Let’s face it, teachers, you are counting down to the end of the school year and so are your students. And why shouldn’t you? Both teachers and students have worked long, hard days, survived testing, and have bad spring fever. But the reality is that school ain’t over until the school bell rings on the very last day. Teachers still have to teach and students still have to learn. But little by little, you see that you are losing them. There is a spring gleam in your students’ eyes, they are acting a little bit sillier than the norm and you find that they are taking frequent bathroom breaks more so than the bathroom breaks that teachers take to escape a professional development workshop. So, it’s time to be proactive and creative. How are you going to engage your students in a meaningful way so you will all survive the final weeks of school? Here are some things that I pull out of my survival kit to engage students during the final weeks of school.

Independent Projects

After teaching a unit of study, I love the idea of a choice board to dig deeper into the learning and for students to “show what they know.” Projects on the choice board are related to the multiple ways students learn so there is a choice for everyone. If a student has another idea, I always include a “create your own and see me option.”  Students work on their projects in class and I confer with students as they are working. Students present their projects to the class when they are done. Here’s a general Choice Board template you could use with any project.

Book recommendation: Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom

There are some fabulous ideas about integrating multiple intelligences in your classroom. There are also examples of ways students can show their knowledge about different topics in different ways. I always have this book handy when creating choice boards and when assessing my students.

Teach the Class

Do your students have individual passions or interests? I had a very curious and passionate group of third graders one year. One of my students was intrigued by everything and anything that had to do with the solar system, another with Minecraft, and another with World War 2.  This was the perfect opportunity for students to channel this passion of theirs and teach it to the rest of the class. I asked students to fill out this Be The Teacher lesson plan template and meet with me first to approve the topic they’d like to teach and review objectives, resources, and materials they needed to teach the lesson to the class. Once approved, I set time aside each day for students to present their lessons and teach the rest of us each day. The class absolutely loved this and the kids couldn’t wait for the next classmate to present. Believe it or not, the class was engaged and respectful to the peer that was teaching. The understanding was that the minute it did get out of control, the lesson was over. Creating the rules and expectations before each student presented was key to making this a meaningful and engaging activity for all students. At first, I just had students volunteer to teach the class, but after my more “reluctant” students saw how engaged the class was with this, and began coming to me with their ideas and their lesson plan for approval. That year we had every student in the class teach a lesson every day for the last 3 weeks of school. When I asked them how they thought their lesson went afterward, some said, “Hey, that was fun” or “that was harder than I thought.” I loved hearing them reflect upon their teaching. I also loved how the students felt empowered by teaching others and had a moment in my shoes.

A Day Out of Learning

Going somewhere after teaching a unit of study is a great way to reinforce the learned concepts and to dig deeper into the content. After teaching a unit on ancient Rome and Pompeii, my grade-level colleagues and I seized the opportunity to take our students to The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia to experience the day of an ancient Roman City in complete turmoil, One Day in Pompeii exhibit. We got to see what life was like both before and after the mighty eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The exhibit featured tons of artifacts and displays. It was truly an awesome experience for both myself and my students. If you could find a place that extends and enriches the learning of a unit you taught, this is a meaningful end-of-year activity to build upon your student’s learning and keep them engaged. So much fun too!

Take it Outside

I have written before about how taking learning outside is meaningful in a recent post How to Survive The Final Weeks of School-Teacher’s Edition. Well, let’s get real…the beautiful weather is here and it would benefit both teachers and students to get outside. So take it outside and do an outdoor stem activity, read a class fave aloud under a tree in full bloom, or my personal favorite, have students do a partner walk and talk about or review a big idea or concept they have learned about. Bring out sidewalk chalk and have the kids hopscotch their way through their multiplication facts or draw a visual about a learned concept. Whatever suits the grade you teach, take the learning outside and have some fun in the sun either digging a bit deeper into learning or reviewing concepts or skills. Both you and your students will get some vitamin D, improve your mood, and be engaged.

Kinesthetic Learning

Whether you are stuck in the classroom or can get outside, this is a must-read and a must-have book, The Kinesthetic Classroom: Teaching and Learning Through Movement. I refer to this book frequently for movement activities that engage and motivate my students. There are activities in this book that help teach and review content. Summer read? I think so…put it on your list! Check out my post about getting your students up and moving here.

The end of the year is tough for all of us: teachers, students, and parents. Try to make the last weeks memorable and engaging for everyone.  How do you engage students at the end of the year? I’d love to hear about it.

No matter how many more weeks or days are left… you got this!

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Popular End of Year Resources:

End of Year Awards: Bitmoji

End of Year Memory Book (Bee Theme)

End of Year Newspaper- Powerpoint Version, Google Slides Version

End of Year Newspaper- Print & Go

Autobiography Book, Google Slides Version

Summer Reading Brochures

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