The study includes an examination of the arrival of Europeans and their effect on the people who lived here, as well as a look at the lives of Native Americans today. They have regularly scheduled meeting times with teachers where they discuss strategies for understanding and interpreting texts, choose books, and explore their reactions to the material. Children share their impressions, understandings, and feelings about books with other children in reading-response groups. Often, children depict an aspect of the book they have read through a dramatization or a form of art work. They also share books with one another through informal exchanges and class discussions.
Children visit the library weekly.
They are not only given the opportunity to borrow books but also to learn about the systems and function of a library. Both in the library and in the room, children are encouraged and expected to choose books for independent reading. The goal is for children to become life-long readers, who read not only for information but also for pleasure. Children write to further their understanding of the core curriculum as well as for such practical reasons as writing notes and making posters and signs. In writer's workshop, children are encouraged to write about topics which are meaningful to them as well as exploring the genres of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.