Years 3–6: Make a Mini Zine

Make a Mini Zine | Years 3–6 | Mini Book Writing Project

Give students a real reader to write for. In this open-ended project, every student folds a single A4 sheet into an eight-page zine, then plans, drafts, edits and publishes their own mini book. They might write a story, a comic, a nonfiction guide, a poetry collection or something entirely their own.

The project runs over three 45–60 minute sessions and finishes with a class zine swap, so students see their writing read and enjoyed by someone else.

How it works

• Students explore three model zines and choose from 12 zine ideas
• They decide who their reader is and plan all six inside pages
• They fold, draft in pencil, edit and publish
• The class finishes with a zine swap, using recommendation cards

What's included

• 20 Google Slides with speaker notes
• Teacher guide
• Step-by-step folding guide
• Zine templates: guided, lined and blank
• Five planning pages: general, story, comic, nonfiction and poetry
• Three printable model zines
• Success criteria for Years 3–4 and Years 5–6
• Editing checklist
• Zine swap recommendation cards

Why teachers use it

• A real audience gives students a reason to write well
• Open-ended, so every writer can succeed at their own level
• Easy to differentiate with three template options
• Low prep: one sheet of paper per student
• Perfect for the end of the year or Book Week

Resource details

• Years 3–6 (Stages 2 and 3)
• Text type: student choice of imaginative, informative or persuasive
• Focus: audience, planning, drafting, editing and publishing
• Aligned to the Australian Curriculum v9.0 and the NSW English K–10 Syllabus
• 40 pages