Picture Books: A School-Wide Genre Exploration

Student Objectives:
Students will learn to use digital cameras to illustrate a class picture book. Students will learn to create a podcast to accompany their class book. Students will learn to write with a specific audience and genre in mind. Students will become teachers, instructing other grade levels on how to complete their own picture books.

Description of Lesson:
Throughout the school year, students will be exposed to various types of genre during Writer's Workshop. After the first trimester, students will vote on a specific genre for their class book. When the genre is identified, students will work together to develop their storyline, characters, problem, solution, etc. The teacher will then divide the class book into sections, and students can choose which part they would prefer to author. During this process of developing, editing, and revising, students will become involved in several lessons about the power of pictures in books. They will have the opportunity to take several pictures, finally selecting a photo that would best depict their part of the story.

When the class book is completed, students will learn how to create a podcast to accompany their book. The students will then create several invitations for other classes at school, inviting them to learn how to create a class book of their own. The teacher will assign "experts" to each component of the lesson. These student experts will teach digital camera skills, podcast creation, genre selection, and assist in the class book revision process. The final draft of each class book will be hardbound and available for checkout in our school library.