One thing I really love doing in my class is writing Class Books.
I try to write one a week, to go with our theme, but it doesn't always get done. But I definitely do at least one a month. It's usually a quick little write that can be done as a time filler, morning work, etc... We start from Day 1 in our class.
And this is not something I'm hard core about their writing. I do want their word wall words, capitalization, and punctuation to be correct, but this is more of a fun write. Now on Day 1, the writing (in 1st grade) and drawing will look something like this.
But then as the year progresses, and their skills, the writing looks more like this...
A lot of the times our writing will stem from a book I read to the class... Like this book...
It stemmed from {THIS} book.
I print the cover pages, and glue them to a piece of cardstock. Then I laminate that piece and another piece of cardstock for the front and back covers. You will need to have durable covers because, trust me, they will get read A LOT! At the end of the year, I still had kids reading the first book we ever read - and they were even amazed at the growth they made!!
I bind my books together with a binding machine. Check with your school – most have them hiding somewhere! If not, then you can just 3-hole punch them and put yarn in them or the rings through the holes.
I bind my books together with a binding machine. Check with your school – most have them hiding somewhere! If not, then you can just 3-hole punch them and put yarn in them or the rings through the holes.
One of my favorite things about doing Class Books, is that I get to see just how much growth my students make throughout the year!
Here is one student, who has also learned the skill of labeling! ha! Clearly, we do a lot of labeling in class, too.
Here's one of my favorite "show and tells" of growth through the year....
Here's her book from the first week....
And her book in March....
And her book the last week of school....
It just BLOWS my mind the growth that First Graders make from the beginning of the year.
So, here's what's included in each month's Class Book pack...
Each
month’s cover shows the covers for the books that are included. Most have at
least 5 books for the month (except February – it has 4 books).
The
next page gives the title choices, as well as some explanation (if needed) for
the writing “prompt.” There will also be some books that you can tie into the
writing activities. Click on the books to check them out on Amazon!
Each
book will have 2 different writing line styles to choose from.
You can grab the summer vacation book for free in the "First Days" post - click the picture below to head on over there!
You can also save money and buy the {bundle!}
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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