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Saturday, January 5, 2013

Class Book Suggestions?

So I'm stumped. :) We've been doing a class book of the students' writing each month for the past few months. I just make copies of their writing on our simple old copier and bind it like a book to send home to the parents. My hope is that they can see the progress their little kiddos are making.

We did Thanksgiving Poems; we did one last month that was "____________ is a gift to our class because...."--the students wrote about each other (it took for.e.ver. to finish). I didn't put up pics of that one because they had too many names but my favorite entry was: "Johnny" is a gift to our class because he's tall. :) It does come in handy when I'm working with a group and we need another box of tissues off the shelf.

I don't want to do poems again, because we'll do that in April for National Poetry Month. I usually do the student version of recipes in May for Mother's Day (which comes out hilarious!). Our last one is when they write about who inspires them.

What can I do as a theme for Janaury? Does anyone have any fun ideas--I think I have Teacher's Block? I get so many great ideas from you guys, I'm hoping you can help!




14 comments:

  1. Hello!

    What a wonderful idea - I love the thought of sending them home so that the parents can track growth. I'm sure they treasure the booklets.

    How about a snowman story? The students could imagine that their snowman (or they themselves, as a snowman) can come alive for a day and can recount the adventures they would have. My students did this and came up with very creative stories.

    Or you could study snowflakes and discuss how, just as they are completely unique, so are your students. They could all write stories about what makes them unique.

    ~Jessica
    Joy in the Journey

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    1. Snowman Adventures-I definitely think they could come up with some interesting ideas on that one! :) Thank you so much for your suggestions!

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  2. Maybe something about heroes....and tie in Martin Luther King???? Or how to build a house out of snow???

    Laurie
    Chickadee Jubilee

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    1. Oooh, I was trying to figure out a way to tie in MLK-I love the idea of writing about heroes. Thanks so much!

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  3. You also could do "If I was President" or have them right about they dream for their future. Their dream may even be what they want to be when they grow up.
    ~April Walker
    The Idea Backpack

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  4. I love that idea too! We may have to do more than one book this month! :) Thanks so much for the idea!

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  5. If you haven't read The Snow Globe Family, you must at least read it to your students, but you could also do a great writing/art project with the story. This book inspires a child's imagination. It is written by Jane O'Connor. Reading the reviews on Amazon may give you a better idea of what it is like. There were only 12, I think. Here is a link: http://www.amazon.com/Snow-Globe-Family-Jane-OConnor/dp/0142412422 Enjoy!

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    1. I had not heard of that one Brandy, will definitely at that to my ever-growing wish list! Thank you for the suggestion.

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  6. We read the book Snowman's Big Job by Janet Kusmierski and the children outfit a snowman as some type of worker ie. chef, librarian, fire fighter etc (I teach 4 year olds) I think, you could take that premise a bit further and have them write a short sentence or two about what type of big job their snowman has. In the book, the layout for each page is three picture clues and then the following page is the snowman dressed in that job, even that would be a fun way to make a class book. On a folded sheet of paper the children draw and write out their 3 clues and the following page has their dressed snowperson and the job name. Have fun! I love making class books.

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    1. That's an interesting idea too. I haven't done any kind of community helper unit with them yet, so that might be a great way to introduce one. Thank you so much! :)

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  7. Great suggestions, let us know what you decide:)

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  8. I have not read The Snow Globe Family, as recommended above, but it sounds like that might be a good accompaniment to the video I featured on my blog today, BumbleVille.

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    1. Wow! That is genuinely perfect! Thanks so much-I loved it even though I kind of figured out what the ending would be. :)

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