Elliott and Lasota 1

Writing Process and Book

Publishing
Morgan Lasota and Melissa Elliott

Capstone CBL
Erin Wilder

Elliott and Lasota 2

Abstract
For the last few years Kim Neiswangers first grade class at Ruch
Elementary has been publishing books. Each student develops a plot,
creates characters, illustrates and publishes a book. We were able to
be a part of this experience by helping the students through the writing
process and working with them to develop and edit their books to the
best of their ability. We believe this is a beneficial process for students
to see themselves as authors and help them gain confidence in their
writing skills.

Elliott and Lasota 3

Introduction/Background:
Reading and writing are integral aspects of any daily routine in
elementary schools around the world. Without language arts, a student
would struggle everyday to be successful in todays society. However,
how many students are actively engaged and work to challenge
themselves in this subject? How many students get to say that they
are a published author at the age of seven? The students in this
classroom at Ruch Elementary are both of those things and it is an
incredible sight to see a young child excited to learn about reading and
writing, as well as the process of publishing a book. All too often
students learning to read and write are challenged with spelling,
grammar, and pronunciation skills, however the students in this first
grade class are being challenged creatively, and although they get
frustrated they are learned so much, not only about the writing process
but about themselves as readers and writers as well. Language arts
needs to be introduced at an early age and seeing as it is incorporated
into all other subjects, it is vital for children to feel confident and strong
in their reading and writing abilities.
Rationale:
During Winter term we were shown a video in our Capstone class
that was from Kim Neiswanger and her first graders from previous

Elliott and Lasota 4

years that interviewed the students after they were done writing and
publishing their books. They explained what their books were about
and how they felt throughout the process of completing their books
and it immediately captured our attention. We were struggling to find
something that we were passionate about to do for our CBL project and
we knew this was something that was going to be interesting for both
of us. We saw how engaged and excited these students were about
writing and knew that being a part of this process was going to be
beneficial to see something so special take place.
After talking to Kim and seeing if she could use us in her
classroom we found that this was the perfect placement for us and we
were excited to be a part of the learning process in the language arts
subject. We were going to be leading the editing process together
because it is a lot of work for just one person to do for 20 plus students
and we would be in charge of getting their books ready to be
published.
Review of Literature:
1. According to an article titled The Language Arts, by B.D Roe
and E.P Ross, Schoolchildren are developing all of their
language skills simultaneously. Expanded classroom
experiences enhance this development. Language skills also
continue to be refined throughout life. Individuals continue to
have experiences, to listen, to speak, to view, to read, to

Elliott and Lasota 5

write, and to make visual presentations of various types. Their
experiences provide them more opportunities to learn through
listening and viewing; to use this learning by imitating in their
own speech, writing, and visual presentations the things
heard or seen; and to understand better the things that they
read (2010.) This is an excellent representation of what
students need to be exposed to in a classroom in order to be
successful in society. This article states that the six language
arts are: Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing, Viewing, and
Visually Representing. According to this definition through the
process of publishing their books, these students are being
heavily exposed to all six of the language arts, through writing
their stories, reading and editing a peers story, reading their
own story out loud, and creating their own illustrations for
their stories.
2. Creating and publishing their own story does not only benefit
a child educationally, but emotionally and socially as well.
According to an article titled The Benefits of Creating HomeMade Books by Sara Leman, sharing stories validates the
child as an author and makes them feel proud over their
achievements. This is vital in helping our students feel
comfortable and confident in their writing abilities and will
push them to continue to write as they develop and refine
their skills. Additionally, this article states, writing stories

Elliott and Lasota 6

allows children to find a voice to express thoughts, feelings,
fears and experiences. This is an important aspect of social
and emotional growth and will help them grow into adults that
are able to express themselves in a positive and healthy
manner. This shows that although reading and writing is
beneficial for children in their academics, it can also improve
their lives in other ways as well.
3. In an article from Scholastic, titled The Guide to First Grade, it
shows exactly how vital writing is to a first grade student by
saying, Similar to reading, writing occurs throughout the day
as students learn a variety of subjects in addition to the
specific writing lessons or times in class. For example,
students may write about a math problem, explaining how
they solved it or write about a topic they learned in science or
social studies. All of this work makes them better writers
overall. Writing comes up throughout the day in every
subject that is being taught so it is important for children to
refine their writing skills and be confident enough to feel like
they can express themselves successfully. Although their
spelling and grammar skills will still need development, as
long as they know what they are writing and trying to spell
and use grammar correctly, they will improve their skill level
in other subjects as well.

Elliott and Lasota 7

Works Cited
Roe, B D, and E P. Ross. "Integrating Language Arts Through
Literature." Education.
2006. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.
Leman, Sara. "The Benefits of Creating Home-Made Books." Reading
Eggs.
Wordpress, Web. 17 Feb. 2016.
Ackerman, Shira. "The Guide To 1st Grade." Scholastic. Web. 17 Feb.
2016.