All About Me Paper Bag Booklets: A DIY Tutorial and Freebie

Hi there! I'm Shelly Rees from Appletastic: Blossoming in Fifth Grade. Looking for a creative way to better know who your students are, but you don't want something that takes a ton of prep work and materials?  Then try making these sweet All About Me Paper Bag Booklets!

For each student, you will need:

• 3 brown paper lunch bags
• 3 pieces of ribbon (each piece about 3 inches long)
• 6 squares colored construction or cardstock paper (about 4 1/2 inches x 4 1/2 inches)
• glue stick
• scissors
• hole punch
• copies of All About Me template (Get the FREE download HERE.)

First, place the 3 paper bags in alternating directions. The bottom flaps should be face up. Then fold each bag in half, keeping them in alternating directions.

Next, place the bags on top of each other, keeping them in alternating order. Fold in half and punch 3 holes (you can use 5 if you prefer) along the folded edge.

 Thread ribbon pieces through the punched holes and tie with a double knot.

Then, cut out the 6 template pieces for the booklet. The free download has black and white pieces for the inside pages. It also has colored pieces for the cover, if you want to print in color. The download is editable, so you can type in your students' names in your favorite font. You can also have them write their own name in marker, if you want to go that route.

 After all the pieces are cut out, adhere them to the colored cardstock paper, and then glue them to the pages. (You can glue down the flaps from the bottoms of the bags before placing the cardstock square over it.) Each inside double page spread will have one page with a labeled cardstock piece and one blank paper bag page.

When the book is all assembled, have students draw, color, add embellishments, make lists, add pictures, create collages, and make the project their own individual expression of who they are. The pages with open ends of the bags can be used to hold extra items, such as photos and memorabilia. If students do this, they may want to secure those pages closed with paper clips or brads when the booklet is not in use.

After all booklets are finished, have students take turn sharing their creations with the rest of the class!

If you're looking for some more wonderful freebies, check out the FREE section of my TpT Store!
Here is one to get you started:

Manners Poster Freebie

You might also like my Back to School First Week Survival Packet!  Print and go!

Happy Teaching!

Shelly Rees

Lapbook Learning

Have you ever tried using lapbooks as a way to help your students learn new material?  Last year was my first time giving them a try and I am sold on the benefits of lapbooks.  

As you can see I love making them and one of my coworkers even refers to me as the "Lapbook Lady".  

What are some of the benefits?

1.  One of the main benefits I have found from using lapbooks is that they easily allow for differentiated instruction.  So many of the fold-its are open ended activities that allow students to show what they know and work to the best of their ability.  You may have one student who will write only a few words or sentences on a topic, while another student will write many sentences and even include diagrams.  What I really like is that all students can work on the same fold-it and no one stands out. 

Weather Lapbook

2.  Another benefit of lapbooks is that they keep all materials together in one place.  Before using lapbooks I often had many handouts and booklets that I would copy for my students to use.  I found that many of my students would lose their sheets and then spent time looking for them which would often delay the start of our class.  The lapbooks because they are bigger are much easier for students to find.  I always make them on legal size file folders so that are longer than most other materials in their desks.  I usually collect in the lapbooks and store them at the front of the class in a plastic container so they are even quicker to pass out.  For me using lapbooks has been a real instructional time saver.

Fraction File

3.  In addition, lapbooks are a great reference tool for students.  In my math class, I like to use a math workshop model and I have found that in order for students to be able to complete work independently at their desks while I am working with a small group they benefit from having some sort of reference tool.  This is where having access to their lapbook on a particular topic saves the day.  I find that instead of students approaching me to ask a question they can look for the answer in their lapbook.

What's The Matter?

4.  Lapbooks are very parent friendly.  This was an added benefit I discovered from using lapbooks in my classroom.  Parents found them helpful when studying with their children.  They felt that all important concepts and definitions were easily located in one place.  At parent teacher conferences I had many parents say how it helped them to know exactly what their child was learning about in school.  Not only have lapbooks helped my students prepare for upcoming unit assessments but I have also been able to use them as a piece of assessment for my own records. 

Also, many parents commented on how great they thought the lapbooks were as a keepsake for their child.  I know on curriculum night my students were so proud of their finished lapbooks and parents loved that they got to take them home. 

End of Year  Memory Lapbook

5.  The final benefit would have to be that lapbooks make learning fun.  I find my students are so much more engaged in their learning since I started using lapbooks.  Making the lapbooks is a hands on activity that is great for the kinesthetic learner.

Why not give give them a try!  You can find some of the ones I created here.  I would love to hear about your experiences with using lapbooks.