Review: My Pet Monster Craftivity on Teachers Pay Teachers

The My Pet Monster craftivity is a free download available on Teachers Pay Teachers. The crafty learning activity is a combination of writing assignment and craft project, hence the name “craftivity.” Students are given cut-out worksheets to create their own pet monster for the craft portion of the activity, and the learning portion offers a creative writing assignment with different options that can be tailored to a student or classroom’s interests or writing level. The activity packet is targeted to students in first through fourth grades.

The writing activity has a worksheet with a writing prompt, a brief list of possible adjectives for students to consider when describing their monster, and space for young handwriting to capture all the important details. The task of describing their new monster pet encourages students to use their imagination to assign attributes and interests. Instructions for the teacher also suggest that students write an open-ended paragraph describing their monster rather than using the prepared worksheet, thus offering more of a challenge for advanced writers and the opportunity to practice descriptive writing without the structure of a template.

The monster templates contain cut-out shapes that are suitable for children who are just learning how to use scissors. The activity would be easy for teachers to prepare, and because it involves colored construction paper, there is an opportunity for children to exercise their budding artistic vision in addition to their creative writing abilities.

Overall, the activity provides teachers with a fun, cute way to have their students practice important physical skills along with their imaginations. The activity is very “kids crafty,” which some wary teachers may regard as not having much value academically or artistically, but this particular activity is a good combination of tasks that will build concentration, hand strength, and creative writing abilities while producing something visually interesting. The caliber of the craft itself is the kind of creative project that may find its way into student scrapbooks or on family fridges.

You can download your own copy of the My Pet Monster craftivity here.

You may also enjoy the following TeachersPayTeachers products:

- Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas Prompts

- The Writing Prompts Workbook: Grades 11-12

- Second Grade Writing Prompts for Holidays

- First Grade Writing Prompts for Seasons

- 50 Writing Prompts for Homeschoolers (free)

If you’re interested in opening your own TeachersPayTeachers shop, click here to find out more.

Done with this review? Go back to Teachers Pay Teachers.