How I Spent My Summer Vacation
Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources
This page contains How I Spent My Summer Vacation
lesson plans, teaching resources, and a fun student project.
How I Spent My Summer Vacation, written and illustrated by Mark Teague, is a
great book to read to your students at the beginning of the year to inspire
them to write about their own summer holidays and to use their imaginations.
This story is about Wallace Bleff and his oral report on the classic topic:
How I Spent My Summer Vacation.
During his summer vacation, Wallace's parents send him out west to visit his Aunt Fern.
Wallace's parents tell him, "Your imagination is getting too wild. It will do you some good
to relax for a while."
It won't take long for your students to realize that Wallace still has a
wild imagination as he tells his class all about his adventures when he
is captured by cowboys. This exaggerated summer tale is told through rhyming
sentences and the art work is done in warm acrylics.
On this page you will find a unique project that I have created
specifically to go along with this delightful back to school picture book.
How I Spent My Summer Vacation Lesson Plans:
Suitcase Shaped Writing Templates
This five page banner is included for free in this set of back to school teaching resources.
How I Spent My Summer Vacation Lesson Plans
Author: Mark Teague
These lesson plans will be emailed to you and then you can download them instantly.
Print as many copies as you want! Save and reuse forever!
Since this book is about Wallace Bleff's "vacation," I have
designed suitcase shaped writing templates for this back to school read
aloud book.
Most suitcases now a days are not carried. Instead, they
have wheels on the bottom and you pull them using their handle. I have
designed my suitcase templates in this fashion.
I have not chosen a writing topic for this assignment because I wanted
teachers to be able to use these templates for a variety of different writing ideas.
Some ideas for creative writing topics that would be appropriate for these suitcase templates are:
-
students write about their recent summer vacation (facts) - students write about their summer vacation, but use their imaginations to add exciting characters and adventures (facts + fiction)
- students write about an imaginary summer vacation (fiction)
- students write a summary about the book
Since I am also a teacher, I understand that teachers often need to change
or adapt a resource that we find to meet our own needs. I have provided 2
different versions of these suitcase templates in order to help you select
the version that would best suit your own needs.
Suitcase Templates #1:
The first set of suitcase resources contains two templates: a handle and a suitcase.
Below is an example of the first draft worksheet for the first suicase template.
First Draft Worksheet Suitcase Template #1
This assignment will not take your students very long to complete.
The suitcase templates are on 2 worksheets, have thick borders,
and they are easy for your students to cut out and assemble together
on their own.
These suitcase templates measure 7 inches in width and 13 inches in height.
This creative writing assignment based on How I
Spent My Summer Vacation by Mark Teague will provide you with student work samples
that you can post on your bulletin board during the first week of school.
You can use the matching bulletin board banner and additional suitcase
accent pieces that are included in this set of teaching resources to help you quickly assemble
a colorful and eye catching bulletin board display during the first week of school.
Below is an example of the first suitcase template.
Suitcase #1: Handle and Suitcase Templates
they glue them together to look like the example shown below.
There are 7 colorful suitcase templates in this set of
How I Spent My Summer Vacation teaching resources:
brown, blue, orange, green, red, pink, and purple.
Suitcase Templates #2:
This set of teaching resources contains 3 templates and the two suitcase templates are stapled
together at the top to make a flip book. The handle is glued behind this booklet.
Below is an example of the first draft worksheets for the second set of suitcase
teaching resources, which has space for students to write longer stories. The line
spaces on the first draft worksheets match the line spaces on the final draft suitcase templates.
First Draft Worksheet Suitcase Template Set #2
The second set of suitcase templates contains 3 templates: handle, front of
suitcase, and the back of the suitcase.
After your students have cut out these 3 pieces, they should staple the two
suitcase templates together along the top to form a flip book. The handle
is glued on the back of the flip book.
The handle template is not shown in the examples below,
but it is the same size and shape as shown in the examples above.
Suitcase #2: These two suitcase templates are stapled together at the top to form
a flip book. The handle of the suitcase is not shown in this example to save space.
I know that it takes teachers a lot of valuable time to assemble their classroom and hallway bulletin
board displays.
