WHAT IT IS | STUDENT PROJECTS | CONSIDERATIONS | SAMPLES
		LITERACY FAIR A tool for schools to bring together students, parents, and community members around a creative project focused on language arts standards Developed by DePortola Middle School, San Diego Public Schools

WHAT IT IS

The Literacy Fair is a culminating event for parent/student teams that read the same work of classic literature and produce a creative project that relates to what they read.

These projects are on display at the Fair, a school event much like a science fair where people from the business community and the local public library judge the projects and award prizes. Students also make a 10-minute presentation about their project for a faculty member, one student, and community members.

DePortola Middle School organized the Fair as part of its gifted and talented program, but the projects are relevant for all students as creative activities that help students meet language arts standards.

STUDENT PROJECTS

Student/parent teams choose from a list of 10 projects. These include:

• Designing an advertising campaign to promote the sale of the book, including a poster, radio or TV commercial, magazine or newspaper ad, a bumper sticker, and a button.

• Creating a board game based on the events and characters in the book.

• Writing journal entries from the viewpoint of one or more of the characters exploring a philosophical, ethical, political, economic, or social question raised by the book.

• Making paper doll likenesses for two of the characters, designing costumes for each, and writing about what the clothing reflects about the character, the historical period, and the events of the book.

1. What special wisdom did you gain from reading the book?
2. What have you learned from the experience of working with another person?

CONSIDERATIONS FOR A LOCAL FAIR

"The best thing about the Fair is the community involvement," says Patrick Pierson, a teacher at DePortola. "It's also the hardest thing." The judges from the community didn't always spend enough time learning about the scoring rubrics and so were unable to score the teams consistently.

Pierson suggests de-emphasizing the prizes, as that would reduce significantly the amount of time a faculty member would have to spend seeking funds or donations for prizes. A celebration where all participants are honored for their accomplishments may work better, says Pierson.

SAMPLES

Several of the Literacy Fair documents from DePortola Middle School are available here as downloadable Microsoft Word documents: Book lists for grade 6 and grade 8, ten possible projects for students and adults to do together, and language arts and applied learning standards that students should meet by doing the projects.