Writing Across the Curriculum with “A Book a Week”
Coach: Elizabeth Kruse and Justyna Rewilak, Henry D. Lloyd Elementary School Adaptable for grade levels: K-3 Key Subject Area(s): Language Arts Also incorporates: Art, Music, Drama; Math; Science; Social Studies; Special Education; Technology
Study Group Teaching Method Description:
Use scaffolded, student-written mini-books to reinforce vocabulary skills and literary concepts while also encouraging cooperative peer learning. Study Group members will gain a hands-on learning experience that emphasizes ways in which word wall words, favorite books, and math, science, and social studies concepts can be successfully transformed into weekly books. Books can variously employ cloze sentences, picture and text matching, vocabulary-targeted repetition, and other scaffolding to help students learn and retain information across the content areas.
This Teaching Method guides Study Group members in the implementation of simple, student-written books as a whole-language approach to reading and writing across the curriculum. Team Members will learn how to transfer the mini-book routine to accommodate various types of technology, and will also allow each student to explore all subjects through the lens of his or her own imagination. Once students are familiar with and enthusiastic about making mini-books, teachers can apply their own instructional creativity to using this teaching approach across a variety of subject areas. The “Book-a-Week” strategy encourages peer interaction, teaches problem-solving skills, is conducive to cooperative learning, and allows students to attain ownership of their individual learning experiences.
Illinois State Standards and Benchmarks:
State Goal 3: Write to communicate for a variety of purposes. A. Use correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization and structure. C. Communicate ideas in writing to accomplish a variety of purposes. Dependent on the topic of the mini-book, this Study Group Teaching Method also addresses various Illinois State Standards including Math, Science, Social Studies and Fine Arts goals.
About the Coach:
Justyna Rewilak teaches first grade at Lloyd Elementary School. This is Justyna’s second year leading a CFE Study Group with her colleague Liz Kruse. She has is a four-time Boundless Readers grant recipient. She has been actively involved with school-based Study Groups, presented on various reading and writing strategies, and serves on the Leadership Group to improve her school curriculum.
Liz Kruse teaches second grade at Lloyd Elementary School and this is her second year collaborating with her colleague Justyna Rewilak to lead a CFE Study Group. Liz is a Boundless Reader grant recipient, has a master’s degree in education, and has previously been involved as a Parent Liaison and Parent-Teacher Group Secretary at her previous school.
Meeting Times:
The Study Group meeting
schedules are determined together at the Study Group Program Kick-Off Dinner on
Thursday, June 4, 2009.
