As I've said before, there's nothing more motivating for students than knowing that others will read their work. Try one of these websites for creating/publishing their books:

StudentTreasures.com: With this website, create FREE class books for grades K–2 and individual hardcover books for students in grades 3–5. They send you kits so that students can write their story and add illustrations to each page. The kits are then sent back to the company, which binds them. Parents and grandparents can then purchase reprints of the books. View sample books on their website.

StudentPublishing.com: This site offers a FREE Internet Storybook program that allows students to create their books online and then receive a paperback copy of the book to keep. They also have a mail-in program through which students can create their manuscript and illustrations on paper at school and send them in to be published. The final product can show the student’s original handwriting, or the story can be typeset. Teachers in lower grades can also create a FREE class book that is durably bound in a hardback leatherette cover. View sample books.