Do you do it in your classroom? Do you have them create a poster or bring in pictures? What else do you do? Thanks!
I have never done a student of the week thing. This year as a getting-to-know-you activity I had each student complete a poster about themselves. I kind of hinted that I may be posting them throughout the year (different one each week/ every other week) and they seemed excited. I don't know what else to do though. What would 5th graders not consider dorky?
I do star of the week in 2nd grade, and they love it. I make it optional (I pick names at random), so if they're nervous, they don't have to. Sometimes its good to get that public speaking practice. I just have them fill out a little worksheet with facts about themselves, like favorite book, favorite food, people in their family, pets, favorite subject, etc. Then on Fridays, they can bring in up to 5 items from home to share with the class. Then I let the rest of the class ask them questions. The whole thing only takes about 15 minutes and they really look forward to it!
Ooh I like that idea mrs100. I might alter my activity a little. I've used "family shields". I cut out a shield shape out of construction paper and let them take it home and put pictures, their family name, country they are from, whatever they want on it. Then I hang it up in the classroom. It lets the kids show off a little bit of their life to their classmates. But I'm always looking for ways to give the kids opportunities to get rewards or do something special.
I have my kids fill out a poster. I send it home in a folder on Friday and they share it on Monday. They can also bring in pictures. This year I am going to have them write a letter to the star of the week. It's a great way to review letter writing and they are super short letters, I got a great format from a fellow teaching friend. I'm going to make a cover and staple all the letters together, the cover will say "Our letters to ________________. By Miss Buck8teacher's Class."
Did you make the poster yourself buck8teacher?? What kinds of things are on it? Also, can you explain what is entailed in the format of your letters? Thanks!
Smilemakers has some really cool posters - I think they're about 12x18, or 16x20. They're pretty inexpensive, they come in a set of 30.
I love the letter idea. I still have the letters I got from my classmates when I was Star of the week or VIP or whatever the teacher that year called it. We did it in 1st second and thrid grade. They're such a great keepsake, I still read them to this day (almost 20 years later!)
