Tell My Story: A Great Way To Get To Know Your Students Better

If you are a teacher you may often face the challenge of getting acquainted with a new group of students each time you meet a class for the first time. An excellent activity that is both introspective and creative is a craft project that you can use in the classroom called: “Tell My Story”.

The idea behind this project is simple; your students are required to visually tell their stories on a piece of construction paper. After each individual completes their own page, you assemble the book together, either through bindings or strings or some other form of creative assembly!

The instructions can be as basic or as complex as you need it to be, and the age of the students should probably determine how much direction you give. When you do this activity with high school students, it is the best to leave them flexibility to use whatever type of paper or materials they want. With the younger kids, it’s much easier to give them the materials and let them focus on putting everything to together. While it may seem surprising that this craft project is done with students in high school, you will find that it works really well. For juniors who are applying to college and seniors about to graduate school, the reflection involved in the activity and the chance to take a break from rigorous academics for some relaxed creativity is usually more than welcome. The youngsters naturally love any craft project!

So here is what you’ll most likely need on the bare minimum side:

- Standard sized paper for each student (you can use large construction paper or even poster boards); be sure to keep the measurements the same for each student so that the book can be assembled at the end

- glue sticks, Elmer’s glue, tape, stapler and staples

- crayons, markers, colored pencils, Sharpies, watercolors, paint (if you are willing to get messy)

-glitter and other fun add-ons

-number #2 pencils and pencil sharpener

You have to task the students to bring in the following from home:

- a baby picture
- a recent picture

- pictures, photographs and memorabilia that can be pasted or attached to a sheet of paper that represents them

After you have all the materials assembled, have your students assemble the book and tell their own story however they want! The way the student constructs the story is part of the creative process and their own expression of who they are. You’ll be surprised how each person has their own unique way of viewing themselves and presenting it to the class.

It is a great idea to supplement the art project with some nice music in the background, usually a playlist assembled by the kids themselves. After the book is assembled (you can bind the book on a separate day), you can have a fun time reading out with the class and learning about each other. Enjoy!

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About the author:

This is a guest post by Claire Wilson, a part-time guest-blogger mostly interested in education, parenting and health but she is constantly extending her field of view to incorporate interesting news suggested to her by her readers. She currently suggests checking out world market furniture page for anyone preparing to set up their new or rebuilt house.

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