Cultivating a positive classroom community is such an important part of teaching, and I’ve learned that little things go a long way. One of the ways to help build our students up is to help them see themselves (and their classmates) in a positive light. One of the ways I did that this week was by doing an activity all about “The Best Part of Me.”

A constant source of inspiration for me is my dear friend named Vittoria. When I visited her classroom a while back (we teach at different schools), I saw her students’ adorable “Best Part of Me” pictures and writings. I knew I had to do it with my students, and I have been doing this each year with my grade one students because I find it so impactful!

“The Best Part of Me” is a book by Wendy Ewald. Wendy is an award-winning photographer who asked several children “What is the best part of you?” She presents their answers in this funny, moving, deeply personal book that includes black-and-white photographs taken by her. This book is ideal for parents and teacher to use to discuss body image, self-esteem, and diversity with children.

I love the idea of the book and that the author went into 3rd-5th grade classrooms and the pictures were great inspirations for my  grade one students to start thinking about the best part of them and to understand what their final product was going to look like. The students thoroughly enjoyed the story and were eager to dive into their own task!

This task really did go through the entire writing process: brainstorming, rough draft, editing, final copy. It is so important for students to follow this process because it teaches them the importance of following a process to achieve their learning goals.

Scroll through and take a look at their beautiful, thought filled pieces! The students who are still away will complete one when they return.

Grade 1B class (2023-2024)