Spring Break seemed to be the perfect boost of energy for
both students and staff. Making it to
the end of the year, without getting worn out, seemed promising. Students were
here and attentive, seemingly ready and willing to begin new units. Likewise,
the teachers were able to recharge and mentally prepare for the remainder of
the school year. For most of April, all was good. As the month began to wind
down, however, I noticed a change in the dynamic of the building. I soon
discovered that this change was occurring all throughout the district. Put
simply, everyone seems tired. Our students' attendance is growing progressively
worse. Teachers are on edge and, collectively, students and staff are ready to
get through these last few weeks.
Still,
the fact remains that there are two and a half weeks of school left. So much
can be done in this time frame, so it is imperative that students and staff don’t
check out just yet! I’ve done some research concerning ways to combat this ‘end
of the year slump’. The most common suggestion for ways to wrap up the year and
stay motivated at the same time is to do some reflection. I saw this repeatedly
in the articles I looked at. There are several ways to frame a unit based on
reflection. Length of time is also flexible, spanning from a few days to a few
weeks, depending on the school and the activity.
One of the ideas I thought could be
fun and relevant is having students create a scrapbook. Students could reflect
on their favorite unit or part of the semester and tell why they made the
choice they did. Students can be prompted to write their explanations and also
include photos and other individual additions. Another great way to reflect could
be having the students put together a class newsletter. In doing this, teachers
can incorporate meaningful writing into the last few weeks of school. Students
could pick events they really liked from the school year and write about them.
This is a great way to mix independent and collaborative work. Students can
also reflect via multimedia projects. All of these would be a great way to
increase both student and staff motivation. The students will enjoy the freedom
and, as educators, it will be delightful to see what they come up with.
Reflection is a great way to end a
school year, but certainly not the only way. I was able to find some other great
ideas. One of my favorites was read aloud marathons. For this, each day of the
last week of school (or weeks if you have the material) the teacher would read
excerpts from several books that students may be interested in reading over the
summer. Students can keep a log of the titles that interest them. This is also
a great way to promote discussion. Another excellent idea, which we did in our
English II class, is to put the textbooks aside and get into a final project.
We centered ours around Julius Caesar. Upon completing the reading (which we
did from a graphic novel) students will create a conspirator resume and also a
newspaper clipping for an event in Caesar. There were many great ideas. The
last one that I will discuss is taking learning outside. This is perfect for
literature classes and, when the weather permits, students really enjoy them.
What other suggestions do you all
have for keeping students and staff motivated until the year ends? How can we
keep learning first, yet incorporate a fun and enjoyable environment that
students and teachers, alike, can enjoy. The year will come to a close. That much
we can be sure of, but until then we have a job to do!
