Gr.3-Most Valuable Player

To help build community in my classroom, I have students take turns being our "MVP of the Week." It’s a great way for students in the class to learn more about each other and each other's families. Being the MVP student is more than just holding the title for the week.  The MVP is given custom privileges and opportunities to celebrate how special they are.

Monday: The weekend before a student is the MVP of the Week, a small photo album will be sent home with the child. Students have the weekend to collect special photos of their choice to display on our MVP of the Week bulletin board.

Tuesday: The MVP student brings one of his or her favorite picture books to read to the class (or have the teacher read to the class) at our Drop Everything and Read time. I encourage students to practice reading the story aloud at home first.

Wednesday: Parents are asked to write a letter to the class about their child. They send the letter in a sealed envelope to school with their child, and I read the letter to the class at morning meeting. The content of the letter is up to the parents, but I give them the following ideas:

Describe a special or funny story about your child for the class to hear.

Tell us some interesting things we may not know about your child.

Tell us how much your child weighed as a baby, did they have hair, did they cry a lot, etc.

Parents are also given the option of sending in a video of their child at a special event: learning to ride a bike, first time ice-skating, singing and dancing, and playing soccer are just a few ideas that the class would love to watch.

Thursday: Parents are invited to join their child in the cafeteria for a special lunch on this day. If parents are unable to make it during our lunch period, I plan a special lunch for the student instead.

Friday: The MVP student is presented with a friendship poster created by his or her classmates. The poster will include the MVP’s picture, surrounded by compliments written by his or her classmates.

I use these two sided colored sticks to keep track of who has been chosen for our MVP of the week.