Making a Magazine

Who: Any age

What: "Publish" a magazine about a topic/theme of the student's choice

How:
Collect a variety of magazines for your students to browse, or look through the magazine collection at your local library.

List the types of pieces included in the magazines.

Invite students to brainstorm possible themes for their own magazines (e.g. sports, fashion, animals, adventure, current events, history).

The assignment (to be modified to your situation)

• Write and revise at least five substantial* pieces: articles, advice column, interview, etc.
• Make at least  four miscellaneous pieces: puzzles, advertisements, comic strips, etc.
• Make a cover and a Table of Contents.
• Put it all together in an attractive presentation.

           
        *You can define substantial for your students.

Set a deadline. (Remember that too little time may result in rushed products, but too much time may encourage procrastination.)

Ask students to write a proposal for you, their publisher. With their best writing, they need to explain their vision for the magazine.

       Possible content to include:

• An explanation of the topic/theme and why they chose it
• A brief overview of the pieces they plan to write
• A brief overview of the extras they will include
• A  plan for how they will budget their time to meet the deadline
• An explanation of  how they hope their completed magazine will look

As the publisher, you need to approve the proposal or return it for further work.

Set aside time each day for researching, planning, writing, revising, and laying out the magazine. To help students stay on target, consider giving them a chart for setting goals and recording completed work.

Magazines may be bound in regular binders or taken to an office supply store for  coil or spiral binding.

Please send me pictures!  I want to see the results. : )