District News

In the classes of Sam Turner and Dawn Russo, the recent and current literacy units could be described as fan favorites for sure! Over the course of three weeks leading into winter break, 6th grade students at Bernardsville Middle School were completely immersed in their non-fiction writing unit, which culminated in the creation of original chapter books at the start of the new year. 

To begin, students chose a topic that resonated with them from a list of important and complex issues such as pet abandonment, child labor, bullying, and climate change. They read a variety of reliable texts and other vetted sources. Through mini-lessons, they honed in on what to look for during the research process and continued to fine tune their note-taking skills. They were guided to include information beyond just facts, by gathering quotes, descriptions, and statistics. Using subtopics and coding, students categorized their information to organize the framework of their book, which had a clear introduction and a strong conclusion, as well as three well-developed chapters, one of which was teen activism. Students shared their books by participating in a gallery walk and provided specific positive feedback for each of their classmates. “I was so proud to see these books come to life, that our students worked so hard on them,” said Turner.

Moving forward, the class is now focused on non-fiction reading. While this unit also involves research skills, their goals are to “stop and jot” often while reading shorter books; this will promote more meaningful connections to the text, deeper thinking, and critical questioning. Additionally, students will be strengthening their interpersonal skills through cooperation and collaboration with their peers, with whom a shared interest in the topic has ultimately brought them together. Two weeks from now, the end product will be a quasi TED Talk where each group will practice public speaking and give a presentation on their topic that will include a slideshow, images, statistics, and other unique attributes.