I believe that students will read and write more and better when they are aware of voice and have a theme to write about.
Voice deals with person, tone and intended audience.
Voice is developed by students once they make decisions about the subject they will write about, their approach to their subject and who they want to share their ideas with. The specific lessons that are designed to encourage this objective include recognizing voice in several selections about Harlem, writing a letter seeking redress, keeping a journal of city themes, free writing about the city, using all the arts to stimulate creativity, developing vocabulary lists as the core of writing assignments, and writing descriptions of city things, places, people and finally, events. The city theme was chosen for this unit because it should enable students to get in touch with their thoughts and feelings. They can start understanding themselves through understanding their environment. I have also included a section on finding material on city issues.