How In2Books Works

3rd – 5th grade students:

• Adult pen pal volunteers are fully screened with background checks and matched to students

• Students select and read books in 5 genres:Science, Biography, Social Studies, Fiction, Traditional Tales

• Engaged Adult pen pals read the same books

• Online letters are exchanged with pen pals increasing reading comprehension and communication skills

• Teachers are supported with lessons and resources for vocabulary, comprehension, and other literacy skills.

The Conversation: students and pen palsdiscuss the books they read in online letters

Teacher Place: a one stop shop for teaching strategies and tips

Teacher Place Genre –

• 6 units – Getting Started, fiction, social studies, biography, traditional tales, science

• Genre characteristics and other elements, e.g., vocabulary

• Genre-related literacy strategies

Units –

• 5 or 10 lesson curriculum units

• Content, literacy, genre, critical thinking

• Can be used as a unit or select specific activities and/or lessons

Topics –

• 3 topics, e.g., fiction – bullies, family, pen pals

• 4-6 book choices on different reading levels

Student Place: providing support and tools toguide student thinking and writing

Student Place

• Key vocabulary words in context

• Critical thinking questions

• Graphic organizers

• Pen pal letters

• Checklists

• Sample letters

The site supports student writing through an online writing center that includes:Student Place

Pen Pal Place: aligns with classroom curriculum

Pen Pal Place

Home Page – Provides specific directions and topic related websites, vocabulary, genre study, etc.

How to Pages –

A step-by-step approach to support the development of literacy skills

Writing Center –

Everything a pen pal needs to write good letters:• Sample letters• Key vocabulary words• Thinking questions• Letter checklist• Student’s letter

Pen Pal Place

The site has explicit resources to help pen pals learn how to be a pen pal and support student learning:

How do we know In2Books makes adifference?

• 11 years of implementation in classrooms

• In2Books students scored significantly higher on standardized reading tests than their peers in the same district who did not use the program (Phi Delta Kappan, March 2007)

• 9 out of 10 teachers report that In2Books positively impact their students’ achievement. (Reading Teacher, May 2007)

In2Books can help…

• Improve reading, writing and thinking skills

• Improve communication and computer skills

• Increase achievement on standardized tests

• Increase digital literacy

• Help students learn about the world outside their classroom

Alignment with Your Curriculum

In2Books Units: Fiction and Traditional Tales

English/Language Arts/Reading SCCPSS Curriculum3rd Grade-Units 1, 3, 5, and 64th and 5th Grade-Units 1, 3, 5 and 6

In2Books Unit: ScienceEnglish/Language Arts/Reading SCCPSS CurriculumGrades 3-5-Units 2, 4, and 6

Science SCCPSS CurriculumGrade 3: -Units 4 and 7Grade 4: -Units 1 and 3Grade 5:-Unit 6

In2Books Units: Social Studies and Biography

English/Language Arts/Reading SCCPSS CurriculumGrades 3-5-Units 2, 4, and 6

Social Studies SCCPSS CurriculumGrade 3: -Units 2, 3, 4, and 5Grade 4: -Units 4 and 6Grade 5-Use any of the biographies related to US History to correlate with your curriculum

(Savannah School District Example)

Find us at…..

http://www.in2books.com