Activities & Ideas: The Twins by John Wallace

The Twins (ages 4-9) have to do a school project.  Lil’s project is called “All About Me.”   Rather than coming up with her own project, her sister Nelly “adds” to Lil’s by listing and drawing her own interests.  The mid-section of the book is a side-by-side comparison of the two girls’ likes, dislikes, and aspirations.  In the end, they also realize that working together (even when you do not intend to) can be a positive experience. 

It inspired me to make a similar project with my two kids (who are not twins).  It could be done with best friends, classmates, or family members.   It is a great way to celebrate the uniqueness of each person and allow students to express themselves.   Both my fourth grader and my eighth grader enjoyed the project.  The project does not need to be a comparison.  It can just be a fun way for students to express themselves.   

We used computer clip art, but students could draw pictures, cut out pictures from magazines, or take photographs with a camera.  One of the advantages of the computer is that I am able to print out multiple books.  I made one for me and one for each child.  If you plan to use clip art, use a software program or an adult should oversee the searches.  Even with safe search, I came across some less than desirable pictures.  Also, I put in “clip art” after each search description which did reduce the number of photographs.

If you complete this project, please let me know via email, post a comment, or send pictures.  I’d love to see the results!

Free Teacher Resources Included:  A Graphic Organizer for student brainstorming.  Project Sample 1 is an idea on how to do this project on the computer but have space for drawing pictures by hand.  Project Sample 2 shows an example of this idea with computer clip art.  Finally, here is a blank sample booklet that could be downloaded and used to do it all by hand.