Teacher's Pay Teachers Archives - Page 33 of 72

End of The Year Student Awards Ideas

May 6, 2022 teachersbrain End of the Year Themed Day, Teacher's Pay Teachers

One of the best parts of the end of the year is handing out those end of the year class awards. After a long year, it is so refreshing to reward students for all of their hard work throughout the year and all of their improvements. You go through a lot together! Handing out end of the year awards for students is such a fun way to put a smile on their faces and end the school year on a high note.

If you’re looking for end of the year award ideas, you’re in the right place!

What awards can be given to students?

The sky is the limit! Here is a list of special awards for students to use in your awards ceremony.

MANNERS
ARTIST
ATHLETE
HAIRSTYLIST
CEO
BOOKWORM
MOST UNIQUES
MOST CARING
BRAVE HEART
DEPENDABLE
DANCER
SINGER
FRIENDLIEST
ENERGETIC
BEST LAUGH
SWEETHEART
HELPER
FUNNY
SCIENTIST
MATH
WRITING
MOST IMPROVED
SPELLING
QUESTIONS
LISTENING
KINDNESS
SMILE
BEHAVIOR
GROWTH
CLEVER
MENTAL MATH
LEADER
AUTHOR
HELPFUL
PEACEMAKER
HUGGER
PERSONALITY
SOCIAL BUTTERFLY

I created a resource to make handing out these end of the year student awards easy and as low-prep as possible.

These awards are created with Google Slides so they are easy for virtual award ceremonies or in person. If you are in person, you can print and hand them out. If you are conducting a virtual award ceremony, you can present it in a slideshow for students and parents and email them to students individually afterwards.

These Google Slides™ come with directions, a planning sheet, and a tutorial video. Just add student’s pictures and use edit boxes that are ready for you to insert names and dates!

Add images, videos, names, dates, and your signature. Delete the slides you don’t want in the show. Practice first by pushing present and when you are ready for your virtual award ceremony invite students and families. Of course you can use this in the classroom for your future students too. Just easily edit the slides to meet your needs.

Check out the demo video!

If you are looking for funny end of the year awards for students or something a little more unique, check out these Candy Bar Awards!

This resource comes with 61 class superlatives, 21 of them are candy themed! Here are the candy awards included:

3 Musketeers – works well with others
100 Grand – works hard
Almond Joy – joy to be around
Babe Ruth – hits a homerun with good grades
Bit-O-Honey – sweet
Bubble Yum – fun and bubbly personality
Butterfinger – smooth and easy-going attitude
Caramello –sweet and easy going
Dove – peacemaker
Extra –always working extra hard
Fun Dip – eager to learn with fun and loving attitude
Gobstopper – having gobs of great work and ideas
Good and Plenty – always having plenty of good grades
Mr. Goodbar – always being a good friend
Gummy Bears – caring and loveable
Gummy Worms – class wiggle worm
Hugs and Kisses – sweet and caring
Hugs – considerate and caring
Jolly Rancher – always telling the best jokes
Jr. Mints – you were “mint” to be in my classroom
Kit Kat – always being at the teacher’s side

Your kiddos will love these end of the year student awards! They are also made with Google Slides so they are easy to adapt to in person or virtual teaching.

What are your favorite end of the year awards ideas? Let me know in the comments!

Looking for more end of the year ideas? Check out this end of the year Spy Themed Day!

Everything You Need To Know To Teach Community Helpers

April 22, 2022 teachersbrain Teacher's Pay Teachers, Teaching Tips

Let’s talk about community helpers! This is one of my favorite topics to teach because you can tell it just opens up a whole new world to little learners. They learn about all of these professions and sometimes they decide what they want to be when they grow up. If you are looking for some community helpers crafts and activities, you’re in the right place!

This is an important lesson because, among many other reasons, it helps students learn how a community works and the importance of working together.

So what is the role of community helpers?

Generally, this is anyone who helps our community function. They perform the day-to-day activities that we need in order to live our lives. They are incredibly important!

What are some examples of community helpers?

When making your community helpers list, think about professions like police officers, firefighters, teachers, doctors, nurses, grocery store clerks, and mailmen.

Here are some lesson ideas, community helpers activities, and community helpers printables to get you started!

Bring in guest speakers. This is an easy and fun one! Reach out to parents to see if they are a community helper. If so, invite them into your classroom to talk to your students about what it’s like. If not, you can reach out to local police officers, or fire stations and see if anyone would be interested in talking to the class.
Keep a journal. As students are learning about the different types of helpers, encourage them to keep a journal. They can write down what they have learned, draw pictures, store any community helpers crafts, etc.
Find places that help the community. You can sit with your students and brainstorm places where these helpers might work and take a virtual field trip! Search online for a video tour of one of these places for students to explore.
Discuss long ago vs. today. This is a great opportunity to explain to students how things have evolved and changed in our community.
Read some books about helpers in the community. This can be any book about doctors, teachers, police, mailmen, etc.

Don’t have time to plan? I have you covered. Check out my Community Helpers Worksheets resource! This download is nine weeks of lessons designed to easily create a journal for students to use, interactive notebook pages, posters, and so much more!

