Early Years Bookmaking

The early years of learning are a critical time for inspiring students to love books and to see themselves as writers. What better way to do this than support students in being authors and illustrators of their own books? This unit takes young students on a journey through the use of quality texts to help them understand the different types of texts they can enjoy, and then use as inspiration for their own book making. Beginning with their own experiences, students learn to write simple recounts before stepping up to retelling stories with familiar content, and finally having a go at creating a short story of their own. Real books inspire real writers and the co-construction of texts with the class creates confidence. The unit has three sections: Recounts, Retells and Narratives. Each genre exposes students to the different structures and purposes allowing them to create their own. You may like to do a lesson or two each week over a term, or one genre over a longer period of time. Pacing is up to you based on the needs, interests and abilities of your students. However you approach it, your students will love making books! You will notice that the final lesson of the unit invites students to reflect on their bookmaking experiences. It would be useful to collect books that students make so that they can read them at their leisure, share them with peers, as well as reflect on them during the final lesson. Allocating a special spot in the classroom to make a library of student made books would be a wonderful way to celebrate the students as authors and value their book making.