Mini-ABCs

At the conclusion of a unit of study in social studies, brainstorm as a class all the concepts learned in the unit. Share example ABC books on a topic. Show how some are just one word per letter, while others are phrases or sentences that tell a story. One I like to share is Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel because it goes throught the alphabet three times and serves as a challenge example.

Give students time to think about the concepts and choose one they want to explore. Give them a graphic organizer with boxes from A to Z. Give them time to list on the organizer words or phrases they think of related to their chosen concept. Allow them to sketch out a picture for each letter. Don't skip this step. Give plenty of time for this -- maybe a couple days worth of writing workshop. Give them time to take digital photos to illustrate their words/phrases.

Making the ABC books:
Students use Microsoft Powerpoint to create their book. Each slide is a page of the book. Have students use large fonts and few words (lends itself to a lesson on precise word choice). Have students insert their digital photos where appropriate. When students have completed the books have them print out a notes page of their presentation with four slides per page. Have them use this to revise and edit with. Finally, students make corrections and print notes page again. Have students color the pages if not using a color printer. Cut out each page and bind together with staples, string, etc. Now they have a mini-ABC book to share with the class. As an extension, students could use digital voice recorders for narration and video editing software for to make a digital book (digital storytelling).