Tips for Surviving the End of the Year

End of the year strategies, ideas and lessons from the 2 Peas and a Dog blog.

End of the year is a time that approaches fast during the school year. For teachers it is like tax season for financial professionals – busy and chaotic. It is important to know that end of year madness can be tamed and turned into something more productive than stress and chaos. In the curated Twitter chat below teachers share their best strategies for maintaining a balance during the last few weeks of school.

Q1: What final papers and projects do you do at the end of the year? Share favorites.

Favorite end of year project = literary theme park https://goo.gl/1iIVRV students pick their favourite text to use
In middle school, we wrote reflections & ten-year dreams. High school – we must give finals.
I do a non-fiction “become the teacher project”. They read a non-fiction book and create a lesson for the class
Seniors have been done for a few weeks, but ended the year with Genius Hour reflections for some and research paper for others
This year we are doing a mini-research project where students work in groups to plan a vacay to part. locale to combine with
For Juniors, it’s lots of Regents prep
Our digital tools cert. so they will use Word, PP, Excel & Access to share their research
Favorites: Making books with http://blurb.com and creating companies with @bizworldorg
Explore with a PBL project, lit circles. Had one E3 class write children’s books for PreK class
Students create games over different concepts and skills throughout the year. Or write a letter to next years class

Q2: Do you have final exams at the end of the year? How do you make review interesting for students?

To make exam review fun I have students work through review stations in groups
More ideas here: https://www.2peasandadog.com/2013/01/making-exam-review-fun.html
No final exams for middle school but using @Kahoot! or @quizlet live always makes review fun
Seniors just do their final paper, Juniors have NY Regents which is intense. Wish there were ways to make it more interesting
Regents are all skills based so review is all practice essays
We are playing Kahoot! We also will complete study guides together
My final is them creating their own “perfect” society. They are writing a paper and preparing a speech with media
Students could play the games they make that I mentioned in A1 for a review. Games could be hands-on or techie
My “final” is our state test. I used @ClassDojo to gamify test prep: asked questions & then awarded students based on Dojo points
One of my teachers is planning her final as student reflections on the year
Also made videos, used @brainpop videos & @Flocabulary
I have a final over the last six weeks material usually because it’s different from usual stuff. I try to use Kahoot to review

Q3: Share tips on how you stay healthy during this busy season.

Summer fruit is in season, so lots of melon and salads! Hoping to also try out a jogging stroller with my little one this week
Take grading outdoors! The sunshine makes it more bearable
Healthy? Well…. I use (too much) hand sanitizer – does that count? 🙂 🙂
I keep turning down sweets. They are everywhere this time of year
Walk outside during lunch or conference period
It is important to take time for self-care even if time seems impossible
Tips to Avoid Teacher Burn Out https://www.2peasandadog.com/2015/12/tips-for-avoiding-teacher-burnout.html
I try to get to bed at a normal time no matter how high the grading pile
Personally, baseball helps the most, but I try to maintain the class routines established. Doesn’t always work but I try

Q4: Do you have any special end of the year celebrations in your classroom? Academics related or just for fun?

Our 8th graders have a graduation ceremony with awards
I have students write a letter to themselves at beginning of year and I return on one of last days of school
Our 8th graders also have a grad, dance and awards
I also have a ticket reward system and have an “ultimate drawing” on the last day with all prizes in brown paper lunch bags
We are not! I think my school wants business as usual. They will get a small gift from me
I like to read my seniors “Oh, The Places You’ll Go!”
I have a final lesson that consists of little life things that I want them to know. And reminds them that I’m proud of them
Cosplay costume contest, let’s the students become characters from any genre, time, etc. & really make a diff world in the class
Prizes in bags so that no one knows what anyone is going to get! Keeps it fair as possible due to the timing of tickets. I award tickets for following directions, getting a question correct, 100% scores, small acts of kindness. Here’s a post about my system: http://mrsspanglerinthemiddle.blogspot.com/2015/10/top-3-classroom–behavior-tips.html
We do a roundtable where we write compliments for each student on their own sheet. Borrowed from The Story of Mark Eklund

Q5: Share a lesson or tip for what to do with students on those really hot days.

Brainstorm outside with sidewalk chalk!!
Poems with chalk outside about summer
Create a digital memory book
Try media literacy activities to keep them thinking and engaged

More End of the Year Ideas

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