Father's Day "How To" Manual

Barbara Backer, contributor to Education.com, provides a fun and unique Father's Day gift that will stretch your students' imaginations, provide a chance to polish their writing skills, and be a hit with their dad!

Supplies You'll Need
- White drawing paper
- Construction paper
- 3-hole punch
- Brass brads
- Crayola markers, Crayola colored pencils, and/or Crayola crayons

Provide each student with five sheets of white drawing paper and one piece of construction paper in the color of their choice. Have them stack the pages so that the edges are square and fold it in half (hamburger style). When properly folded, have your students punch holes along the 'binding' and secure the pages together with brads. Invite your students to use the supplies in your art cabinet to create a colorful cover and title page. On the subsequent pages, encourage your students to think of things their father is good at (e.g. golf, mowing the lawn, cooking, etc.) then write a 'how to guide' for each, taking from what their father does. These can be serious or funny.

Example: Father who plays golf/Funny

  • Title: "How To Play Golf"
  • Instructions: 1) Dress for the occasion (make sure your socks are to your knees!) 2) Step up to the tee and hit the ball to the left (no matter where the hole actually is!) 3) Be sure to use all the hazards to improve your game - water, trees, sand traps, cart paths, even out-of-bounds! Hitting the fairway every hole doesn't make golf much fun! 4) Triple digit scores are always better than double.

At the end, have your students recount something they do with their dad. Encourage them to describe why it's important to them and why their father is important. These make great keepsakes!

Write a "How To" Book Just for Dad | Activities | Education.com