Creating a Class Pattern Book With Popular Culture Characters

Overview

Featured Resources

From Theory to Practice

 

OVERVIEW

Students are able to bring their favorite popular culture characters into the classroom in this engaging lesson, which focuses on Sue Williams’ pattern book I Went Walking. Students listen to a reading of the story and identify the language patterns that they hear. After identifying a language pattern, students practice substituting different subjects into the sentence. In subsequent sessions, students bring in their favorite pop culture character, in the form of a stuffed animal or toy, and the teacher takes digital photographs of the characters in various locations around the school during a class walk. Once the photographs have been stored on a computer, students participate in a shared writing session to create their digital storybook, which follows the pattern of the book they read at the start of the lesson.

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FEATURED RESOURCES

Planning Sheet for Your Digital Story Pages: Students can use this worksheet to plan their digital stories about their popular culture character.

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FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE

Xu S.H., Perkins, R.S., & Zunich, L.O. (2005). Trading cards to comic strips: Popular culture texts and literacy learning in grades K–8. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

This text stresses the importance of allowing students to bring their popular culture icons into the classroom. Integrating real-world literacies with school literacy provides an engaging learning environment for students. English-language learners and beginning readers find security and motivation in learning when their favorite popular culture icons gain relevance in the school curriculum.

 

Maring, G.H., Boxie, P., & Wiseman, B.J. (2000). School-university partnerships through online pattern books. Reading Online, 4(5). Available: http://www.readingonline.org/articles/art_index.asp?HREF=/articles/maring/index.html

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