If She Only Knew Me written by Jeff Gray and Heather Thomas

At the start of the year I read my students the book, If She Only Knew Me written by Jeff Gray and Heather Thomas. It is a candid story told in the voice of a young boy that could very well be any student in my classroom. He makes several statements such as, “ If she only....If she only knew that I had to get my little brother up and ready for school this morning, she wouldn’t have fussed at me for being a few minutes late.” Throughout the story this child, no older than 10 years old, explains why he does certain things or needs certain things from his teacher...”If she only knew...If she only knew how much I love to draw, she would make me the class poster maker. Instead, she doesn’t let me because my handwriting isn’t so great.” After reading the story to my class, I had my students share one thing on an index card with me that they felt I should know in order to help them find success in our class. This was a community building activity that really helped me to get to know my students. It was a beautiful learning experience. Now that the school year is coming to the end, I will give them back their index card and share 2-3 things that I have learned and enjoyed the most about them during the school year.