Picture Me

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Think about their lives and what makes them who they are.
  
• Find pictures on the computer to represent their lives and make a collage.
  
• Share their collage and tell their story.

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Materials

For the whole group:

• Picture book about being who you are such as I Like Me by Karen Beaumont, Marvelous Me: Inside and Out by Lisa Marie Bullard, or Incredible Me! by Kathi Appelt
• Printer
• Computer paper

For each student:

• Lined paper
• Pencil
• Computer or tablet with internet access
• Program to create a collage such as PowerPoint or Google Slides

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Preparation

• Read through and familiarize yourself with the entire activity.
• Gather all needed materials.
• Decide which picture book to read about being who you are. Read through and familiarize yourself with the book.
• Decide which computer program the children will use to make their collage and what sources they will use to find their pictures, such as Google Images.
• Go through the steps of adding photos to a collage in the program of your choice to be able to explain it to the children.

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Activity Steps

1. Have children imagine that they are sitting at lunch with a child who is new to their school. Say: “This child leans over and asks you to tell him or her about your life.” Ask the children to tell you what types of things they would say.
2. Tell the children that today they will be discussing their own lives and what makes them who they are. They will make a collage about themselves to show their lives to others.
3. Tell children that to get their minds thinking about all the great things that make them who they are, they will be listening to a story. Read the book of your choice.
4. Hand out a piece of lined paper and a pencil to each child. Tell them to think about their lives and make a list of what makes them who they are. Ask: “What would you like others to know about you?”
5. Circulate around the room and help as needed. Children who cannot write independently may draw their ideas.
6. When the children have finished making their list, have them each log on to a computer or tablet. Have them open the program of your choice to make a collage. Walk them through the steps of doing these things as needed.
7. Explain to the children that they are going to be making a collage of photos that represent them and their lives. The list that they just created will help lead their hunt for pictures. Give a few examples such as these:
   
   • If you really enjoy camping, you could look for a picture of a tent.
   • If you went on a special trip somewhere, look for a picture of that place.
   • If your favorite sport is football, look for a picture of a football.
8. Have the children look for their first picture using Google Images or another image bank of your choice. Circulate around the room and help as needed.
9. Once everyone has found their first image, walk them through the steps of adding it to their collage program.
10. Once the children understand how to add a picture to their collage, have them continue to find pictures and add them to their collage until they feel they are complete and show who they are, or until time runs out.
11. When the children have finished their collages, print them out.
12. Break the children into small groups. Ask the children to share their collages with their group and explain the pictures they chose.
13. When all of the children have finished sharing their collages, gather the whole group back together. Lead a discussion using the following questions. Ask:
    
    • Was there anything new that you learned about a fellow classmate? What was it?
    • Is there someone you know that has a particularly interesting life story? Who is it, and why do you find it so interesting?
    • Why do you think sharing who we are and telling our stories is important?
    • How do pictures help us share our lives and who we are?

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Variations

1. Have children bring in photos from their lives to add to their collages either digitally or with glue.
2. Have children display their collages to share with the whole group.
3. Provide print materials, paper, and glue so children can make their collages on paper.

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