Prescription for our Principal!

Are you looking for an adorable and engaging writing activity to keep your students’ motivated in these last few weeks (or days!?) of school? Today I am reposting a blog post from June of 2012. I updated the resource for you to download for FREE at the bottom of this email. I hope your principal will enjoy this writing activity as much as your students!

Our poor, poor principal. Last Friday was our last full day of school. Monday (tomorrow!!!) is our official last day- a half day! Well, unfortunately for our principal, this time of the year always triggers a certain type of sickness- the summer blues. Our poor principal is just broken-hearted that tomorrow is our last day of school! No more parents, teachers, or students to deal with- how on earth will he cope?? How will he fill his time? Won’t he miss his staff and students so terribly that his heart will just break!?!?

Well, I am hoping by now you can sense my sarcasm- my third graders definitely could! I explained that we were going to play a little joke on our principal, and write him get- well wishes and a prescription for his summer blues. I explained that they would act as doctors for this writing lesson and write a prescription for his summer blues and broken heart.

I began by showing my students the pill bottle that we were going to recreate for our principal.

I explained how each letter represented a day of the week and contained the vitamins/medications that the patient was supposed to take. I then showed them an old (EMPTY!!!!) bottle of a prescription that held my medication- we used this as an example of how to write our prescription for our principal’s unfortunate case of the summer blues.

The doctors and I recreated a pill container by taping 5 plastic containers (ones with the blue lids) together. I used the die cut machine and scrapbook paper to cut out the letters and then I taped the letters right on top of the lids.
 
I was totally inspired for this lesson by visiting this blog: So This is Julie. Go check it out! Julie used the idea for a daily dose of kindness for teacher appreciation week.

We then got right to work and wrote his prescription on a large sheet of white butcher paper.

Official Diagnosis: Broken heart and a case of the summer blues.

Prescription says: We know you are so sad it is the end of the school year. We know you will miss us terribly. Please take one daily dose as often as needed for your broken heart. For immediate relief, drive by our school. If you are really down in the dumps, please go and read the notes in your egg.

Each doctor then signed their signature at the bottom of the prescription.

The doctors then got to work on their portraits of the principal- which of course would be used as the recommended daily dose of medicine for the summer blues.

Look how adorable they turned out!

The doctors then wrote get well wish for their patient, which would also be used for his daily dose of medication for the summer blues.

This student wrote:
Thank you for being my principal! You are so fun!! I hope to see you next year and you still come to visit me! Thank you for all that you do! I bet teachers and students feel the same!

This get well wish reads:
We know that right now you have a case of the summer blues. We hope that you feel better. For immediate recovery, drive by our school.
Sincerely, (doctor’s name!)

Love this: “We hope you won’t be heart brokin!”

When the portraits and get-well wishes were complete, we placed about ten inside each of pill bottle days.

Daily doses of medication for the summer blues and a broken heart!!!

Can’t you just see our principal making a remarkable recovery as he takes his daily medication??

I know, I know….you also have a case of the summer blues. Or worse, your principal has a case of the summer blues!

No worries- I am here to help you heal them in a jiffy! Check out the FREEBIE printables that I have prepared for you:

Click below to download this freebie!

Enjoy these last few days of school with your students!