Ten Thoughtful and Inexpensive Graduation Gifts for Your Students

It's graduation season and for high school teachers this can be a drain on the budget. I love supporting my students and going to their parties, but I also know of many teachers who may opt to skip them because giving money or buying a gift for each graduate is expensive. My husband also teaches at the same school, so there have been years that we've been invited to over 20 parties. Of course, attending them all is next to impossible (especially if they are on the same day), but I still like to acknowledge the students with a small gift.

Here are 10 ideas for graduation gifts:

{For Those Who Need a Gift Now}

1. Ask the office for a list of all the students in the graduating class (a digital copy is preferred). Insert the names into a word-cloud generator, like www.Tagxedo.com or www.Wordle.net. Change the colors to match your school's (or just use fun colors), then download and save the image. Print it on cardstock, frame, and sign the back. (Tips: Add words like "congratulations," "graduate," and their class year for variety. Also, duplicate the name of the student so it appears larger in the cloud, as seen in the first image with "Nicholas.")

For variety, use a picture of your school mascot, or the year of the graduating class as the format for the cloud. 

Use my 2014 clip art numbers to create 2014 word clouds on www.tagxedo.com.

2014 Graphics (free download)

2. Using one of the word-cloud generators from above, copy the text from a favorite poem, book, or collection of inspirational quotes. After you create the cloud, print and frame it, adding a personal message on the back for the graduate. (See my Dr. Seuss Oh! The Places You'll Go! art prints.)

3. Create a caricature of the student, print it, and frame it or just use it as a card. Use the website www.sp-studio.de to create South Park-style caricatures. High school students love these!

A caricature of the graduate using www.sp-studio.de website.

4. Write a personal handwritten note to each student. Bring up the positive things you remember about having the student in class. Sometimes a note from their teacher letting them know that you care and wish them the best means more to them than any other gift.

{Involves Planning Ahead of Time - Bookmark for Next Year!}
5. Create a 2-column table with the students' names in the first column. Leave the second column blank, but give others room to write. Run copies for each student and distribute. Then have them write one nice thing about each of their classmates. Collect all the papers and either:
     A. cut each row so each student gets a sentiment on each individual strip of paper, OR
     B. type all the sentiments for each student, with each student getting an individual piece of paper with multiple sentiments.
  (Another way to do it is to have a page with each student's name at the top, then pass that page around and have each new student add something nice about that classmate. Then give each student the copy with the handwritten notes from their classmates. This can also be done in a shared Google Docs document. Have each student type in a different color. Drawback: some students are immature and use this as a way to write something inappropriate because it is in front of the class. Having each student write all the comments on their own sheet and turning it in may be more work for you, but it also deters those "exhibitionists" from doing something immature.)

6. Have your students pose for a class picture. Take a group shot of them, then run copies of 4x6 prints (you can even make a personalized frame on many websites like www.snapfish.com). Buy an inexpensive picture frame (dollar stores are great for these) and you have a personalized gift for less than $2. Write a note to the graduate on the back of the frame/picture and you are set.

Personalize a class picture, then print & frame.

7. At the beginning of the school year, take a group picture of each class of students you have. Take another picture at the end of the school year. Save the files (I'm assuming you take the pictures with a digital camera). When a student from one of your past or present classes graduates, print the pictures and include them in a card, frame, or inexpensive photo flip album. Include copies of inspirational quotes in between the pictures.

8. For a yearbook/newspaper advisor: Copy the images from the past year onto a CD. Give a copy of the CD as a gift to the graduates. (Note: We used to sell photo CDs at the end of the school year as a fundraiser when I advised the newspaper and yearbook. We were able to fund the printing of our school newspaper with the sales from the CDs. We also made video yearbooks, which helped, as well.)

9. If photos aren't your thing, have your students write "life lessons" when they are in your class. Save these, then make copies of each class for when they graduate. If you have mixed classes (ex.: juniors & seniors in same class), make sure to separate them out by keeping an envelope for each class year. Just label it "Class of 2012" and so on. Then, when they graduate, give them a copy of the booklet with their classmates "life lessons." (*I have a free download of this activity--it is amazing what students will write! They love reading these!)

Compile copies of the "life lessons" your students write in class.

10. Another thing you can give the graduate separately or include with the "life lessons" is a compilation of funny things said in class. I try to write these down when they are fresh in my mind (but I miss a lot of them, too). Then make a photocopy and share with the graduates.

