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Growth

"At the beginning of school, I take pictures of my students and measure them. They draw a picture of themselves, record the date, and copy a sentence about how tall they are. I display the pictures for open house. We have a height chart near the door so students can compare themselves to their September height throughout the year. At the end of school, I measure the children again. They draw a new picture and write a comparison of their earlier height to their present height. Besides their physical growth, they notice their cognitive growth in penmanship and drawing from the beginning of the year. Many parents have thanked me for this keepsake."
Submitted by: Roxie Ross , a first grade teacher at Napier Elementary School in Nashville, Tennessee. This tip was published in the NEA's Weekly "Works4Me" Email list.