Top Ten Gifts for Middle School Teachers

A middle school teacher is a rare breed. Normally dubbed insane by the rest of the teaching world they are called heroes by the students and parents as they miraculously weed through the ever-changing emotions of the middle school student to not only teach them academics but also life lessons. What do you give to these insane heroes?

I surveyed teachers at a middle school in Florida and here are the top ten gift items that they gave me. The prices for the gifts range from free to about twenty dollars.

1. Gift Cards - Hands down this was the most popular gift with the majority of teachers screaming for Starbucks or Barnes and Nobles.
"The best gift that I have received is a gift card to a book store. I used it for my class room. Any kind of gift card is the best because you can actually use them." - -Rebecca Brye

2. Basket of supplies - (items such as pencils, markers, stickers, sticky notepads). Teachers are constantly running out of basic supplies and many have to purchase some things on their own. You can go to your local Wal-Mart or similar store to buy everything you need to make the perfect basket.

3. Movie tickets/gift certificates - Buy tickets to local movie theaters online or at your local theater.

4. Coupon to be the "teacher helper of the day"-Middle school students love to help out and teachers appreciate it when they do.

5. Homemade book - Songs, poetry or even a cookbook put together by a student are a big hit with teachers. "My ALL-TIME favorite gift was a book of songs that one of my students had written. He had the songs bound into a book for me. It is priceless to me!" - - April Addington

6. Games for the classroom - (Discovery Store and any local educational store)

7. Sports signatures - I thought this was an amazing idea. It does take some work and thought and a knowledge of what your teacher likes but the result is great- "Two years ago one of my sixth grade students spent the entire hockey season collecting signatures from the players, in a Lightning program, and presented it to me at the end of the season (I love hockey). That one made me cry." - Wendy Hauver

8. Hobby basket - Find out what your teacher really likes to do and put together a basket that includes items for that hobby. How about fishing supplies or a basket of cooking items? A trip to your local craft store such as Michaels can help you fill a basket for the creative teacher.

9. Candy - Teachers need that sugar rush to keep up with middle schoolers!!

10. picture frames/photo album - You can get these about anywhere and they are great to put on a desk.
"...a picture frame from the Dollar Store...mom brought it all the way up to school to hand deliver it." - Susan Phillips

Below is one that for obvious reasons could not make the top ten list, but gives a great example of what truly will touch a teachers heart….a gift from the heart.

"My most memorable gift was from about 20 years ago. I had gotten a student from a very poor area of Latin America in my class, and he spoke little English. When Christmas came, he proudly gave me a small package with a lipstick inside. He said that he could not afford much, but his mother who had died a few years before always used that color of lipstick. This gift was very special to me and holds a warm place in my heart." - Paula lesko