Vacation Memory Book

What You Need:

• Lined paper
• Blank printer or copy paper
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Crayons or markers

What You Do:

1. Brainstorm with your child about trips or outings he might want to write about. You can start the conversation by asking him to identify his favorite or most recent trip. Once he’s explored several choices, have him choose one.
2. Suggest making a time line to help organize the events. Have your child make a list of the key events in his story. Help him draw a time line and write each event under the line in the correct order.
3. Now it’s time to start writing! On lined, rough draft paper, have your child write a few sentences about each event shown on the time line. Put on your editor’s hat and help him edit his work. Check spelling, sentence construction, verb agreement, and capitalization.
4. To construct the book, take blank printer paper and fold it in half. Using the events listed on the time line as a guide, decide how many pages are needed for the picture book.
5. Have your child write his narrative story in the blank book. Suggest he use one or two pages for each event. Ask him to draw pictures to illustrate his story. Ask your child, the author, to read his story to family members. Then ask him to wait for the applause!