In your experience, do students just starting the school year want to get to know each other a little, but don’t usually want to have to talk too much? 

This fun writing activity helps students share a summer memory in a relaxed way and it is FREE! It is perfect for grades 4-8 during back-to-school time. Comes with samples and templates.

What makes it “fun” (fun as far as ELA goes) is that students get to share something about their summer, and thus about themselves, in a way that feels safe.

An excellent way to get students to relate a memorable summer memory to the class is to have them write a “Five Senses Poem” about anything memorable that happened over the summer. Once students turn in their final drafts, you can display them, have them do a gallery walk, or have them read them aloud. Click on the product cover above to take you to my store where you can download the lesson for FREE – which includes templates. Here are a couple sample final drafts plus a couple templates:

You know what else students LOVE? These high-interest informational texts and tasks. I went out of my way to make the articles super interesting to upper elementary and middle schoolers by writing about things that interest them. And, guess what? It worked. I keep hearing from teachers how kids get so into these passages. They actually want to answer the questions. They even want to discuss the articles as a group. 

Volume I was so popular with students in grades 6-8 that I just HAD to create Volume II. Kids love them both!

And visit my store to purchase the workbook specific to your grade level: 4th, 5th, 6th-8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th