Reading and Writing Projects

Our reading and writing projects involves students reading, comprehending and interpreting specific books, novels, plays, poems, etc., often around themes. Sometimes books are assigned, while at other times students select their own books. Through reading/writing projects, students demonstrate comprehension, understanding, and ability to interpret the text. Reading/writing projects often include class discussions around dilemmas inherent in the reading and/or writing general reactions, interpretive essays, poems, stories and plays based on the material read.

Examples

An example is a fourth-grade teacher develops a monthly project around a different literary genre. Each month the teacher selects a different type of literature, such as biography, fiction, or mystery. Students choose a book and an author that approved by the teacher. They then discuss the key features of the studied genre (e.g. what makes for a good biography?), write a summary that demonstrates their understanding of the key ideas in the book they read, and write their general reaction to the book. They complete a drawing depicting a critical idea in the book, and also write a new ending to the book. The book and the developed material are shared among the entire class at the end of each month.