When I Was Little
A Four-Year-Old’s Memoir of Her Youth
0-06-021078-8

Jamie Lee Curtis captures a little girl’s simple, childlike celebration of herself, as she looks back on her childhood from the lofty heights of four and a half years. This spirited view of growing up is the perfect backdrop to explore personal identity.

A Map of Me

Have children fill out a sheet showing where they were born, live now, and want to live in the future. Compile the information and copy off state or neighborhood maps showing where they were born. Have the students refer to an atlas or street map and ask them to color the place where they were born. A class map can be created to show where many of the students were born.

Arms Are for Hugging

Have students draw a self-portrait from head to toe. Then have them draw lines from the different body parts and write the function of each, conveying both physical and emotional elements. For example, a mouth is for eating and talking, but it is also for smiling. The heart is for pumping blood, but it also stores love. Arms help hold things, and they are also for hugging!

Past, Present, Future

Distribute three pieces of paper to students. Ask them to draw pictures of themselves on each of the pieces of paper: one as a baby, one in present-day, and one twenty years into the future. Have them write an autobiographical paragraph for each picture. After a day of sharing stories, bind the books for each student to take home.

Baby Book

Create mocked-up sheets of a baby book and distribute them to students. The children can then complete it at home with their parents or caregiver. This can be expanded to include the present year at school and involve academic and personal achievements (‘The first story I read on my own was . . . ’, ‘The first time I made it to the top of the jungle gym was’ . . . etc.) Hold a Celebrate Me Day and students can take turns reading from their baby book. Surprise students by bringing in your own baby book!

Teaching ideas prepared by Mary Moriarty, teacher Mahopac Central Schools, Mahopac, NY