Lesson Plan

New-to-School Student Booklets

A fun getting-to-know-you activity that students complete during the first few weeks of school

By  Marci Ruiz

Overview

This is a book that will be completed over a 3-week period. The child will fill in the blank with his/her name and paint and decorate a small paper plate to look like his/her face for the cover of the book.

Objective

Students will:

  1. make a book about their school experience entitled, (Student's name) Goes to School."

Sample pages with a sentence on each page:

  • I can paint.
  • I have friends. (Lesson below)
  • My teacher is Mrs. Ruiz. (On this page I take dictation and they glue on a Xeroxed picture of me.)
  • I build with blocks. (On this page, the students glue on paper blocks and the words that say: "I build with blocks.")
  • I play in the playhouse. (On this page they decorate a paper doll of themselves with collage items such as beads, wallpaper, cut out clothes, feathers, etc.)
  • I can make a pattern. (On this page, the students glue colored squares around the page in a pattern.)
  • I cook. (A recipe of something we cooked together as a class.)
  • I play with Playdough. (On this page I attach a small plastic Ziploc bag filled with a sample of Playdough.)
  • About the Author: On the inside of the cover I write a dictated paragraph with the student's picture added.

Materials

  • Typed text for each page. Example: I can paint. (Use large print so that children can track words.)
  • Watercolor paint.
  • Prebound construction paper book.
  • Cut out construction paper blocks
  • Playdough recipe, Ziplocs, Playdough.
  • Precut squares for the pattern page.
  • Recipe for cooking page and art activity to show what you made.
  • Paper plates for the cover, skin colored paint, yarn, wiggly eyes, barrettes, ribbon, etc.

Set Up and Prepare

  • Bind books
  • Cutout shapes.
  • Text for book page ready to be glued in.

Directions

Each page will have its own 20–40 minute lesson.

Part 1
Step 1: I have friends (page) Read Will I Have a Friend? by Lilian Hoban.
Step 2: Discuss and list: 1. How friends treat friends. 2. How to be a friend. 3. What do you like to do with your friends?
Step 3: Do a human graph by making a boy line and a girl line. Compare and contrast Quantities using the terms "more than," and "less than"
Step 4: I have friends. (On this page the students glue a Xerox picture of the students in the class. At the bottom of the page they fill in these blanks with the correct numeral. There are____ boys and ____ girls.

Lesson Extensions

Read Mrs. Bindergarten Goes to Kindergarten. Graph how many boy animals and girl animals are in Mrs. Bindergarten's class. Compare Mrs. Bindergarten's class composition with ours.

Evaluation

How did this new class do with this lesson? What went well? Are they following Clifford's Rules? Do they see themselves as the author and illustrator of their book? Do I have an idea of math and reading skills for each child?

Assess Students

Teacher observation of who was able to follow the step-by-step directions. How many students understood "more than" and "less than?" Who was able to track and read the page?

  • Part of Collection:
    Creating a Classroom Community
  • Subjects:
    Charts and Graphs, Arts and Crafts, Literature, Early Writing, Following Directions, Friends and Friendship, Understanding Self and Others
  • Skills:
    Charts and Graphs
  • Duration:
    3 Weeks
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