Voices from the Middle - Volume 8, Issue 1, 2000

Selection of a writing topic, then research, organization, language choice, drafting, response, revision. And that’s just the start. Veteran writing teacher Tom Romano shares stories, strategies, favorite leads and more as he shepherds student writing through to publication.

Notes how the Internet is changing publication for students and how it is causing a revolution in the classroom. Provides an annotated list of at least 20 websites for student publication online. Discusses the safety/legal issues involved in publishing to the Internet.

Offers researchers’ perspectives for online publication. Shows how to establish criteria for validating these sites as valuable resources in student-centered teaching and learning. Gives reasons why middle school writers should publish on the web. Presents a chart of 18 websites with a description and a list of key factors regarding the websites.

Notes that if students are able to publish, they are often more interested in engaging in the messy, challenging, rewarding process of writing. Describes experiences in writing letters to the editor and letters of appreciation or complaint. Concludes that through these experiences, students see how writing is powerful, accomplishes specific purposes, and gives them more control over their world.

Describes a group pioneering the process of “professional” publication of students’ writing called Chapbooks.com. Discusses the author’s experience with Chapbooks.com and three other “testimonies” from different schools. Concludes with an appendix of frequently asked questions about the website.

Describes an assignment where the student must examine him/herself as a writer. Discusses the implementation of the National Writing Project noting its purpose to improve the teaching of writing and improve learning in the nation’s schools.

Describes the author’s experience with editor rejection and acceptance. Discusses how he incorporates his experience with dog sledding into his work as a writer.

Publishing can become an important first step in helping middle school students find their voice, gain confidence, and find purpose. The authors of this issue all understand the authority that resides in the published word.

Through the story of Alex, a boy who had been molested and abandoned by his mother, and is now beginning middle school, Crutcher reminds teachers to attend to not only the minds of their students but also their hearts and souls.

Closing thoughts on the power of publication: “When we compose, we make our thoughts visible. When we do so, we become more alive to ourselves. If we share our writing, we can become more alive to each other, to ideas, to various ways of being.”

Discusses publishing student writing online, how to evaluate online sites, and lists websites that publish student’s works.

Reviews five recent publications dealing with publishing in the classroom.

An annotated bibliography of books that exemplify the plot elements, character, setting, and theme. Includes guidelines on how to do a book talk.

Books reviewed by students.

A preview of the 2001 NCTE Annual Convention.