Young Writers Unite

Black and white pencil illustration

Audience  

This lesson is designed for campers who are at an early elementary reading level. The site used, KidPub, was developed by a father who wanted to encourage his daughter to write. KidPub allows campers to write and share stories with other kids.

Objectives

Your campers will write and share their own stories. You can encourage them to write about any topic or you can have them focus on stories associated with their experiences at camp.

Web Site

KidPub
www.kidpub.org

Presentation

Very little lecture time is necessary for this lesson. You will need to provide the URL and give an explanation of what the campers can do at this site. Then, just let them go to it. A possible presentation outline is offered below.

  • Present a captivating introduction to the lesson. Perhaps ask a camper to tell a short story about a camping experience.
  • Provide an overview of today's activity.
  • Distribute the worksheet and facilitate today's activity.
  • Summarize and discuss what was learned today. Encourage campers to share their stories.

Activity Worksheet: Young Writers Unite

Name(s):_____________________________________

Today you will become a published writer as you explore the KidPub Web site. Follow the instructions to find the site and write your own story.

  1. Find the KidPub site at this URL:
    www.kidpub.org
  2. Go to the Questions and Answers section to learn more about KidPub. When you have finished exploring this section, go back to KidPub.
  3. Read some of the stories that have been published by other children. Look under Newest Stories or Older Stories or KidPub Publisher's Picks. Do you have some ideas about what kind of story you would like to write? How about writing about things you've done at camp?
  4. Go back to KidPub and look under the section called How to Publish Your Story. You'll learn how to submit your own story to this site. Here is an example of a story written by Travis who is seven and lives in Seattle:

    My Story by Travis
    When I went to Camp Courage Robbie and I went swimming and rode horses. A funny thing happened one day Rick put me and Robbie up in the rafters of the cabin. We ate in the cafeteria and played at Robbie's cabin.

    Info About Me!
    Besides free time I like math. I go to Laurelhurst Elementary School. I have two gerbils and two gold fish. Their names are Cookie and Brownie and Goldie and Swimmy.

  5. Now write your own story and submit it. Write the title of your story and one sentence about it below.