10 Days of Back to School Frenzy: Day 1

Day 1 of my 10 Days of Back to School Frenzy begins with a great writing activity I like to do the first week of school. It's called the Summer "Shorts" Story. This activity allows students to practice essential writing skills while at the same time incorporating a touch of kid art. I'm a sucker for kid-created art work. I love to incorporate it into my instruction whenever I can and display it all over my room. Summer Shorts also allows students to get to know one another by sharing what they did during summer vacation.

So what exactly is Summer "Shorts" Story? Well, here are the steps in the activity. Students will:

1. Brainstorm what they did during summer vacation
2. Choose their favorite summer activity
3. Make a list of million dollar words or mature vocabulary related to the activity
4. Write a first draft one-paragraph "short" story about the activity (the highlight)
5. Read and revise their writing
6. Participate in Peer Editing to make more improvements on their writing
7. Rewrite their final draft on a 3x5 index card
8. Decorate the shorts template with a summer related theme
9. Paste their index card on the space provided on the shorts template
10. Share their "short" stories with the class

Summer "Shorts" Sample:

Here's an example of a finished product:

Example of Finished Summer "Shorts" Story

Please note that students can have the option to illustrate their shorts based on their short stories or just decorate their shorts with other summer related themes or colors.

Materials Needed:

A glipse of materials needed for the Summer "Shorts" Story

So what do you need to implement this idea in your class? Here's a list of materials:

• 3x5 index cards
• scissors
• crayons, markers, and/or color pencils
• glue sticks
• Summer "Shorts" Planning Sheet
• Summer "Shorts" Template

Would you like to get your hands on the Summer "Shorts" Planning Sheet and Template? If so, you are welcomed to download it from my Teachers Notebook shop for a small fee. Just click on the image below which will take you to my Pencils and Magic Wands shop. 

I hope you like this activity and that you'll be able to implement it in your classrooms. Please let me know what you think by replying in the comment section below. If you implement this activity during the school year, please let me know how it went. I look forward to sharing and learning from each other. Take care and be sure to come back tomorrow for Day 2 of my Back to School Frenzy. Have a magical day!