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By Gloria Bonsall-Shepard and Ali Stumacher, Main Circle Teachers

Gloria and Ali wanted to share with all of us the different things they are doing in their classrooms in their literacy studies. Part I was written by Gloria; Part II was written by Ali, and can be found in a box at the top of the next page.

Main Circle Literacy–Whodunit?

Children in Gloria's group are talking about suspects, red herrings, evidence and alibis as we immerse ourselves in the mystery genre! Starting with short mystery read-alouds, we are exploring essential questions such as "What makes a mystery mysterious?" And "How does a mystery plot unfold?" As we read aloud each day, we stop and talk about the characters (including detectives, sidekicks, victims and suspects) and the story. Children listen carefully and make enthusiastic predictions. We use these conversations to develop a deeper understanding of big ideas such as genre, plot, characters and style.

Next, we will work together in book groups, reading mysteries carefully to understand characters, follow complex plots and (most of all) uncover clues! Each child will also explore the genre in his or her independent reading, sharing exciting characters, plots, writers and crimes with the group. As a whole group, we may even work together to solve a simulated crime.

Throughout our study we are thinking like writers as well as readers. We are noticing and discussing good descriptive writing, characterizations and plot structures. We are beginning to write about our own detectives, criminals, crimes, suspects and clues in our individual writers' notebooks. Each child is beginning the process of writing and publishing his or her own mystery short story. We look forward to a visit from a real life, award-winning mystery writer, Lior's aunt (S. J. Rozan) and hope to learn more about the writing process with her.

We welcome you to stop in and see what we are up to! You will probably find us deeply immersed in our books, our writing, and our sleuthing.

Main Circle Literacy–New Perspectives

In Ali's group, students are turning familiar stories and scenes from books inside out. After exploring the idea and importance of seeing life and objects from different points of view or perspectives, the third and fourth graders have embarked on a study of perspective writing. With the intention of helping students grow both as writers and in their ability to empathize with other viewpoints, this writing unit focuses on writing from unusual angles.

Our writing endeavors in this project have been diverse and have shown that this group has no shortage of imagination! After reading the well-known "Jack and the Beanstalk," some students chose to re-tell the story from the point of view of the bean salesman, the Giant's wife, Jack's mother and even Blizzard the cow (who Jack sold for the magic beans). Other students, inspired by our current read-aloud, The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan, have chosen a particularly eventful scene from the book and are re-writing it from the point of view of characters who may have played a more supporting role in the story. Some students have chosen to write it from the point of view of characters that were not even in the scene, using inventive back-stories to create segues between their own imagined stories and the actual events of the book.

As this unit continues, the students will have the opportunity to get real-life practice in the skill of seeing situations from different angles. They will be asked to think of difficult situations that they have experienced with friends in their own lives and talk about them from their friends' perspectives.