I know, this is a bit late. It wouldn’t be the first time I underestimated my ability to do a thousand things at once.

It is nice to be back in America for the summer, but even during the break— do teacher’s minds ever take a break? We are constantly thinking of the next best thing! I am excited to share my ideas and great buys (I am on the hunt for large-pad sticky notes) this summer… but FIRST, I wanted to give you an idea that Jee Young and I did at the end of this past  school year. When our classes got together during the last week of school, one of her students calmly raised her hand and asked me, “Are you sad that your best friend is leaving?” I looked at her surprised, since we had just asked the fifth and second graders if they had any questions about the activity, not our personal lives. “Are you trying to make me cry?!” I responded as Jee Young turned her head to the side and silently wiped away a couple of tears.

YES, I will miss working with my best friend. Here is the last activity we did together, if you look at the activities packet I attached to this post, you will find it in there.

First, as our classes gathered together for our second to last book buddy meeting, I read aloud this book (look familiar?!)

The students LOVED IT. I have never seen students so involved in a book. There were so many gasps, and exclamations, and giggles as Jee Young and I presented the “story” to them.

Afterwards, we told the students they were going to design their own “Press Here” book. They received a rough draft paper, giving them six pages to work with, it looked like this:

After the completed their outline/rough draft they were given stickers, and a blank book, and went to work!

The students used their dots in such creative ways; it was a joy for Jee Young and I to watch! We shared a few of the final stories during our last time together. Overall, the project (including reading the book) only took two, 45 minute class periods.

When I do this again, I will look for different size dot stickers.

What did you do at the end of the year with your students? What book buddy activities have worked well for you?