10 Things Your Teacher Wants for Teacher Appreciation Week

This week is teacher appreciation week! I treated myself to a much needed pedicure to show myself some appreciation, and my school’s administrators are treating teachers to lunch tomorrow. For me, that’s more than enough. I have thought more about planning out the rest of the year than worrying about just how much I am appreciated this week.

Today I had one of my favorite administrators in my classroom, and he asked my students what they had done to show their appreciate of me during the holiday week. They were surprised to hear that it was teacher appreciation week, and wondered why I hadn’t told them so they could appreciate me appropriately. I joked that it wasn’t my style to demand their appreciation, but they encouraged me to tell them what I wanted. This post was born from that request.

10 Things Your Teacher REALLY Wants for Teacher Appreciation Week

1. Happy Students
I love when my students come into class and greet me with a, “Hi, Mrs. McNally” and a smile. Please say hello and be happy!

2. Engaged Students
I work hard to come up with lessons to enhance your knowledge and skills. Participate in the lessons all week, and give me your undivided attention.

3. Compassionate Students
Be nice to one another. I like you all and you all should like one another.

4. Funny Students
If you can follow all my above requests and make me laugh, you will have the happiest English teacher in the world!

5. Food
Gifts of food are delightful at all times of the year. Tacos are appropriate for teacher appreciation week as it coincides with Cinco de Mayo.

6.  A Parade
I would love a parade worthy of a Super Bowl winner or Stanley Cup champion. Some of the things I get you students to do, trust me. I deserve it!

7. A Massage
Not from you. A gift certificate will do. Grading is stressful!

8. Food
You all know how rough lunch C gets. I’m starving! Better bring buffalo chicken dip to go with the tacos.

9. Jewelry
Back to the Super Bowl and Stanley Cup… don’t they get rings? Yeah, I’m thinking a big ring will do just fine.

10. A Thank You
Sometimes a kind word is plenty.

 

I kid, I kid. I don’t need food, a massage or jewelry to know my students love me and appreciate me.

 

Saying thank you to your favorite teacher is a great way to show your appreciation. If you’re still in class with that teacher, greet him with a smile, be nice to your classmates, and work hard while you’re in class to really show you care.

Welcome, Students!

 

Break Into Blogging

Students,

I’m so excited to introduce you to my blog! I have been anxiously anticipating introducing blogs to our classroom activities. Instead of writing an old school persuasive essay, we will be using lots of persuasive methods in our blogs to practice writing every day. I will be writing along with all of you, and I am so excited to see how we grow as we explore many topics and interests. This is a great way to show off our hard work and excellent writing skills in a modern and 21st century way.

Your first blogging assignment is to set up your blog. If you’re seeing this post, you’re already checking out my page. Explore my blog as an example of what you can do. Click all around, and I’m sure you will find some examples of work you and your classmates have already done this year. You may even see your own picture! You should upload an avatar picture and create an “About Me” page like I have. Be sure to follow safe online procedures we spoke about in class and do not share too much personal information. I want to see YOU shine through your blog. Consider creating a theme or  making your blog customized toward your interests. You can check out the “learn more about getting started” link at the top, right hand side of your dashboard for some guidance. Don’t forget about the “help” tab in the top right hand corner of the page for additional assistance. I encourage you to explore and find your own way of setting up your blog which is unique to you. You will learn and connect more when you problem solve and figure it out on your own. Once you have the basics figured out and you have your blog set up, move on to your first post.

Your First Post

We just finished reading The Book Thief, and I want to know what you think. Please write an academic book review of the novel.

My tip? Use persuasion! Why should your reader pick up this book immediately, or why should they avoid this book forever?

Don’t forget to add a picture and proofread your work! Spelling and grammar always count, just like any assignment you would be turning in traditionally. When blogging, you should pay special attention to having a well written post since so many people can see your work. You can always save a draft of your post so you can revisit later and revise before you actually publish.

Here are some websites that can offer you tips on what to include in your review and give you a good example of an academic book review.

http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/book-reviews/

http://101books.net/2013/04/17/book-55-the-sun-also-rises/

To start your first blog post, you will click “Posts” on your dashboard and then “Add New.”