Acquiring reading and writing strategies is a key component of the ASV learning method from Kinder to Grade 5. Students are instructed to identify the different structures of non-fiction a text can have, how it can be tricky to read and what to do as readers when there are difficult words or words they know in a new context. Then teachers usually develop writing tasks in which students apply what they have learned and create their own non-fiction books on things they are interested in or real events existing around them. All of these practices are aligned with the Reading Workshop and the Writing Workshop frameworks.
As part of the term 2 lesson plans, Grade 2 recently completed a unit on non-fiction texts and each child created a book describing facts and features of something they are interested in (commonly a favorite animal or an object). On Thursday, December 3, they had a publishing party, and the Writing Workshop session was used to finish and share their books.
Grade 4 was studying non-fiction texts too. Students in these classes researched extreme weather phenomena including tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, tsunamis, and earthquakes. They used both physical books and digital books on Epic, as well as internet research using Kiddle.com. They sharpened their notetaking skills and worked in groups to create posters that they used to teach the class about their chosen extreme weather.
