My 2nd graders recently finished the book Frindle, by Andrew Clements. They absolutely loved it. We have been learning about summaries, so Frindle created the perfect opportunity to practice this newly acquired skill. First I cut up some left over cardboard boxes in different sizes and folded them into books. Then we (the teachers) glued on contact paper to the front, back and inside. This was a bit time consuming but worth the effort. If we had had more time the kids could have done this part. Each child picked their own book and went to work on their summary. Once they were all edited, the kids went over them in Sharpie and worked on their covers and back flaps.
I brought in my washi tape collection and let the kids pick different designs for borders on each page. One of the kids in my class is in Japan right now for Spring break. Maybe he’ll bring back some washi! I know not all teachers want to share their beloved washi collection with their class. Understood. You can easily use masking tape in different colors and widths or just leave this part out. The last detail was a little felt and velcro to create a latch on each book. It was a great final touch the kids really enjoyed. Unfortunately, the velcro didn’t hold very well on some of the books. Still figuring that one out. I guess I can use a glue gun.
We asked two students to help create a Frindle poster for the center of the bulletin board. It came out incredible and is hanging front and center outside our classroom. So proud of these kids!
