Meaningful recognition happens when students get to design their own celebration, and when people important to the community and to the students recognize them for their efforts. Celebrating their accomplishments allows students to step back and see what they’ve achieved and shows them how others value their work.

Note:  Celebrations don't have to be a culminating activity, but can take place any time students have something to celebrate!

Sample Questions to Planning Celebrations/Recognition Events

1. What is the purpose? (recognition? celebration?)
2. How will the purpose be accomplished? (speaker(s)? skit? media/display?)
3. Who will be invited? (community partners, parents, students and teachers from other classes, local news media, district staff, Chamber of Commerce or business leaders, etc.)
4. Where will the event take place? On what date? At what time?
5. Do we want to make invitations?
6. Will we have refreshments? (what will we have?)
7. Should we have a theme? How will we express the theme? (songs? skits? presentations?)
8. What will we do for an opening?
9. What will the sequence of the ceremony be?
10. Who will do each part?
11. Do we memorize lines or use ‘cue cards’?
12. What equipment, props, etc. do we need?
13. Who will bring the equipment, etc.?
14. How will we set up the room/area?
15. What will we do for the closing?
16. Who will clean up?
17. Have we forgotten anything?