Our Class is a Family Activity

Description

This is a book companion to go along with the book “Our Class is a Family.”

It will help build classroom community, foster reading and writing skills, and is ideal for back to school time during the first week or first day of school. After reading aloud the story, have a discussion about what it means to be a class family. Tell students that just like many families at home have albums, their class is going to have their very own special album too!

Please note, this is intended to be one collective album for the whole class to share in the classroom (not one where each student creates their own entire book… although you could certainly do it that way if you choose)!

Once pages have been completed, the album can be bound (stapled, hole punched and fastened together with yarn, book binding machine, etc.). Put the album in your classroom library as a choice for students to read during independent reading time. New pages can also be added to the book throughout the school year.

The album includes a printable (PDF) and digital (Google Slides) version of:

-Cover in color and black & white

-“Every class has a story to tell” Class Information Sheet

-Individual student pages (each child has their own page in the album that includes their picture and their responses to writing prompts). See preview for writing prompts.

-Page for a Class Family Promise. This can be used to write or type a class mission statement that your class creates together

-Pages that can be added to your album throughout the school year. These can be utilized for a writing center (use real photographs or have students illustrate their own picture, and have them write a caption for the picture). Pages included:

• Class Photos
• Class Memories
• Seasonal Pages to capture your class’ memories during special times of year: Fall Fun, Holiday Happenings, Winter Wows, Spring Snapshots
• Academic-themed pages for students to document what your class is currently doing or learning about in various school subject areas: “We are a Class Family of ______.” Categories include: Scholars, Readers, Writers, Mathematicians, Scientists, Artists, Athletes, Musicians

-A Google Slides version for Canadian teachers that includes all of the above, but for the fill-in-the-blank sections, contains the word “province” instead of “state” and the “favourite” spelling instead of “favorite.”

Pages with primary dotted writing lines, regular writing lines, and text boxes for typing are provided to meet the needs of your students.

Please click on the “Preview” tab to see everything that comes with this resource.

You might also like this discounted GROWING BUNDLE of extension activities for all 5 books by Shannon Olsen, which includes these resources and more:

Our Class is a Family Class Family Album

Our Class is a Family bookmarks

Our Class is a Family Memory Book for the End of the Year

Our School is a Family Book Companion

Collaboration Station Book Companions 

A Letter From Your Teacher: On the First Day of School Book Companion

A Letter From Your Teacher: On the Last Day of School Book Companion

Or this MEGA Growing Bundle, which includes all of the above, plus a whole school year’s worth of Our Class is a Family themed Morning Meetings for weekly class community building.