Here’s everything included

Weekly Detailed Lesson Plans for 9 Weeks
Home connection parent letter
Journal cover
Word Bank for the Journal
KWL
Printables to insert as a journal or use individually covering different helpers, tools and equipment, and today & long ago
Rubric for the journal
Nine interactive notebook pages (suggested to do once a week on Fridays)
Classroom posters

➜EXTRAS:

Poem/songs
Dial 911
Cut and label the police officer
Cut and label the firefighter
Volunteer art handprint gift
Sample of how to make the gift
Police officer hat/headband craft
Police badges
Firefighter hat

My biggest tip for teaching community helpers for kindergarten or first grade is to have fun! Students love exploring and learning about these different professions. For more tips on teaching this unit, check out my post here!

What are your favorite ways to teach this unit? Let me know in the comments!

5 Mother’s Day Craft Ideas for Kids

April 15, 2022 teachersbrain Craft Ideas, Teacher's Pay Teachers, Teaching Tips

Mother’s Day is just weeks away and this is the time of year where people everywhere are searching for the perfect homemade Mother’s Day gifts. We all know that nothing says I love you like sweet DIY Mother’s Day gifts from her children.

If you are looking for Mother’s Day DIY ideas or some Mother’s Day crafts that your students can easily create with their own two hands, you are in the right spot! When I was in the classroom, I always tried to make sure that students had homemade gifts for mom that they could proudly take home and give to her.

Here are my favorite Mother’s Day craft and Mother’s Day gift ideas for students

Mother’s Day Lap Book

With this craft, students will color and decorate a special gift for their mom. They can write a letter to mom, draw a picture of the two of them, give them tea, share what they love about her, create Mother’s Day coupons, and more. This gift is sure to be a hit with all moms!

You can have a Mother’s Day Tea Party and invite all of the moms and caregivers to the classroom for tea and treats. Students will love the opportunity to spend some special time with their moms and the parents are sure to love it too!

Mother’s Day Coupon Book Craft

Another one of my favorite Mother’s Day craft ideas is this coupon book. It’s perfect if you are looking for something simple, quick, and sure to put a smile on any mom’s face. This Mother’s Day Coupon Book is cute and quick! It looks like a matchbook and makes an adorable keepsake!

Mother’s Day Flower Card Writing Activity

Show moms how loved and appreciated they are with this adorable flower craft! These Mother’s Day printables will allow you to create 3D flowers as a card, craft, or wall display to accompany opinion writing! They make great art centers, small group activities, and bulletin boards!

Mother’s Day Foldable Card

This sweet craft is a great way for students to express themselves with some Mother’s Day art! They can create a portrait of their mom and decorate it using other art supplies. As a bonus, this card comes with a Father’s Day card as well!

Digital Mother’s Day Card

Looking for digital Mother’s Day craft ideas or cards? Look no further! This resource is completely digital. Students can create a card for their moms in an easy, mess free way! These Google Slides can be used in person or while distance learning. You can easily add images of mom in!

I hope you loved these homemade gifts for mom. Students will be so excited to present their moms with something they made on their own.

Which activity is your favorite? Let me know in the comments! If you are looking for more Mother’s Day activities, check out my post here!

Star Wars Day School Activities Students Will Love

April 8, 2022 teachersbrain Distance Learning, education, Teacher's Pay Teachers, Teaching Tips

May 4th will now forever be known as Star Wars Day! This is a day where we all happily showcase our love for the beloved franchise by greeting everyone around us with a happy “May the 4th Be With You” and participating in some fun and stellar Star Wars activities!

This day is particularly fun with kids. If you are an elementary teacher looking for ways to celebrate, you’re in the right place! You may be wondering- how do people celebrate May 4th? Or what can kids do on Star Wars Day?

Don’t worry, I have you covered! I knew students would love the galactic theme so of course, I came up with some super fun, low-prep activities that you can use to get your students engaged in Star Wars-themed activities.

Check out these Star Wars Day school activities!

My May the 4th Be With You Star Wars Themed Day Plan is full of Star Wars Day printables that will get students engaged in their lessons all day long.

This resource includes a full day of fun with training, activities for finding planets, instructions for cool intergalactic treats, and activities to learn force and motion. These activities are perfect for pre-k, kindergarten, first, or second grade students.

Here’s what’s included

Donations Please Page for Parents, Create a Space Creature activity, Give you space creature a personality activity, Sweet Fighter Treats instructions (EASY to Make), Venn diagram of Earth vs any other planet you choose, Venn diagram of Earth vs a star, Venn Diagram answer key, I SPY Planets activity, ODA SODA (ingredients and directions to make punch, galactic water labels for water bottles, fight training code of conduct poster, training laser directions, Training Academy certificate, Push, Pull, Force, and Motion Posters.

Check it out here!

Another one of my favorite May the 4th activities is this Star Wars Day digital escape room!

This space escape activity will help students to review planets, and practice problem-solving. Digital Escapes™ is a fun way to get students to learn without even realizing it. No printing and no prep needed for this digital escape! Students will love these Star Wars-inspired challenges!

To play, students will click an audio button for directions and watch a short video with a problem to solve to help with their first clue. During the escape, students will be tasked with solving 4 lock clues to escape the room.

There is a pdf included in this download with directions, the link to the site, an answer key, and an optional note-taking worksheet for students. This activity takes about 30 to 40 minutes to complete but students will remember it for years!

Check out the video preview!

Check it out here!

I hope these Star Wars Day ideas inspired you to have an out-of-this-world celebration with your elementary students! What’s your favorite May the 4th activity? Let me know in the comments!

For more themed day fun, check out my post here!