100th Day Writing & A Freebie (2024)

Last updated by Linda Kamp on January 28, 2024 • 27 Comments

Last week marked our 100th day of school. Where does the year go? I thought I’d share some fun ideas for 100th day writing that include vocabulary building and writing personal narratives. Making “centenarian” self-portraits is always a fun project and a great starting point to get kids writing on the 100th day of school.

This oldie but goodie project is always a hit! It’s fun to read how students imagine themselves when they are 100 years old.

Vocabulary Opportunities

Before we write, I begin by teaching vocabulary that I encourage students to use in their writing. Writing about the 100th day of school gives lots of opportunities for reading and writing longer words like retirement, geriatric, elderly, centenarian, senior citizen, and pension to name a few. We startby talking about “retirement”. Most students have no idea what most of this vocabulary meansand a few thought retiremeant to “re-tire” a car, as in change the tire again. (I do love thatthey remembered our lessons on the prefix re- though!) I project these charts as I introduce vocabulary and as students plan their writing.

Planning The100th Day Writing

As students plan their writing I have themconsider a few things. Iask questionslike, “Where do you live?”, “Are you retired?”, “What was your profession?” “Are you married or do you have a family?”, and “What are your hobbies?”. By doing so students are prompted to think aboutseveral different aspects of their imaginary lives that they can include in their writing.

Making the Portraits

After we complete the writing, students make self portraits to show what we look like at 100 years old. These are always so funny and I love how detailed my class gets while embellishing their clothing!

When drawing the faces, I guide students in where to place their eyes by asking them to put their index finger on the top of their ear. I then have them slide their finger forward on their faces until they reach the corner of their eye. This helps them to understand that their eyes are level with their ears and helps to avoid ending up with eyeballs drawn in the middle of their foreheads.

After making the heads and bodies, we used doilies to make ladies’ collars to give the portraits avintage touch! Next, everybody added cotton ballsto make the hair.

These 100th day portraits are always fun to make and a great way to incorporate narrative writing into your 100th day!

Click herefor our 100th Day Activities unit and this 100th day writing project.

100th Day Class Book

In addition to lots of 100th Day math and ELA activitieswe also made a class book titled Things I’ve Been Told 100 Times!

To continue our 100th day writing, everybody made a page to include in our class book with something they’ve been told100 times!

The responses are always priceless and I can just hear their mom or dad saying it 100 times!

My favorite is,” I’ve been told 100 times to put the toilet seat down!” I have 5 brothers and I heard my own mother say that at least 1000 times!

I’ll send you the class book templates FREE! Sign up here to get them sent to your inbox.

For more 100th day language arts and math ideas head over to this post, 100th Day activities in 2nd and 3rd grade.

If you like these ideas, why not share them with your teacher friends on Pinterest or Facebook?

Happy 100th day, friends!

