To Teach At the End of the Year [S1 E8 & E9]
The end of the school year can be an intimidating time of year for any teacher with any number of years of experience. With final exams, projects, and other big deadlines looming, there’s a lot more pressure to get things done at the end of the year than at any other break and on top of that, the kids seem to be acting a whole lot more restless than usual. In this huge, two-part episode, we break down for you three manageable components to your end of year classroom management strategy.
ONE: ORGANIZATION & COMMUNICATION
We’ll break down for you all of the best strategies for getting calendars put together, communicating with parents, using easy classroom hacks (I especially love these timers!), and how to handle the big project work days. The key is this: plan, plan, plan. Decide when you want to grade, when you want things turned in, and work your way backwards. No one wants you at your desk AFTER the final goodbye breakfast still grading. Stop what you’re doing, make a calendar, and make it work for you first.
TWO: CLASSROOM CULTURE
It’s important to remember all of the bonding and classroom culture things you’ve done all year and use that energy to push through to the end. We’ve used end of year countdowns, special incentives, stations activities, and a few more special moves to make sure there’s a satisfying way to end the year together as a group. Whatever you do, make sure you have thought about what you want the last day to feel like and look like - just throwing on a movie might leave you feeling a little sad and hollow inside.
THREE: ASSIGNMENTS & GRADING
With all of the grading and assignments that come at the end, just having a calendar is not going to cut it for classroom management. It’s critical to make sure that rubrics are ready (and DETAILED). This is one of the best ways to relieve anxiety and have answers ready to go when students and parents inevitably have questions. You also want to think smart about the kind of assessments you give at the end: one favorite of ours is a full-class discussion answering all of the big questions from the year and requiring students to reference evidence from the novels, poetry, nonfiction, and even current events of the past school year. Discussions like these feel like a cohesive way to say goodbye and synthesize everything you’ve learned together. If you’ve never tried it, look in to Parlay as an online tool to help grade and moderate these types of discussions.
WAYOWRN? (What are you obsessed with right now?)
Amanda: Succulents all the way - especially this jade plant from Amazon after being inspired at the Mitchell Domes in Milwaukee, WI over winter break. Yes. They look like three giant boobs and I’m not mad.
Marie: How to Read Novels Like a Professor because the first book was awesome and the tagline suggests that this will be a “jaunty” experience. Um..yes please.
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