Have you ever spent countless hours at the end of the school year sorting through student work to put into a memory book? Do you find yourself scrambling to put the booklet together? I am getting a headache just thinking about how much time I spent on all of this in the past! However, there is no need to stress because I have a solution for you!
What is in a Memory Book?
The Upper-Grade Memory Book resource is a great way to incorporate art, writing, and a craft for every month of the school year. For this resource, activities, and topics are geared towards upper elementary students. They are perfect to use during small group, whole group, or independent time.
What do you Need?
If you are anything like me and HATE putting memory books together, then I have a solution for you! All you need are file folders with prongs, a two-hole punch, and these activities for the entire year. Also, to learn more about making this an easy process check this past blog post out here.
Where to Hang a Memory Book?
Since this is geared toward upper elementary students I would recommend having the memory books somewhere low. That way students can be in charge of hanging up their own work. When I was in the classroom I had my students trained that if they saw hole punches at the top they knew it was going in their memory book! In the past, I made the mistake of hanging up student work on a high wall….NEVER AGAIN!
What do you Display?
It’s totally up to you to display what you want. In my class, we would typically add artwork that included craftivities, directed drawings, and seasonal art. I would also focus on monthly reflection writing and seasonal writing. However, I made it much more simple for you and all you need are the activities in this yearlong resource.
Memory Book Cover
To finish off the memory book, I would always print enough cover pages for the whole class. It would have my name, our school name, and the year. I also loved taking photos of each child, printing them on photo paper, and laminating them. I would always be blown away by the end result!
At the end of every school year, my students would love to look back at all of their work. They would especially get a good laugh at their first day of school portrait. As a teacher, I always loved looking back and realizing how amazing our school year was. Do you think your class would enjoy creating their own Memory Book? Comment below and share with me your thoughts!
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