I also just finished a feature article unit--you've already got some great suggestions for reading models, but I'd like to add another resource. The magazine *Muse* has high-interest feature articles for adolescent readers, and they have a lot of graphic features like sidebars and diagrams.
I wrote a feature article along with my students, and seeing me write in front of them (or discuss what I wrote the night before) really makes the process more concrete for them. I know they get it when they start to suggest revisions for my draft! At the end of the unit, I had the students find connections among their articles and form their own groups to create magazines (they didn't know they were going to do this when they picked their topics). They had to make the connections among their topics, define characteristics of readers who would be interested in these topics, and create a magazine. They designed covers and bound their articles together. It was a nice way to end the unit creatively with a lot of higher order thinking. This is only my second year teaching, but the feature article unit has been my favorite so far. I hope you enjoy it too! _______________________________________________ The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive
