Last Day of School - Hooray!

Let me tell you - I am SOOO sleeping in tomorrow morning!!  For the last week, I've been up at all hours of the night entering grades for report cards, finishing the reflection for my APPR (Annual Professional Performance Review), and creating/framing the personalized Wordle gifts for my 50 students.  But...they came out PERFECT!  So a little lost sleep was well worth the smiles on their faces.

Take a look!

 

 

It was lots of fun experimenting with different fonts, layouts, and colors to create a look unique to each student.  (If you haven't seen it before, you can check the full directions and a free guide to download on my previous post right here.

Okay - now off to do something mindless - watch an episode of True Blood and have a little Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Therapy ice cream.......  Hello Summer!

Mother's Day Gift

Since I've started teaching in a middle school, I've rarely included many seasonal or holiday craft activities. I guess I was worried that my uber-cool sixth graders would balk at something too crafty or sentimental. But I recently ran across Laura Candler's free printable Mother's Day Coupons so I decided to break tradition and try them today.

SUCCESS!

 I gave my student supplies to create a card to put them in, and let them get to work. Some made traditional cards with construction paper flowers, hearts, and lots-o-glitter - my gals just LOVE them some glitter this year! One of the boys turned his into a little booklet while another girl created a "pop-up" based on a technique we used recently for a book project. 

 Clever ideas!

Are you doing something special with your class for Mother's Day?  


And now that I have set the precedent - help! I need some ideas for Father's Day!!

End-of-the-Year Student Gift

I am so excited about this project! I finally found a meaningful, budget-friendly gift for my students at the end of the year that I know they'll just love.


Instructions:

 1. Give each student a copy of the class roster and a Positive Attributes sheet. (You can also use the Class List form included in the free download below – just change “Student” to the names in your class.)

2. Ask your students to write down one positive trait, adjective, or attribute for each person in the class. You can also include other staff as well, such as teaching assistants, student teachers, aides, special education staff, parent volunteers, etc.

3. Collect the papers and create a Wordle for each person at http://www.wordle.net. Type the student’s name in many times so it is the largest word, and then add the other attributes. The more times an attribute is added, the larger that word will be. Experiment with the font, layout, and colors. (I preferred the half horizontal/half vertical option, with "wild" colors. Also - the black background looks great on the computer, but will really eat up your ink, so I opted for white.)

 

4. Print a colorful Wordle for each student and frame it. (They had a ton at my local Dollar Store.)

 

Tips:

*Don’t reveal the purpose of the exercise – it makes the surprise at the end of the year better!

*Discussing the definition of a trait, quality, or attribute ahead of time helps. I encouraged my students to use their own ideas but had the Positive Attributes sheet as a reference in case they got stuck.

*This can also be done as a carousel walk, where each student puts their name at the top of their paper and then they rotate to each student’s sheet adding a word. This does make it easier to input the words. However, I was concerned that they would be influenced by what others wrote before them. It also wouldn't really be anonymous and they might not give an honest response.

FREE Download - Wordle Student Gift Guide

Do you have any traditions or send-offs for students at the end of the year, or suggestions for gifts that won't break your budget? I'd love to hear your ideas!