End of the Year Memory Books for K-1

As every teacher knows, the last few weeks of school are a hectic time. They are packed with field trips, field day, assemblies, graduation activities and a whole lot of active children!

Being back in Kindergarten for the first time in ten years, I was a bit unsure of how I could go about keeping them occupied; while still writing, reading and of course, having fun!

I thought that a memory book would be our best bet. I wanted it to be a writing activity we could all do together - but I didn't want anyone to feel stressed or overwhelmed at the thought of making a book.

I decided to use a combination of graphic organizers and open responses. This would allow my students who loved to write the option of expressing themselves freely. The graphic organizer would give enough structure and motivation to even my most reluctant writer! (Or anyone who had a severe case of "summer brain" those days!)

I let my students choose which version they preferred:

They really enjoyed being able to choose the pages they wanted to complete and the style in which they could do it.

We did the graphs together and the class names made a wonderful morning work activity those last few mornings!

One of the parts that my class loved the most was the borders and black and white clipart. They liked coloring it in and I loved how uniquely different each book turned out.

This activity definitely made the last few days a lot more fun for everyone!

If you would like to see more, click here or on any of the pictures above!

I hope you have a wonderful last few weeks of school!