Our Memory Coats

What a busy, busy day today.  I'm finally just sitting down to relax a little, even though I should still be working...

Other than it being a busy, my day was great.  Why?  Because my students were so well behaved and I actually felt like they really got a great grasp on historical fiction!

Teachers teach historical fiction in multiple different ways with many different topics.  I decided to teach historical fiction using immigration.  Immigration is such a great topic; there are so many books about it and the students really get excited.

My class read The Memory Coat this morning.  The book discusses the hardships families went through during the time of immigration.  Specifically, the book talks about a young boy's coat.  The coat is worn and dirty on the outside  however has a BEAUTIFUL inside that his mother made herself.

My class and I had so much fun with this book because of the activities we did with it.  The students made their own memory coats.  I first provided the students with a memory coat that they decorated   After, we read the story and discussed.  Finally, the students secured the coats to construction paper so that the coat could be flipped up.  The students wrote or drew pictures of what was special to them.

The coats turned out fabulous!  Such a simple activity that the students loved.  I ended up hanging them up outside our classroom for the school to explore.

Overall, a "memorable" day with my fourth grade!