"Story of the Day": A Home, School, and Language Connection

Have you ever wondered how to make a home-school connection or how to bring in you students likes and interests into the classroom? I have the perfect solution for you that, not only creates the home-school connection, but also gives students multiple opportunities to communicate with their peers and the adults in the classroom. The solution, "Story of the Day!" To create a "Story of the Day" activity for your students, you will need the following materials: jar w/ “Story of the Day” label, laminated student names with their pictures, student folders with laminated home note sheet, laminated and Velcro pictures, and dry erase marker.

Now that you have the materials, lets start creating and implementing this activity into the classroom!

1. To create a “Story of the Day” jar, simple have the students write their name next to their picture, laminate them, and put them in a jar labeled “Story of the Day”. Then, create a folder for every students where notes and assignments can be sent home, but a home note can also be sent back. The home note will be a laminated sheet of paper with lines in the middle, a place that says, “After school I _____” at the top, and a place that says “It was a _____ night.” The blank spaces are where students who cannot write or have a hard time with fine motor skills can place a Velcro pictures off of the sheet in their notebook; these pictures could include things such as played on the computer, read a book, participated in family activities, cooked a meal/snack, etc.
2. Once you have made the “Story of the Day” jar and the each student has a folder, explain to the students what the folders are and how the activity will run - the teacher’s helper (student job) will select two or three names out of the jar each morning and those people can share their home notes with the class. Get the students excited about it! Have them share what their home notes could be on and show them how they can use both pictures and words. This is an assignment all about them and their interests! REMEMBER you will also want to send a note home explaining to parents how the home note program works and, if they have the time, to help their students write their home notes each night. Most are willing to do it as it creates a home-school connection that wasn’t their before.
3. With the home notes being sent home in the folders, the jar made, and the students excited, how the teacher helper start drawing names the very next day. You’ll be amazed at how into this your students gets and pretty soon everyone wants a turn every single day!
   

A "Story of the Day" Example

This is Hannah's home note - written about yesterday evenings activity and using images from her picture sheet- after her name was drawn from the "Story of the Day" jar.