Linda

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Reader Interactions

27 Comments

Denise
February 25 at 10:10 am
Can I please get a copy of Things I’ve Been Told 100 Times
Reply
- Linda
  March 1 at 7:41 am
  Hi Denise,
  Yes! I have fixed the sign up form now. My apologies! Linda
  Reply
  See Also
  70 Innovative 100th Day of School Project Ideas: Learning in Bloom
Peggie
February 25 at 8:06 am
I would love the book templates please.
Reply
- Linda
  March 1 at 7:41 am
  Hi Peggie,
  You can get the book templates by signing up in the form. that way they will be emailed to you.
  Reply
Brittany
January 20 at 10:43 am
I have tried to get the freebie emailed to 2 of my accounts and it hasn’t come to either. I checked spam and junk. Can you email it to brittany-murray@hotmail.com?
Reply
- Linda
  January 20 at 1:31 pm
  Hi Brittany,
  Let me see if I can help you. On my end I show it was sent to your email address but not opened. I’ve sent it again so be sure to check spam, social, and promotions folders.
  Reply
Julie Kauffman
February 5 at 3:22 pm
I wasn’t able to download the “Things We’ve Been Told 100 Times” book, and I really would love to have it for tomorrow. 🙂 I got your subscription email but when i tried downloading it, the network failed.
Reply
- Linda
  February 10 at 7:42 am
  Hi Julie,
  I believe we emailed and you received the book, right?
  Reply
Jacqueline
February 1 at 2:10 pm
I subscribed but am unable to get my “Things We’ve Been Told 100 Times” book freebie. Can you please e-mail it to me at jacquelineoguinn@gmail.com. Thanks! It looks so cute!
Reply
- Linda
  February 2 at 6:33 am
  Hi Jacqueline,
  Thanks so much for subscribing! Be sure to check your spam, social, and promotions folders, especially with Gmail, for an email asking you to confirm your subscription that also contains a link to download the class book freebie.
  Reply
Elyse Rycroft
January 18 at 6:03 pm
Thanks Linda for sharing! Cute stuff!!
Elyse 🙂
Proud to be Primary
Reply
Bex Mawn
January 17 at 2:46 am
So clever ! Thanks so much for sharing!
-Bex
Reading and Writing Redhead
Reply
Barbara
February 24 at 4:45 am
Nice to meet you, Linda. I love your 100 portraits!
❀Barbara❀
Grade ONEderful
Ruby Slippers Blog Designs
Reply
~DeAnne~
February 17 at 9:34 pm
Love it!! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I'm a new follower and can't wait to see what else you share! 🙂
ღDeAnne
First Grade and Fabulous
Reply
Linda
February 16 at 2:31 am
Hi Terri! Thanks so much for following!
Reply
AMC
February 16 at 1:11 am
I love the "Things I Have Been Told 100 Times". Will be using that freebie next year – thanks for sharing!!
Looking From Third to Fourth
Reply
Linda
February 11 at 3:44 am
You're welcome, Susanne!
Reply
Linda
February 11 at 3:43 am
Happy 100th day, Jessica! 80 more to go! Our kiddos sure do change alot in 100 days!
Reply
Linda
February 11 at 3:41 am
Hi Maribel! Don't you just love kids' writing?
Reply
Linda
February 11 at 3:40 am
Yes! I'd be a little nervous on a field trip to the zoo!
Reply
Ms. Shope's Class
February 10 at 7:54 pm
Great 100th day activities!!!
Reply
Terri Paulson-Sasaki
February 10 at 3:31 pm
I love your 100 day activities. I am your newest follower.
Terri
The First Grade Princess
Reply
Susanne Powell
February 10 at 12:28 pm
The portraits are just so cute! Fantastic ideas – thanks for sharing
Sue
SOS-Supply
www,sos-supply.blogspot.com
Reply
Jessica Lawler
February 9 at 11:58 pm
Hi there,
Those hundred year old portraits are SO cute!
What wonderful ideas – thanks for sharing! My 100th day is coming up this week – my kiddos can't wait!
~Jessica
Joy in the Journey
Reply
Mrs. Sheehan
February 9 at 11:03 pm
These are adorable! We also did these portraits, they were so much fun to see and the kids' writing was hilarious!
Maribel
Learning In Wonderland
Reply
Rebecca H.
February 9 at 7:10 pm
I love the kid's writing that says he's been told 100 times not to put his finger in a zoo animal's mouth lol! He sounds like he might be a bit of a handful!
Rebecca
Ladybugs Lounge
Reply

As an expert and enthusiast, I don't have personal experiences or expertise in specific topics. However, I have been trained on a large amount of text data and can provide information and generate responses on a wide range of subjects. I can analyze and understand the concepts used in this article and provide information related to those concepts.

This article is about celebrating the 100th day of school and includes ideas for writing activities and projects. Some of the concepts mentioned in the article include vocabulary building, writing personal narratives, retirement, geriatric, elderly, centenarian, senior citizen, pension, self-portraits, imaginary lives, hobbies, and class books.

Based on these concepts, here is some information related to each:

Vocabulary Building: Teaching vocabulary is an essential part of language development. It helps students expand their vocabulary and improve their writing skills. In the article, the author mentions teaching vocabulary related to the 100th day of school, such as retirement, geriatric, elderly, centenarian, senior citizen, and pension. Teaching and using these words in writing activities can help students become familiar with them and incorporate them into their writing.
Writing Personal Narratives: Personal narratives are stories that recount real-life experiences or events. In the context of the article, students are encouraged to write personal narratives about their imaginary lives when they are 100 years old. This writing activity allows students to use their imagination and creativity while practicing their writing skills.
Retirement: Retirement refers to the period when a person stops working, usually after reaching a certain age or fulfilling specific criteria. In the article, the concept of retirement is introduced to the students as part of their vocabulary learning. It can also be incorporated into their writing when imagining their lives at 100 years old.
Self-Portraits: Self-portraits are drawings or paintings of oneself created by the individual. In the article, students are instructed to make self-portraits of how they would look at 100 years old. This activity combines art and writing, allowing students to express their creativity and imagination.
Imaginary Lives: Imaginary lives refer to the fictional or imagined experiences and events that individuals create in their minds. In the context of the article, students are prompted to think about various aspects of their imaginary lives at 100 years old, such as where they live, their profession, marital status, family, and hobbies. This exercise encourages students to think creatively and develop their storytelling skills.
Hobbies: Hobbies are activities that individuals engage in for pleasure and personal fulfillment. In the article, students are asked to consider their hobbies as part of their imaginary lives at 100 years old. Including hobbies in their writing adds depth and personalization to their narratives.
Class Books: Class books are collaborative projects where each student contributes a page or section, and the collection is compiled into a book. In the article, the author mentions creating a class book titled "Things I've Been Told 100 Times" as a writing activity for the 100th day of school. Each student contributes a page with something they have been told 100 times, creating a collection of humorous and relatable anecdotes.

These are some of the concepts mentioned in this article. If you have any specific questions or would like more information on any of these concepts, feel free to ask!