
One excellent group activity involves drawing an anchor chart with a giant jar.

The Name Jar is an excellent book to utilize at the beginning of the year as part of an “All About Me” unit. Elementary teachers can task students with delving deeply into what makes them, them through these unique prompt ideas, group activities, and other extension lessons. Beyond literacy-specific lesson plans that encourage different responses to literature, this story naturally lends itself to social-emotional learning lessons and explorations of your students’ own personalities and self-concepts. What’s in a name? Yangsook Choi’s book about Korean-born Unhei and her journey to valuing her name is an amazing read-aloud for your elementary class.
