Content Area(s): All
Grade(s): 1, 2

Invitation
How can a teacher give children the opportunity to write about themselves and their likes, dislikes, and special interests? In this unit first graders create a printed class annual and a computer slide show presentation that focus on what is special about themselves.

Tools

Computers, printer, word processing software; Template: Class Annual; slide show software such as KidPix , Digital Camera

Situations
Students work in centers in the classroom during this project. It requires about six weeks and is scheduled for the end of the school year.

Interactions
Students work in groups, in pairs, or individually depending on the task they are completing. The teacher uses examples in literature books to lead class discussions that focus on likes, dislikes, and preferences. She acts as a facilitator and guide for students who are brainstorming ideas or entering information into the computer. The teacher photographs the students and places the pictures in the class annual slide show. She compiles the printed copies of the students' slides and creates the class annual.

Standards (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills)
The student reads a story and analyzes characters, including traits, feelings, relationships, and changes.

Tasks
The class reads various books and discusses the characters, comparing the characters to themselves. The students brainstorm ideas on paper using the Class Annual Template, writing about their likes, dislikes, and special interests. They create sentences from their brainstorming and type them onto a computer slide. After the teacher has added the photographs to their slides, the students add background color, and print the slide to make a page for the class annual. The class shares the annual and slide show with parents at an Open House.

Assessment
Each student receives daily grades for tasks accomplished.