Also read 

Seven End-of-the-Year Writing Prompts for High School Seniors

To help you, I have several inexpensive digital downloads of templates you can use for graduation cards or framed gifts. Here are some of the old favorites and new products I just uploaded:

"If" By Rudyard Kipling Art Print
PDF file

Robert Frost Poetry Art Prints
PDF file

Langston Hughes Poetry Art Prints
PDF file

NEW Products:
Graduation or Promotion Printable Cards You Can Personalize (Any Year)
Microsoft Word document

Graduation or Promotion Graphics (Any Year) for Personal & Commercial Use
PNG files

Class of 2012 Graphics for Personal or Commercial Use
PNG files

Do you have something special you do for graduates? Add your idea in the comments below!

Replace Student Journals with a Class Blog

I teach at a 1:1 Mac school. This year marked our third year with laptops at the high school and I knew I wanted to do something differently with student journals. Last year I had students typing them in a Pages document (Pages is an iWork word processing application). And though journals are personal reflection, I wanted to take it a step further and venture into blogging.

I had students write journals online in the past. But that involved reserving the computer lab and hoping the internet worked and all the computers were working properly. They wrote posts on our old school website and every entry had to be approved. It was tedious and students rarely had the opportunity to read their classmates' entries.

So this year we started a group blog on Blogger. I urged students to remember this was for public viewing and they should write in complete sentences, use complete words rather than texting lingo/abbreviations, and always spell check. Well, it didn't quite start the way I would have liked. This post, for example. And this one. And this. No matter how much I urged my students to write more, write better, they didn't really seem to care.

Though I do think their writing online is improving, I have to remind them this isn't a Facebook status update. I think it's important to allow them to practice responsible online writing. In addition, many will be taking early college courses that require blogging. I was shocked that even though my students had their laptops for three years, only a couple of them had ever blogged before. Now, many of them have started their own in addition to our class blog. Learning this skill is another way to prepare them for a digital future.

You can check out their most recent posts for Teacher Appreciation Week. They wrote thank-you notes to a teacher they have had in the past. I'm pretty proud of their letters and we shared them with the rest of the district. Many teachers from their past were touched by their heart-felt sentiments: EHS English II

If you are on the fence about blogging, I suggest giving it a try. On Blogger you can have up to 100 authors for one blog. It's pretty easy to set up and add authors (you'll need their email address to invite them). If it doesn't work out, you can always delete it. But you'll never know unless you try.

Teacher Appreciation Week: You DO Make a Difference

Today kicks off Teacher Appreciation Week and Tuesday is Teacher Appreciation Day. We celebrate it to honor those who devote their lives to teaching children and serving others.

It's nice to get a pat on the back, especially this time of year. We often go about our day lecturing, explaining directions over and over, wondering if anyone is listening, if anyone cares. Sometimes it's a thankless job. Sometimes it seems as if we've not made a bit of difference. Then, perhaps years later, we receive a note from a student or a call from a parent who just wanted to say thanks. Those moments lift us and remind us that our jobs may not have immediate rewards, but they DO make all the difference in the lives of others.

As we near the close of another school year, stay positive and end it with a smile. And know that even though you may not see the fruit of your labor this year, or next year, or even in ten years, you have planted the seed and it will continue to grow because of your efforts.

Thank you to teachers everywhere for your efforts with our children...with our future.

Here are some of my favorite teaching-related Pinterest pins:

Help Your Students With Reading Comprehension With Simple Bookmarks

We all have students who are hesitant to speak up in class; perhaps they do not want to ask questions in front of their classmates, or they are just shy. Regardless of the reasons, we can't help them unless we know that they are struggling.

To help combat this, try these bookmarks the next time you assign reading (or during read-alouds in class). Instead of students speaking up, they jot down the question on the bookmark. Have them submit at the end or beginning of class. This way you know what they may be struggling with and can address it in the next class period or the next day. It's a simple idea and can be done on any piece of paper or post-it note. However, I did create some free printables you can try.

Just print on regular paper and have students grab a new one when they turn one in. They can be printed on front/back, as well. One format has 6 bookmarks on one 8.5x11-inch page, the other has four per page. I also featured two different fonts (one is more appropriate for lower grades) and each with lines or without.

