Do you remember your student teaching experience? If you were lucky, you had a few field experiences before your last semester. I’m sure we all remember that mix of nervousness and excitement on the first day when we walked into the classroom we would be teaching for the next few months.
As a dual-certified teacher, I had student teaching experiences in both a 4th grade general education classroom and a 3rd through 5th grade learning support room. I remember feeling so excited to have my own desk, write my own real lesson plans and have the chance to try new strategies with students who weren’t college kids pretending to be 8 years old.
Those student teaching experiences were so valuable to me as a professional. I remember crying on my last days in both placements because I knew I would miss those students so much. Fast forward seven years and I took my own student teacher on! I had worked with this preservice teacher in her junior year and was excited to have her for a full semester. When the year was almost over, I knew exactly how I wanted to thank her. Today, I am sharing that special gift with you.
In this blog post, I’ll discuss:
- Ideas for student teacher gifts
- The most meaningful student teacher gift
Ideas for Student Teacher Gifts
What makes a good student teacher gift idea? I guess it depends on your relationship with your student teacher. Do you go practical with school supplies and classroom decor? Do you know how they want to style their classroom? I definitely have a very specific aesthetic when it comes to my classroom. I’m all about greenery and gray shiplap. Well, at least I have been the last two years. The problem with school supplies is that everyone has their own opinion. Shall we discuss the flair pen debate?
If you are really close with your student teacher, you may know specific things that they would appreciate like Starbucks mugs or sports team items. However, if you haven’t been to their house, you can’t be sure they do not already have it.
Instead, let’s think of something more meaningful. Your student teacher will always remember your group of students. It is likely the first group of students they really got to know personally and teach. A gift created by those students would be a super special student teacher gift idea.
The Most Meaningful Gift
Let’s talk about how to make the most meaningful student teacher gift. Have your students write letters to your student teacher. These letters could be about what they love about your student teacher, why they would make a good teacher someday or giving advice for the future. We all know that when we let our students share, we are bound to hear some amusing stories or pieces of advice.
If this is something you want to try, check out this Goodbye Gift for Student Teacher!
Goodbye Gift for Student Teacher resource includes:
- 12 editable cover options in color and blank and white
- 3 versions of “You’ll be a great teacher because…”
- 3 versions of “Thank you for teaching me
- 3 versions of “Dear,”
- Advice for my student teacher
Listen to what people are saying about this product:
“Perfect way to celebrate our time with our student teacher and an amazing book for her to always remember her “first” students!” – Ashley K.
“I was WORN OUT by the end of this year but was looking for something quick and meaningful to give my student teacher. The students did a great job using these activities and prompts to write memories for her. Thank you for the resource.” – Angela W.
“This is a great resource! My students loved filling out the pages to create a book for our student teacher at the end of her semester with us. Not only did my students love creating it, but our student teacher loved her gift!” – Alysia F.
How to Create your own Student Teacher Gift Book
With this Goodbye Gift for Student Teacher, you will get three different versions of three different prompts as well as an advice page. Simply print any and all options that you want your students to choose from. I had my students do their writing in pencil. After we edited, I had them trace their letters with their skinny markers. Then, we glued their pages on construction paper.
I chose a cover from the many different options and edited it to include her name, school, and year. I glued this to construction paper too before laminating it along with a back side. These laminated sheets made for nice protective outsides. Then, I got out the old binding machine, punched the holes and bound it into a book! It created a beautiful little keepsake for my first student teacher!
If you are looking for a way to say thank you that is a little more sentimental than a mug, be sure to grab your Goodbye Gift for Student Teacher today!
Be sure to grab your guide for 5 Steps to Simplify Progress Monitoring! If you found this post to be helpful, follow @LearningSupportLady on Instagram for more helpful teacher tips.
