At the beginning of the school year, I like to teach an All About Me classroom unit so that we can all get to know each other! This is also a favorite for kids because everyone likes to talk about themselves.
Marvelous Me Inside and Out by Lisa Bullard is a great story to start an All About Me unit with! Alex tells all the things that are unique and special about him. The fun illustrations and positive attitude throughout the book make this fun and engaging for young learners!
After reading Marvelous Me, I like to have students share their All About Me Bags. I send home a paper lunch bag with a note stapled to the front asking students to bring in 4 things that tell about themselves. This could be small toys, photos, play food, or anything that will fit in the bag! Each student brings in their bag and shares the items they brought. They can share them in front of the class or in groups of 3-4. I like to take a picture of what each student brought so that students can look at them throughout the year. (I add the photos to my This is Me Class Book).
Grow Up, David! by David Shannon, like the other books in the No, David series, is sure to be a favorite in your classroom! In this book, David's older brother always tells him no because he is too little. Preschool and kindergarten students will be able to relate to being told they are too small, and they will be laughing out loud about all the silly things David does!
After reading Grow Up, David!, I measure each student's hand with them using connecting cubes. We then record how long each student's hand is on an anchor chart. If you are teaching kindergarten or doing this activity later in the year, your students might be able to measure their hands independently and report the results to you or trace their hands and write the number of cubes tall in the middle. I teach a mix of 3 and 4 year olds, many who have not yet been exposed to nonstandard measurement. You could also measure students' feet or how tall they are!
It's Okay to Be Different by Todd Parr shows all the ways we can be different and reassures kids that it's okay! The simple and brightly colored images are uniquely Todd Parr, and the short format keeps young readers engaged.
After reading It's Okay to Be Different, I have students stamp their hands or their fingerprints on the sheet above using an ink pad. They will then count how many fingers they have and will write the number on the sheet. The last step is to have students compare their fingerprints to those of their friends. I explain to students that their fingerprints are unique and are different than anyone else's!
What I Like About Me by Allia Zobel Nolan has a fun rhyming pattern throughout as well as engaging moving parts and flaps (check the size when you order as there are multiple size options one of which is HUGE!). Student will be drawn in by this dynamic book that asks them what they like most about themselves!
After reading What I Like About Me, I like to play the board game Draw and Find with my class (you can grab it in the My Body Science Center set). You can play it together as a class by giving each student a game board but only using one set of cards or you can print a set of cards for each small group. To play the game, you draw a card and look at the body part it shows then place a counter on that same body part on your game board. For example, if you draw an "ankle" card, you place your counter on the ankle of the boy or girl game board you are using.
I Like Myself by Karen Beaumont is a fun rhyming book that will draw young students in with bright, and enthusiastic illustrations. It talks about the importance of liking yourself and on not changing just because you are different than someone else.
After we read I Like Myself, I like to create a class book called This is Me! Students can write their name at the top of the page or can trace their name (the template allows you to type each student's name for him or her to trace), but I like to have students decorate their name by painting it, dotting it with their fingerprints, or gluing little pieces of paper onto each letter. Students then color in their favorite color and animal. The last section asks students to draw what they like to do or play. They dictate what their picture shows so that I can record it on their paper as well. Backed on construction paper, this makes a cute project for the hallway as well as a class book page! I like to laminate it and hang it up before binding it into a book!
Another resource I use for my All About Me unit is my preschool writing center! I love using it because it allows students of all ability levels to write and draw for authentic purposes. They can write or draw to teach, to tell a story, or to create a card for someone. The open ended template is perfect for young students, and the word wall cards are a great way to help students start to use words in their writing!
This set of carpet time activities includes EVEN MORE fun activities that you can do with your class! These 9 activities are perfect for carpet time (circle time) and are guaranteed to keep your students engaged while they learn about their friends and practice identifying their names!
What is your favorite All About Me activity?
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