Final Project

I did this bookmark project the first year I taught second grade, and I don’t know why I never tried it again.  (Especially with the older kids who can actually type it themselves!) Since we didn’t do my usual end-of-the-year projects, I needed something to keep them busy; I suggested this, and they were all over it!!!

They each chose a book they had read in my classroom library. (Only two couldn’t find one – PC#2 because he doesn’t read, and PSSA Boy because he read his own books but I had one of the same ones he has.) They wrote a persuasive paragraph about why a kid next year should read the book; it was really hard for some of them – even the brightest kids! – to not make it a boring summary that gives away the ending. We tried typing in the computer lab, but they worked too slow and the new computers don’t have the T: drive to save to (anything downloaded or saved gets deleted when the computers are turned off) so I saved what they had started to my flash drive. The next day we borrowed six laptops from the laptop cart and they took turns typing. Then I put them back on my flash drive so we could print in color from my laptop. They got to choose the font and color for the text, and I added their picture. They turned out really well! Most shocking of all, every kid made one – without any nagging of any kind!!! 

These are about half of the bookmarks. What a pretty rainbow!

What cracks me up is they were all concerned about the kids next year stealing the bookmarks! I said the Librarian will be in charge of holding them when the books are checked out. Generally these are the more popular books that the kids liked, but hopefully it will help kids find books easier next year.