End of the School Year Writing

The end of the year is full of testing, paperwork, and packing but it is important to remember that these are the last few weeks with your students. All of the hard work you have put in this year can be seen in the behavior and academic accomplishments of your students.

Every June I have the students complete a few fun writing assignments.  The kiddos are just finishing them up and then I will post some pictures. The first is a book they make titled "My Teacher". I got the idea a few years ago when a group of students started illustrating me.  We had just read the book "I Love My Hair" and I was explaining the importance of drawing what you see. How we interpret someone or something is our own vision and it could never be wrong. Well, I got some creative drawings alright but it made me think about how the children saw me. This idea morphed and now every year I have the children illustrate and write a biography of me, their teacher! They are so funny and incredibly eye opening. It is important to see how they see me and what they remember. This helps me reflect on my year...... and get a good laugh. (One year a student drew me with very bad dark roots! I brought the picture to my hairdresser immediately! hahah)

Another writing project I have them start in September. One of the beginning of the year projects is for students to draw themselves and then write 3 things I should know about them, two things they want to learn, and one thing they worry about. I keep them in their portfolios. At the end of the year they draw themselves again and write three things they loved learning, two things they want to learn more about, and one thing they worry about. I place them side by side in a book and they love reflecting on them. I also make a copy of the June one for their third grade teachers. It is a little hint of the student they will have.

Our last writing project is the one the students like the most....or so they have told me. They write letters to the first grade students coming into second grade the next year. The students write a paragraph on the manners and rules of second grade, another on the academics, and a third on advice for the new year. It is hysterical to read what they write and fun for the first graders to read. Many parents have told us they enjoyed this little surprise in their end of year report card envelopes and it has relieved a bit of the anxiety of the upcoming year.

I will upload images soon! Happy June!