Give Yourself a Hand!

As usual, I have gotten inspiration from one of the Two Writing Teachers.  This time, the idea comes from Ruth's (relatively) new blog, Ruth Ayres Writes.  I have never heard of hand maps!  Ruth originally learned about it from Penny Kittle and Donal Graves, in their book, Inside Writing. (Isn't technology amazing?  Ideas are everywhere, just waiting to be unearthed.)  Your students can trace their hands and then list all of the things they do with their hands, and/or things that they have touched.  Great idea for the beginning of school, when we are mining for ideas with our students. 

Below is an example of my hand map.  I look at what I wrote and so many stories come to mind.  I look at my rings, and think of the story of how my husband proposed to me.  I see my Nana's ring, and fond memories instantly come to mind of times we spent  with my grandparents. It is so interesting the way one story leads to another and another...



My Hand Map