Many teachers spend hours of time cutting out large display
letters or making a banner on their own at home on their computers.
This time is valuable and better spent on developing your classroom curriculum,
so I have designed a matching 5 page banner for your bulletin board display.
If you have access to a laminating machine, you can laminate this banner so
that it is more durable and you can use it year after year for bulletin board
displays of these How I Spent My Summer Vacation suitcase projects.
This five page banner is included for free in this set of back to school teaching resources.
To help you decorate your bulletin board display with a suitcase theme,
I have included 4 suitcase accent pieces in this set of teaching resources.
How I Spent My Summer Vacation Lesson Plans: Suitcase Accent Pieces
How I Spent My Summer Vacation Lesson Plans
Author: Mark Teague
These lesson plans will be emailed to you and then you can download them instantly.
Print as many copies as you want! Save and reuse forever!
RELATED TEACHING RESOURCES SET:
Cell Phone Templates:
Students Write a Text Message and
Draw a Picture About Their Summer Vacations
Provide your students with an engaging and fun way for them
to write about what they did during their summer vacations
with these unique cell phone text message templates.
Click on the link below to go the page where this
set of Back to School teaching resources is found:
Go To: My Summer Vacation Text Messages Cell Phone Templates
Click on the links below to view teaching resources
that I have created for these popular picture books.
Teaching Resources and Lesson Plans For Picture Books
the Beginning of the School Year
- Amelia Bedelia First Day of School Lesson Plans by Herman Parish
- Enormous Crocodile Lesson Plans by Roald Dahl
(Read this book on Roald Dahl's birthday: September 13) - First Day Hooray Lesson Plans by Nancy Poydar
- First Day Jitters Lesson Plans by Julie Danneberg
- The Giving Tree Lesson Plans by Shel Silverstein
- How I Spent My Summer Vacation Lesson Plans by Mark Teague
- The Way To Start A Day Lesson Plans by Byrd Baylor (Caldecott Honor winning book)
Alphabetical List of Book Titles:
Click on the links below to view the teaching resources that
I have created for these popular novels and picture books.
- Amelia Bedelia First Day of School Lesson Plans by Herman Parish
-
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Lesson Plans Page 1
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Lesson Plans Page 2
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
(1953 Newbery Honor winning book)- A Christmas Carol Lesson Plans by Charles Dickens
- The Enormous Crocodile Lesson Plans by Roald Dahl
- Esio Trot Lesson Plans by Roald Dahl
- First Day Hooray Lesson Plans by Nancy Poydar
- First Day Jitters Lesson Plans by Julie Danneberg
- The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me Lesson Plans by Roald Dahl
- The Giving Tree Lesson Plans by Shel Silverstein
- How I Spent My Summer Vacation Lesson Plans by Mark Teague
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas Lesson Plans by Dr. Seuss
Shiloh Lesson Plans by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
(1992 Newbery Medal winning book)- Stellaluna Lesson Plans by Janell Cannon
- Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving Lesson Plans by Dav Pilkey
- The Way to Start a Day Lesson Plans by Byrd Baylor
(Caldecott Honor winning book) - The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman
(1987 Newbery Medal winning book)
The Whipping Boy Lesson Plans Page 1
The Whipping Boy Teaching Resources Page 2
The Whipping Boy Student Projects Page 3
Thank you for visiting my
How I Spent My Summer Vacation Lesson Plans by Mark Teague page.
Please be sure to check out the other pages on Unique
Teaching Resources for a large variety of fun lesson plan activities
that will engage your students in learning and save you valuable time.
Sincerely, Heidi McDonald
Creator and Site Manager
Unique Teaching Resources
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How I Spent My Summer Vacation Lesson Plans Page
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I'm writing to tell you that my students just finished the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory group projects. They worked so hard, and the Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory projects turned out great! We had them to show for student led conferences. The parents were very impressed, and so were many of the other teachers and my principal. They all commented on my students' work and your creative templates. My students had so much fun doing these projects. I also used the multiplication pizza sticker charts. My students loved those as well!! Thank you so much for all of your amazing products.
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