I stumbled upon a website called TikaTok! The idea is that children become actual authors! You can go to the website, www.tikatok.com, and children can write a story, their teacher can upload their illustrations, and then order a hardcover, softcover, or digital copy of their book! There are three choices to cater to varied levels of writing ability. One is a memory book. you choose a them such as a holiday or special event and write a story about it. Choice two is called "story spark" where the website gives the kids a topic or story starter idea. Last, is "starting from scratch."After checking out that option I realized it is pretty extensive and wouldn't be an easy assignment. It made me think of the middle school and high school grades!
Children work on improving their writing skills all year. This would be a great last month of school project. They could brainstorm, write a first draft, edit it with a peer, use art lessons to get them ready to illustrate their story, and then go online and let them create their final draft. It is expensive to get the hardcover, but the digital copy is an affordable $2.99! I think that most parents would buy it no matter what it cost! This would also be a great grant writing opportunity for a teacher! I even think the PTA would support the cost of the digital copy at least. What a wonderful display to their parents of how far they have come in a years time in their writing and drawing ability. Please check it out!
This is a very cool site. I even enjoyed playing around with it, so there is no doubt that the kids would too. I definitely think it would require some instruction on how to use the tool, as well as close guidance and monitoring during the process, but it seems like a great way to showcase all the skills that the kids have learned throughout the year. The parents too would love to have a special piece of their child's work. Good find!
ReplyDeleteI had problems with some of the pages loading. Can you order more copies after you have received the initial order? I know that a couple of these kind of companies give you one hard copy for free and allow you to order some when you turn in your work for publication but they don't allow for any subsequent orders. I couldn't find that information on their site because something was up with my computer, but it looks like a good site.
ReplyDeleteThis website would take a lot of supervision. I am fortunte to get to take my class to computer lab everyday for thirty minutes. I think I could work with 2 or 3 students at a time with this project and maybe complete the whole class in a month or so. I think the work would be worth it, it is such a super cool website to me!
ReplyDeleteKatie I never had any problems with the pages loading. Also, I am not sure if you can order more than one copy. No copy will be free though. You are required to register with their site to order a copy. I really want to pursue this project with my class.
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