2017 End-Of-The-School Year Gifts
I like to send my students home for the summer with a special gift to help them remember the school year. In the past, I gave each student a DVD with copies of all the video and photos I had collected throughout the year.
This year, I wanted to do something different. A fellow teacher friend posted a word cloud project on Facebook, and I instantly knew what I wanted to do! Summer Writing Journals!
I created a Google Form in which there were 33 questions. Each question was just the name of one student in the class, and a short answer response option.
I instructed the students to think about one good word to describe each student in the class. We discussed examples and did some brainstorming, then I had the students access the form in our Google Classroom.
Once the students completed the form, I had a list of 33 words for each student that were unique and special. I used those lists of words to create a star shaped word cloud that was unique for each student. I used the site: http://www.tagxedo.com/ but there are other web-based word cloud generators out there.
I printed the word clouds out in color and glued the cut-out star on the cover of a writing journal.
Each star came our special and unique!
On the inside of the front cover, I glued a sheet of paper with an end of the year poem, a short note from me, and a list of fun writing prompts to help them get started with summer writing.
I wrapped each journal up with a ribbon and a new pen.
When I presented the journals, I kept the recipients name a secret, and I just started reading the describing words. The students were able to guess very accurately who each journal belonged to. I was impressed how thoughtful they were, and how well they really knew each other.
I loved being able to send the students home with a special, personalized memento. I received several emails from parents commenting on and thanking me for the unique gift.
Some tips if you want to try this project...
This year, I wanted to do something different. A fellow teacher friend posted a word cloud project on Facebook, and I instantly knew what I wanted to do! Summer Writing Journals!
I created a Google Form in which there were 33 questions. Each question was just the name of one student in the class, and a short answer response option.
I instructed the students to think about one good word to describe each student in the class. We discussed examples and did some brainstorming, then I had the students access the form in our Google Classroom.
Once the students completed the form, I had a list of 33 words for each student that were unique and special. I used those lists of words to create a star shaped word cloud that was unique for each student. I used the site: http://www.tagxedo.com/ but there are other web-based word cloud generators out there.
I printed the word clouds out in color and glued the cut-out star on the cover of a writing journal.
Each star came our special and unique!
On the inside of the front cover, I glued a sheet of paper with an end of the year poem, a short note from me, and a list of fun writing prompts to help them get started with summer writing.
I wrapped each journal up with a ribbon and a new pen.
When I presented the journals, I kept the recipients name a secret, and I just started reading the describing words. The students were able to guess very accurately who each journal belonged to. I was impressed how thoughtful they were, and how well they really knew each other.
I loved being able to send the students home with a special, personalized memento. I received several emails from parents commenting on and thanking me for the unique gift.
Some tips if you want to try this project...
- talk with your students about using positive words ONLY!
- brainstorm and help them come up with "juicy" words otherwise, you will get a lot of "nice" and "cool"
- Proof-read the list of words for spelling and appropriateness
- you may need to add a few words yourself for particular students
What are your ideas for end-of-the-school-year gifts? What have you tried in the past?
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