A-Z: Learning About the Alphabet Book Genre

Materials and Technology

Student Interactives

Printouts

Preparation

 

MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGY

• Computers with Internet access
  
  
• A My Name is Alice by Jane Bayer (Puffin, 1992)
  
  
• A collection of age-appropriate alphabet books and websites (see Alphabet Books and Websites for suggestions)
  
  
• Chart paper and easel or poster board

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STUDENT INTERACTIVES

Grades   K – 12  |  Student Interactive  |  Organizing & Summarizing

Alphabet Organizer

Students can use this online tool to print an alphabet chart or pages for an alphabet book.

 

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PRINTOUTS

• Alphabet Chart
  
  
• Template Sheet

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PREPARATION

1.	Designate a comfortable meeting area in the classroom that will seat all students for group work.
2.	Read aloud several different examples of alphabet books to your students prior to beginning this lesson so that they are familiar with the concept of alphabet books (see Alphabet Books and Websites).
3.	Read Jane Bayer's A My Name is Alice to your students before the actual lesson. This reading needs to be provided so that students have some knowledge of the book before they begin learning the skills and concepts targeted in this lesson. Emphasis should be placed on the style of Bayer's writing, the pattern of the text, and the use of illustrations.
4.	Prearrange students in flexible small groups to work together on their alphabet books during Sessions 4 and 5. This allows for small-group differentiated instruction, whereby the alphabet book writing activity is tailored to student's individual writing abilities. You might consider three groupings: gifted or advanced writers, average writers, and struggling writers. If you choose to use these three groupings, consider the following special assignments for each group: Gifted or advanced writers: Brainstorm a pattern for their alphabet book and then create draft pages for each letter. Average writers: Choose a specific alphabet book or invite students to choose one on their own. Instruct them to use the same pattern in the alphabet book, but to change the letter words, to create their own book. Struggling writers: Choose a specific alphabet book and provide them with a Template Sheet with the pattern already in place. Ask them to fill in the blanks by choosing new words for each letter page. (Photocopy the template provided or create your own template for any of the alphabet books that you share with your students.) Another option for grouping students would be to mix students from each level and have them choose in those groups which "special assignment" they would like to do.
5.	Bookmark the online Alphabet Organizer tool on your classroom or lab computers for students to access during Session 6, and ensure that the program is running and printing properly. (If you experience difficulty, make sure that computers have the most recent version of the Flash plug-in, which can be downloaded for free from the ReadWriteThink.org Site Tools page.) Set up technology buddies (i.e., computer savvy students) who have been trained in using the Alphabet Organizer tool to work with students who are novice computer users.

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