This Christmas Scrapbook has always been one of my absolute favorite activities with my students. The excitement is high and students (and teachers) are eager to capture the excitement of the season and use it academically.
One of the cool unique features is that it’s made from a couple of small brown lunch-sized papers bags (although it could just be printed out on regular paper and stapled together as well). The bags offer a fun format that makes it feel like a real scrapbook. I love the scrapbook idea because it really captures the student’s excitement about Christmas at that particular time and age of the student. As a parent, I LOVE looking back at what my kids wrote (with teary eyes, of course!!!!!) when they were still little.
This scrapbook isn’t just cute – it also focuses on student writing, and at this time of year, we need all of the motivating activities we can get to keep our students focused!
Each page is pretty short; a square with a question or writing prompt, a few lines to construct a response, and a space for a picture. I typically require my students to write at least two sentences per page. Not much, but they still moan and groan! The pages don’t look overwhelming to the students, and they’re able to complete the sentences pretty easily. The questions require a bit of thinking, but they aren’t at all difficult.
Examples include:
A special gift for a special person would be . . .
A time I’ve been naughty . . .
A time I’ve been nice . . .
I’m sure you get the idea!
There are also three half-page sized pages included that are great for a longer response and fit nicely into the pockets that make these bag books so special.
I’ve assigned the pages as part of morning work, and they could be assigned as center work as well. You may want to have students construct their responses on a “sloppy copy” or rough draft prior to writing them in the scrapbooks – it all depends on how much time you have.
There are 15 different pages included, and you have total control over which pages you select, the number you choose, and the order in which they are used. You can use as many as 3 or 4 bags, or just one. I use 2 bags, which gives me a total of 8 pages, including the front and back covers.
The supplies are pretty basic, and you have most of them already in your classroom. The bags are inexpensive and easy to find. They’re usually in the section of the store with foil, Saran Wrap, and Baggies. I got a pack of 100 brown bags for under $4. There are white lunch sized bags available also if you like the clean look of white.
For more information or to purchase this scrapbook, click on any picture above or this link to be taken to Caffeine Queen’s Teachers Pay Teachers Store.
Happy Holidays and Keep your Sanity! 🙂
