In Abuela’s Special
Letters, the irrepressible Sofia Martinez decides that her whole family,
including her cousins and grandmother, should make a time capsule.
“So we can have fun in the future by looking at our past,”
Sofia explains.
Time capsules are a creative way for young writers to
capture the present and dream about the future. Read Abuela’s Secret Letters from the Sofia Martinez series with your students. Discuss how each child in
the story wrote a one word description of themselves. Sofia called herself “curious.”
What word would your students choose to describe themselves and why?
Ask your students to create a personal time capsule. This
could be an end-of-the-year activity in which students reflect on the school
year coming to a close and what they hope next year will bring. Time capsules
are also a great way to start off in September with students writing down their
predictions for the school year. Either way, ask you students to include answers
to all or some of the following:
Favorite activity
Favorite food, song, color, TV show, game, etc.
Favorite School Subject
Favorite School Memory
Favorite Family Memory
Hopes for the Future
Three Personal Items & Why They Represent Who I Am Right
Now
The Best Thing That Happened This Year
The Worst Thing That Happened This Year
What Makes Me Laugh
What Makes Me Cry
Places I Hope to See One Day
Time capsules can also be used to add writing to your social
studies curriculum. Can your class make a time capsule for a historical figure
like Benjamin Franklin or George Washington Carver? Could they make a time
capsule for the Jamestown colony or Plymouth Rock? Time capsules provide many
opportunities for imaginative learning and writing. No time capsule is complete
without letters explaining the purpose of the objects included and other
background information. Time capsules are also a great discussion starter for
why it is important to preserve history. Your students could do research on
time capsules and report on their findings. What did city officials bury in the
cornerstone of important buildings? Do you agree with their choices? What items
would you choose to represent your city?
And once students have finished their time capsules, they
will enjoy decorating them. Creative learning is so much fun!
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