PreK-K

What Is Important to You: Create self-portraits
Welcome students to your classroom artistically! In this lesson, young students learn about Mexican artist Frida Kahlo through activities that prompt them to reflect on what's important to them. They will share their thoughts with classmates and create self-portraits.

Class Community: Celebrate student diversity
Students will begin to practice critical-observation and prewriting skills as they learn to recognize and embrace diversity.

Grades 1-2
About Me Posters: Display student biographies
Introduce your class to the genre of biographical writing while sharing facts about themselves with their classmate.

Your Classroom Constitution: Create it together
Create a lesson plan around "rules" and develop a classroom code of conduct as a class.

Grades 3-5
The Best Part of Me: Highlight the positive
Begin the school year by inviting students to identify their favorite parts of themselves through descriptive poetry.

Classroom Economy: Set jobs — and salaries
Provide an introduction to economics while setting students' classroom jobs that have actual salaries attached.

Grades 6-8
"Aloha!" A Waikiki Welcome: Break the ice day 1
Take a tropical approach to the start of the school year as students learn about our 50th state, get to know each other, and establish classroom routines.

Life Map: Get acquainted with creativity
This beginning-of-the-year ice-breaker provides a good pre-writing activity that builds students' confidence when approaching small writing tasks.

Grades 9-12
"Get to Know Me": Students share bio poems
Help students get to know you and each other by inviting them to share Bio Poems, which will also provide you with a writing sample.

A Great Beginning: Design student brochures
Classmates get to know each other by creating autobiographical brochures containing narrative writing and photos.