Teacher Thank You Letters: Tips for Parents & Students

As many schools are approaching the end of the year, you or your child might be looking for ways to show your appreciation for a special teacher. Taking a moment to reflect on  experiences from the year can brighten a teacher’s day tremendously.

While a thank you of any kind is a nice gesture, try to avoid being generic. It’s much better to write an authentic, heartfelt letter that reflects your experience. For younger kids, parents can assist with this. Remember, it can be short and sweet! But for those of you feeling creatively stumped or looking for some inspiration, here’s a few ideas to get you to started.

In the letter, have the student:

• share their favorite activity of the year
• share a challenge they overcame or a change they underwent
• share a memorable moment they had
• share the most valuable thing they learned
• share something they will take away from the class

Below are a couple short examples. Good luck!

Elementary

Dear Ms. Brown,

Thank you for a great year, I really liked being in your class for 4th grade. My favorite part about this year was going on our field trip to Point Reyes and seeing the tide pools and sea lions. I liked learning more about the ocean, and I even think I might want to be a marine biologist when I grow up so I can help save whales.

My other favorite part of the year was making the Gold Rush display for our classroom, that was a lot of fun. Have a good summer!
-Billy

Secondary

Dear Señora Carter,

I wanted to say thank you for being such a fantastic teacher for Spanish 2. I struggled in Spanish 1 last year and was honestly dreading taking another year of it as a sophomore. By the end of the first semester I was actually looking forward to coming to your class. Not only did you help me improve my Spanish skills, but you also made the class fun!

I really enjoyed how you made games (like playing jeopardy to prepare for tests) and gave us some artistic projects instead of just working from the textbook. Thanks again, and I hope you teach Spanish 3 next year so that I can take another class with you!
-Sarah