Work with Content Area Colleagues to Select Nonfiction Topics that Cross the Curriculum

After reading an excerpt from Johnny Tremain (Forbes, 1943) with the fifth graders, we discussed the different historical figures present. “Ben Franklin!” “John Adams!” students shouted out. I explained that we would be writing “I Am” poems from the point of view of one of the fictional characters or one of the historical figures from the text. Keisha waited patiently with her hand up: “Mrs. W., this is language arts class. We are talking about the Revolutionary War in Social Studies class.” I responded that I had talked to Mr. Harper about what he was teaching and picked this book to go along with what they were studying in his class. “Is that okay?” I asked her, smiling. She responded, “It just feels weird. I didn’t know you talked to each other.”