File folders are the darling of homeschool moms, who love to turn these ordinary, commonplace office staples into all sorts of fun projects. Publishing with flap books is a simple but effective way for children to showcase their writing!
Let’s look at two ways you can use manila file folders to help your children publish their stories and reports.
Reveal Parts of a Story
Try publishing your children’s writing projects in lapbook-style flap books. Flap books work especially well when a child wants to reveal one part of the story at a time or hide a surprise ending. They’re simple and fun! Even the least crafty among your kids will enjoy producing a final draft like one of these!
1. Numbered Flaps
A younger child’s short story can be displayed in a flap book like this one. It contains one numbered flap or mini book for every sentence in the story.
Depending on the child’s level of interest, you could cut the flaps from brightly colored scrapbooking or construction paper. Then, affix the sentence strips to the colored paper.
2. Lift-the-Flaps: Beginning, Middle, and End
Publishing with flap books like this one is perfect for revealing the beginning, middle, and end of a story or short report.
Cut the front cover of a file folder horizontally to form two or three flaps.
Then cut the story into strips and glue the strips into the file folder under the corresponding flaps. If the story is longer than one page, simply staple additional (uncut) pages onto the back cover of the file folder.
Your child may also enjoy gluing clip art, magazine pictures, or a small map on the inside of each flap.
Showcase a Report or Narrative
Open up a manila folder and fold the edges into the center to make a different type of flap book (also called a lapbook). Your student can publish a nonfiction report by stapling it in the center and adding photos, illustrations, charts, maps, tables, or graphs to the two outside flaps.
Your child could also use this idea to publish a narrative. Encourage using photos or drawings to illustrate parts of the story.
How do you use manila file folders to display your children’s writing assignments?
Each of these flap book activities comes straight from the pages of WriteShop Primary and WriteShop Junior. These elementary writing programs incorporate clever publishing ideas into every lesson.