You can download them FREE here:

Reading Bookmark Aid for Chapter or Text Books - Any Content Area

Don't forget that the Teacher Appreciation Sale starts tonight at midnight! You'll be able to get all of my products 20% off and take an additional 10% off by using the promo code TAD12 at checkout. This is our way of giving back to our fellow teachers to kick of Appreciation Week! THANK YOU for all you do!

Poetry Linky Party

Do you need help with your poetry unit? 

Check out the poetry linky party at The ESOL Odyssey. 

There are lots of great links for lessons you can use all month.

Celebrate Poetry: Why I Love Poetry

Photo © T.Orman, 2010

April is National Poetry Month and a great time to celebrate creative writing. Many people are intimidated by poetry, perhaps thinking it is too confusing, too deep, or too vague. I like to think of poetry as more of an "anything goes" style of writing. You can say what you want to say without worrying about formatting, complete sentences, or even if it makes sense. That's the fun of it. I try to convey this message to my students so they feel less intimidated by poetry. Poetry should be fun.

My love of poetry probably began as a child listening to my favorite songs and tediously jotting down the lyrics (either by lifting the needle of the record player or pushing "rewind" on the cassette over and over again). I was in love with lyrics--the combination of words, often rhyming, but not always. 

But it was most likely my junior year in high school when I really fell in love with poetry. I had a teacher who encouraged creative writing and believed in me. (Thank you, Mrs. Conrad!) I started a poetry journal, writing down every poem I had scribbled in notebooks or on napkins. Looking back, my early poems are more lyrical, as I strained to make them rhyme. But my writing matured with age and in college, with the help of another fantastic teacher (Thank you, Dr. Herzig!), I let go of the lyrics and let my words be themselves, unburdened by rhyme schemes or formulas.

Having teachers who encouraged my own creative writing helped me understand reading poetry, as well. The more I wrote, the more I wanted to read what others were writing. And both activities led me to love poetry.

I do like to start my unit with song lyrics; knowing that most students love music, if they see their favorite lyrics being treated as poetry, it is much less intimidating. They aren't afraid to dissect or find poetic devices in their favorite songs.

As you celebrate poetry in your own classroom, remember to encourage your students and let them have fun with it. They may not always see the symbols, underlying themes, or know exactly how to write in iambic pentameter...and that's OK. Leave them with a positive experience so they won't be intimidated or reluctant to learn more about poetry later in life. 

It's a Hoot! Super Cute Owl Clip Art

Do you love owls? 

Here's a collection of over 50 owl graphics for you to use for commercial, educational, and personal use:

 It's a Hoot! Owl Clip Art for Commercial Use

 I was loving creating these little guys that I didn't want to stop. They are in various colors and styles and the package also includes frames and backgrounds with the owls already placed in there for you. Just insert it into your document or word processing, and start creating!

The art cannot be resold in another clip art package, but you may use these little fellas in any of your products for no additional cost (including your FREEBIES!).

Here are some additional thumbnails from the collection:

Spring is in the Air: Springtime Clip Art

Do you have spring fever? I am more than ready for spring break (just 3 more days for us!) and my newest clip art packages make me even more anxious.


Spring Fever Clip Art Graphics: I created a cute package of spring icons, which include several different birds (cardinal, blue jay, blue bird, robin, black bird, grayish brown bird), bird nest, flowers, a bunny face (white & gray), tree, tuft of grass, four-leaf clover, clouds, every color of eggs, and an Easter basket with eggs.

Spring Fever Backgrounds and Frames: My second bundle of graphics include backgrounds and frames that are in fun spring colors. The frames are the cute curvy frames that can be layered on top of one another (like you see below) for different effects. There are 17 total frames and 17 total backgrounds.

These one-of-a-kind graphics can be used for commercial purposes with no additional fees! View all of my clip art and graphics {HERE}.

HAPPY SPRING!

Green is the New Black

To celebrate ALL things associated with the color GREEN this week, The Lesson Cloud, which consists of 100 teacher authors in all grade levels and content areas, has switched things up and will be posting a ton of lessons for you to use in your classrooms this spring.

Anything related to green--like St. Patrick's Day, Earth Day, spring, bacteria (that's for those science folks!)--will be featured in the posts.

