Try this game with your Grades 3 - 5 children
Photographer Rick Smolan has published a series of books called A Day in the Life....showing 24 hours in the life of an astronaut, a country, a state. Now it's your child's turn to create a similar book. Buy your child a disposable camera. Show her/him one of the Smolan books and explain the concept. Then talk about documenting one day in your child's life (or her pet's or sister's or friend's or whomever he/she wants). Start the day by photographing your child asleep just before you wake him/her. Then let him/her take a photo every hour of the entire day. (Mom, a timer set to an hour will help you remember). Finish by taking a last shot of him/her asleep. When the photos come back from the developer, paste each one on construction paper. Help your child write the details that explain each picture - why he/she picked the subject, why it is important of his/her day, and who was nearby buy not shown. Make a title page by writing "A Day in the life of [your child]," with the date she photographed. Punch three holes in the left margin and tie the pages together with yarn or dental floss. Keep the book forever, and show it to everyone. Talking about your child's ideas is a crucial part of writing. It helps your reluctant writer capture those elusive details that sometimes scramble in his/her bran.
