Our Friend Reports- more than just writing

One day, a concerned fourth grade student shyly approached me and explained that she had been in a big fight with a good friend and did not know what to do. After speaking with this student, I began to notice the tension that was dividing the class. In a class that consists of six students (on  a good day) there is no room for animosity between peers. So, I decided to design a project to help students explore what makes a good friend, and hopefully bring a sense of cohesion back to the class. 

Before designing the project, I reviewed the class four government curriculum standards. Learning adjectives (describing words) is emphasized in the curriculum. Writing simple paragraphs is included as well. Reflecting upon my student's learning styles, I recognized that the class consists primarily of visual learners--students who learn fluidly through the use of pictures and visual aids. Thus, the idea of "friend reports" came to mind. I designed the week-long project to include an intensive study of adjectives and vocabulary words that are used to describe "good friends" and "bad friends." Subsequently, through guided writing, students reviewed what makes a sentence. This served as a transition into studying what makes a paragraph.  Once this was understood, each student wrote and illustrated their own unique "friend report" showcasing their new knowledge of adjectives, paragraph writing, and their respect for a friend/classmate. Check out the process through pictures below: 

Students use post-it notes to categorize adjectives that describe "good friends" and "bad friends" 

Girls practice their teamwork skills by working with partners 

Bad friends are "greedy"! 

The two girls who were fighting worked together as partners 

Bad friends are "rude" 

I made an example of a friend report about one of my friends to show the students what I expected them to do. 

Lisa is also a Fulbright ETA and is a good friend of mine! 

Students diligently write their rough drafts. 

I gave students guiding questions for each paragraph to frame their writing like:
1. What is your friend's name?
2. How old is your friend?
3. What grade does your friend study in?
4. What are two positive adjectives that describe your friend? 

After the students were able to write the answers to the questions, they re-wrote the answers (without the questions) to create a simple paragraph. 

For three days, each student wrote a new paragraph each day, following the same guided writing process 

Students worked very hard

The students were very focused on their work

After finishing their rough drafts (and correcting all mistakes) students were given nice paper and colored pens for their final drafts 

Purnima carefully designs her cover page 

The students are in the focused zone! 

I could hear the goats in the field while the students worked 

Purnima's portrait of Sumitra 

Sarsworti's portrait of Sangita 

"Look, it's you!" 

Students are excited to show and share their work! 

(and...our next unit will review capital and lower case letters...) 

The final draft! 

Sumitra smiles as Purnima shares her friend report with the class 

We CAN draw! 

We CAN read! 

We CAN write! 

We CAN smile!