I found this idea very useful and easy for my reluctant writer.
The idea is to write a summary after a read-aloud. I let him cut out his matchbook template for the assigned reading for the day, and then fold it while listening to the book we’re reading together.
After each reading, he draws a picture of his favourite scene, and writes “Chapter X” on the fold-up tab. On the inside, he writes 5-7 sentences, describing the scene he drew. I let him keep all his matchbooks together in the front of his college exercise book in which it will be pasted (you could also use a manila folder).
Once we’re finished reading the book, I let him paste some form of identification of the book we read (like a picture of the cover), and then he organizes his matchbooks in sequence according to his liking.
It serves well as reference later on if he needs to find information but doesn’t know exactly where in the book the event occurred. It also encouraged getting his thoughts on paper, and I could monitor the progress of his writing skills and guide him in presenting better writing.
You can download my matchbook templates here:
Matchbooks Template
Two of the books I used this method with, are
- Children of the Longhouse by Joseph Bruchac.
- A single shard by Linda Sue Park
