You may want to ask your principal if it is possible to use your school auditorium if you do not think your classroom will accommodate all the guests. I always like to send an RSVP so I know what size audience to expect. Download the Author Share Student Showcase Invitation to use with your students.

When it comes to selecting student writing pieces to share, the choice is of course up to you and your students. If they have been keeping a writing portfolio throughout the year, they may want to share a story from it. Or you may want to have your students write a specific piece for the showcase.

Sometimes having a theme for the stories works well. One year, my class wrote “Spring Inspired Stories.” Here are a few spring story ideas that you might like to use with your students:

• One day the rain didn't stop...

• I was hiking and found an enchanted garden...

• Spring fever hit my class...

• The wind blew in...

• I looked into the bird nest and found...

Before doing an Author Share Student Showcase it is important that the students’ writing pieces have been checked thoroughly. Students should also be given several opportunities to practice reading their stories aloud. I like to let my students practice reading to a partner. After that, then we have one or two group rehearsals.

The most important thing is to have fun with your showcase! Inviting parents into your class can be stressful, but remember that this is a celebration. A sense of “pride” should be the overall feeling among your students, parents, and especially you, their writing teacher and mentor.

How do you celebrate your students’ hard work? Leave a comment!

CCSS:

Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.