The authors wish to thank you all for supporting your fellow teachers. You can check out the latest "green" posts here:

THE LESSON CLOUD

Celebrate Reading Today & Every Day

In my previous post I wrote about celebrating reading in secondary classrooms. I also uploaded a writing/discussion prompt on my Hunger Games Lessons website that links Dr. Seuss characters to the Hunger Games (yes, what if your favorite characters were reaped? Who would survive?). 

 

These are just reminders that you are never too old to enjoy Dr. Seuss.

I hope everyone has a great day!

Never Too Old to Celebrate Dr. Seuss & Read Across America

This wonderful mural was drawn on my white board today by one of my very talented sophomores.

March 2nd marks Dr. Seuss' birthday and many schools will also participate in NEA's Read Across America to celebrate reading.

This shouldn't be an event reserved solely for elementary students. We secondary teachers want our students to love reading, right? And who doesn't love Dr. Seuss? I can remember buying my first hardback Seuss in elementary at the Scholastic Book Fair: One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. It was my favorite and I can still remember reading it as a child. When I became a mother, I loved sharing that book (and so many others) with my son. And I still love reading my favorite children's books every now and then. There's just something magical about them that make you feel young again.

So when I told my students today that I wanted them to think of their favorite Dr. Seuss books (or any books) many of them blurted out a title right away. Their eyes lit up and I could see that many were reliving fond memories from their childhood. I asked them to bring in their book tomorrow, or try to find the text of it so they could read it to the class tomorrow to celebrate the day.

Don't be afraid to take a break from your regular curriculum to allow your students to celebrate this day. Reading is an activity we want our students to love and cherish, not loathe. It shouldn't be a chore; it should be fun! Tomorrow my students will be sharing their favorite books from their childhood, and hopefully creating new memories involving books that they'll cherish years from now.

One of my students is an incredibly talented artist; he drew this tribute to Dr. Seuss on my white board during his studyhall 8th period. He also created some great Seuss figures for Mel D. of Seusstastic Classroom Inspirations. You can see them in her awesome freebie "Free Seusstastic Primary Activities".

Great job, Danny! So proud of you (and wish I could draw like that!).

Leap Day Sale!

Leap day only happens once every four years; so to celebrate February 29th, TeachersPayTeachers is having a sale! Use promo code L2P9Y at check out to get 10% off PLUS I am having a sale in my store on all my digital downloads. Don't miss the opportunity to get some great lessons at discounted prices. :)

Using Jessie J's Song "Domino" to Teach Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

My lesson using Katy Perry's song "Firework" has been such a hit with teachers (and students) that it only seems right to keep making additional activities like this for teachers (and myself).*

My latest is using Jessie J's song "Domino." It's another upbeat, get-you-ready-for-the-day type of song. It does, however, use the word "damn," so teachers will have to use their own discretion on whether they want to use it with their students. Also, the lyrics may be too mature for your students; I list it as 9-12, but you should look up the lyrics first and use your best judgement for your students.

It covers the following different poetic devices:
    • true rhyme
    • alliteration
    • onomatopoeia
    • assonance
    • anaphora
and figurative language:
    • simile
    • metaphor
    • personification
    • hyperbole
    • allusion

Because it is a priced product, it does include more than my "Firework" lesson. There are two separate handouts for differentiation: one will be more guided, asking students to pick out particular examples in each section. The other is more like "Firework," asking students to find the examples on their own.

It also includes a list of the terms & definitions for students. You can project the page & have them copy them down, or give each a copy. A separate teacher's guide is included with Common Core alignment, directions, and a detailed answer key. 

Do you have any suggested songs for lessons? If so, comment below to let me know.

*I actually have a a packet of songs that I paired with poems with similar themes to help students understand the meaning of poems, found here.

They're Seuss-tastic! ~ Dr. Seuss Inspired Graphics

Oh, how I love Dr. Seuss! And the colors in his books are so fun and bright. So I created some colorful backgrounds, frames, and borders inspired by the colors used in Seuss books that can be used for commercial purposes, or your own personal use. 

Wonderfully Wacky Backgrounds, Frames, and Borders!

There are 52 total graphics in this bundle. You can use them in your free products, as well, as long as they are secured in a PDF document. I hope you enjoy these - they were fun to make! Here are some additional samples (the items in the download are much larger and better quality images, of course. They are all .png files.)

(My designs are NOT affiliated with Dr. Seuss Enterprises or any of its affiliates)

And check out my Wonderfully Wacky Designs 2 

for even MORE wacky fun clip art graphics!