Easy as ABC

I incorporate many teaching strategies into my lessons. One of my favorite is Writing Alphabet Books, a strategy I found by Janet Allen in More Tools for Teaching Content Literacy. The method is simple to use and students enjoy the creative aspect of producing a book. Writing an alphabet book can help students organize and synthesize the information at the end of any unit. The students can compose the book as a class, in groups, or individually.

Today my class is writing the about ABC's of Fatherhood as a summative assessment for our Fatherhood and Legal Issues unit. First, I introduced the concept with children's alphabet books. I pointed out the simplicity yet the power of learning what each letter of the alphabet represents. Remember, less text can be better.
The subjects they can write about are endless. It can be broad, “The ABC’s of Teen Parenting.” Or more specific, “The ABC’s of Prenatal Nutrition”.  It can be personal or more content based. Students can create a booklet and include clipart or their own illustrations. My students then create a spiral-bound book with a personalized book cover.

The following chart will help the students generate an outline for their ABC book.
See my book, The ABC's of Reading to Your Child.