English - You Can Write a How To Book

Pop art yellow

Here is my son Tyler with his balloon racing car. Follow the directions and make it yourself.

Bunting border

The day the books arrived was the best day ever. I could really hold in my hands the books I had worked on all year.

Stars pattern

I was very pleased that Scholastic sent me additional copies of the books. I donated books to all the schools in Hicksville where I was a student. And I also donated books to all the schools in South Huntington where my children are students. Here are some photos of my children, my sister, and me signing the books before donating them.

MINI QUIZ

1. In what year did I become the School Librarian of the Year? 2. What is a bookmobile? 3. What did I want to be when I grew up? 4. What is the name of the elementary school that I went to as a child? 5. What did I need to do before I wrote the books? 6. Who took the pictures of steps of how to make the projects? 7. Where were the book covers photographed? 8. How many books did I write? 9. Who likes to make my projects? 10. What is one of the projects in my books?

Bright ideas border

Since you've learned about my writing process, I'd like to see your "How "To books, and learn about your experiences.

Green polka dot border

After editing the writing for grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization, my editor and a photographer came to visit my library. The photographer took photos of my children and their friends to put on the covers of the books.

Have you ever made a balloon car? It's very easy and fun. On the next page you will see the materials and steps you need. This is one of the projects in my book "I Can Make Marvelous Movers."

Flash black

All summer I waited and waited and waited. I had worked hard during the year writing and editing those books. Now they were in the factory being printed and bound. I needed to wait for them to come to my door.

I'd love to read your books and learn about your writing experience. Feel free to record your comments here: <a href="https://flipgrid.com/3ee56789">https://flipgrid.com/3ee56789</a> The graphics in this presentation were originally created in Buncee, and were then imported into Book Creator.

Misc texture 1

After a few weeks I received an email from the graphic designer. The graphic designer laid out the books using the photographs and text. I needed to check all the pages to make sure everything was exactly as it should be. Here you can see some of the drafts that I received with the comments. Writing books is not easy. It takes a lot of practice and a lot of revisions.

Misc texture 2

I grew up in Hicksville, New York and liked to visit my public library. I also enjoyed when the bookmobile came to town. The bookmobile was like a library on wheels, and stopped right in front of my grandparents' house. My grandfather picked tomatoes from his garden and my grandmother picked flowers from her garden. They gave them to me so I could give them to the librarian on the bookmobile

WRITING PROCESS

1. Choose a format for your book. 2. Brainstorm ideas and choose your favorite. 3. Make an outline. 4. Gather your supplies. 5. Write each step with details. 6. Follow the steps to make the project. 7. Change the steps if needed. 8. Check for and edit capitalization, spelling, grammar, and punctuation. 9. "Jazz up" your book with different fonts, backgrounds, colors, images, video, and audio. 10. Share your book with friends and family.

Red geometrical pattern

When I was invited to visit the Scholastic office in New York City, I was really excited! I had read Scholastic books since I was a child and I loved going to the book fair. Now I could visit the actual office.

Purple zig-zag pattern

It took me time to decide which projects to include in the books. I needed to make, test, and fix each project to make it the best. Then, I wrote how to create the projects step by step.

Blue polka dot border

Photographing the steps took a long time. My sister Jen took photos of my children Tyler and Riley. Each project required each step to be photographed to make it clear to readers. After that, I needed to edit the writing. I had to make sure that every step I had written matched the photos.

Rainbow paper border

I am Kristina Holzweiss and I am a school librarian. Before I became a librarian, I was a seventh grade English teacher for 9 years. In 2015, I was named Librarian of the Year by the School Library Journal. In 2018, I became a Library Journal Mover and Shaker.

Ruled paper

Watercolor texture 3

After all those months of hard work, my favorite part is sharing the books. I was able to bring them to Barnes and Noble to teach the kids how to do projects with them. I saw them at my local library, and even saw them at the Scholastic office.

Flash yellow

When I visited the Scholastic office, I met with my editor and planned the topics for the book. When I returned home, I explored ideas and researched the science about robots, circuits, flying, and moving.

Dark wood

This is a photo of me when I was about 8 years old. Here is another photo of me on in front of my old elementary school, Burns Avenue Elementary School, where I donated some of my books. When I was a child, what I really wanted to be when I grew up was the President of the United States.

Orange geometrical pattern

I have enjoyed meeting new people and sharing my books. Children and adults loved doing all the projects.

Warp purple

Created by Kristina A. Holzweiss <a href="http://www.bunheadwithducttape.com/about-kristina.html">http://www.bunheadwithducttape.com</a>

Today I am going to show you the process of how I wrote the Scholastic Makerspace books. And then you can write your own "How To" Book!

Discussion Questions

1. What kinds of books do you like to read? 2. Which author would you like to meet one day? 3. If you could write a book what would it be about? 4. What would be your favorite step of writing a book? 5. What kinds of projects do you like to make?

Name

Safari may block some audio or video from playing automatically and ‘read to me’ will skip these. You can configure this in Safari’s preferences.