OWP

Book report 4

Julie Hamilton

Nonfiction Craft Lessons

Joann Portalupi and Falph Fletcher

In their book, Nonfiction Craft Lessons, Portalupi and Fletcher explore an area I have found to be overlooked and grossly underestimated in the primary grades; developing writing through the study of nonfiction. Not only is their subject matter important, they have also organized their material in a way to help the reader locate quickly and easily very practical guidelines for writing projects in specific areas.

The book is divided into three grade levels: K-2, 3-4, and 5-8. This alone demonstrates the authors awareness of some of the glossed over instruction geared towards primary grade students. Workbooks are generally divided into K-3 and 4-8. This may seem trivial and insignificant to many teachers, but not, I guarantee, to any 3^rd grade teacher. The lessons themselves are very clearly organized, beginning with a brief discussion of the lesson, and then a step, by step process in how to teach it. This latter part actually includes sample conversation you may have with your students to begin instruction. Again, this may feel contrived for many, myself included, but not when teaching a new skill, or new approach to an old lesson. Another helpful addition the authors include with each lesson is a list of resource material, in particular, corresponding children's literature. This resource can save a lot of time. With such comprehensive lessons I could see these useful for substitute plans as well.

There were several lessons that struck me as especially useful for the early primary grades. "Listening for Your Voice" is an exploratory lesson helping students learn to put into writing the same fluency and animation they use in conversation. Prior to any writing, students partner for 5 min. to talk about their subject and answer any questions their partner may have. The instructor will casually listen in and jot down some of the statements students make in their own words. Later, if necessary, they have their fluent language written down to refer back to if they are struggling with their writing.

In another lesson, children use "story writing" to make nonfiction more interesting and to incorporate facts into something creative. "Using a Story to Teach Information" has children begin by researching facts about a subject and then charting and discussing these facts. At this point, the children create a story with their subject as a main character. If, for example, their research is on whales, they might write a story about the adventures of a baby Beluga whale based on the facts they gathered on the specific needs and behavior of the Beluga. The authors did not mention this, but my experience would lead me to believe that at the elementary level, these are far more interesting research papers to share with their classmates when they are finished.

This book answers to a great need within the primary grades. The individual lessons are so concise and well organized that writing through the study of nonfiction literature could easily be incorporated into weekly lesson plans. Hey, this just might lead to an expansion in literature exposure, increased writing skills, and a greater general knowledge base. I think these guys are on to something!