Me in 30 Words

It’s baaaaaaaaaaack.

Doesn’t that quote make you feel all warm, tingly, and excited for new packs of pencils and Flair pens? It makes me feel that way. Unfortunately, I don’t get to be masked up in front of a classroom this August. This is the second year I’m not getting ready for the beginning of school, and I still have a little fomo. If you are returning to the classroom, I decided to share a writing activity I loved to do at the beginning of the year.

Me in 30 Words

This is a great thing to do in the first few days of school. My students always enjoyed doing it because it didn’t seem too arduous after months of doing nothing, but it was a great way to get them thinking creatively. I did this with 4th graders, but it could still work with older grades. It could also be easily adapted for younger grades by changing the number of words. I’ve also used a similar idea after finishing a novel. Students would have to choose a character from the book and summarize them using this format.

It’s basically what it says. They had to write about themselves in thirty words. I would always start by giving them an example. Then we would usually vote on a character from a movie and write one as a class from the perspective of that character, so they could see how to do it.

Before they ever began writing, they would fill out this sheet to get their ideas flowing.

Once that was filled out, I would give them a sheet with 30 spaces to write their rough draft. Then I would go over it with them and see if there were any words that needed to be changed. Then they would write their final copy.

These were a great thing to hang on a bulletin board or in the hallway. When everyone’s was completed, I would usually read them aloud instead of them and let them guess who wrote it because most of them usually knew each other already. ALWAYS a hit.

In honor of the girl who released a new album last week, here is what Taylor Swift would say in 30 words if she were in my classroom.

Don’t cross me, or I’ll write lyrics about you. Felines are my favorite. My bank account has a few billion. There are teardrops on my guitar. That’s what people say.

Go sharpen those pencils and have a great first day!