Wrapping Up a Great Year and Wordle Bookmarks!

My last day of school was on Tuesday, and I have to say that I just had my best year of teaching ever.  I LOVED my 1st/2nd grade combo class.  Over the course of the year, I saw kids become readers, and kids who came in as "readers" become true thinkers of text.  Our class discussions were rich and meaningful, and because my students were chosen for their ability to work independently, I was able to differentiate my instruction more than ever, and saw amazing growth in my students.  It was teaching Nirvana.  So, it was with a heavy heart, but with a smile on my face, that I said goodbye to my little darlings on Tuesday.  Sigh.

We spent our last few days celebrating all of our hard work.  This year I used the balloon popping idea, and my students really loved it.  We popped one balloon every day for the last 7 days of school.  It really built up a good amount of anticipation, and kept everyone's behavior on track.  Click on the pic below to get some idea of how to put your own balloon countdown together from my friend Jessica, over at First Grade Nest.

We also worked on our End of the Year Memory Books.  These came out beautifully, and kept my students content and busy for the last two weeks of school.  My students took a lot of pride in their books, and were so proud to carry their little suitcases out of the door on the last day of school.

I did something a little bit different this year, and put a Wordle cloud in their book.  I had never made one of these for my students before, and they just loved it, and kept thanking me.  It was so sweet.  The week before, the kids played SCOOT and left one adjective describing each person on that person's paper. (Amber Polk at The Adventures of a Polka-Dotted Teacher has a form that you could use to gather words for each student - SCOOT style!)  I used those papers (and added a word or two of my own) to make each child's cloud.  Then, I just printed it out on some white card stock. It was super easy, and didn't take as much time as I had feared. Here are some pics of their finished books.

I loved all the labels this student used in her writing.

Brag Alert! My heart burst with pride when I read this from the book pictured below, " I loved that Mrs. Rios made all of us thinking readers." Mission accomplished!

Selfishly, the "My Teacher" is my favorite page.  I love to read what the kids say about our year together. 

Ok, I know this post is already running long.  But, it is about to get even longer.  As I was putting the Wordle clouds together.  I had an epiphany.  I purchased chapter books for all of my students as an end of the year gift, and I thought, how great would it be if they had a Wordle bookmark?  So, I set off to see if I could do it, and it was super easy!  I don't have a template, but here is how I put them together.

Important Note: To make any of the words larger in your Wordle, type them in multiple times. I type the student's name the most times, so that it will be the biggest.

The strategically placed heart above is to spare you from having to look at my broken thumbnail.  I swear I broke every nail on my hands the last week of school.  End of the Year is Brutal!

Looking for more fun end-of-the-year ideas? Follow me on Pinterest!

Whew!  That's it! I hope everyone who is already on vacation is enjoying some well-deserved rest.  For  those of you who are still teaching, hang in there!

Nicole