Have you ever struggled to get back into the swing of things when returning to school after winter break? You’re not alone. Not only is transitioning back to school after winter break tough on you, but it’s also tough on your students.
Some of the challenges when returning to school after winter break include:
- Difficulty readjusting to the school routine (for teachers and students!).
- Managing students’ lack of focus and motivation.
- Having to catch up on material students have forgotten over the break.
- Dealing with absences.
- Having to reestablish classroom routines and behaviour expectations.
- Finding a way to balance teaching with your personal life.
Today, we will explore effective strategies for dealing with these challenges when returning to school after winter break. These tips and tricks are designed to help you and your students overcome the challenges and create a thriving classroom environment.
Helpful Tips for Returning to School After Winter Break
Difficulty Readjusting to the School Routine
One of the best ways to readjust to the school routine when returning to school after winter break is to start before winter break.
- Think of some activities your class can do when they return and get them prepared for the first few days. For example, students will love to revisit material they were learning before winter break by using digital escape rooms.
- If you’re planning on using an activity for which you’ll need photocopies, make them before you leave for your break.
- Tidy up your desk and make sure the classroom is in order before you leave. You know that feeling you get when you go on vacation and come home to a clean house? Do the same for your classroom. Make sure it’s a warm and inviting place for students (and yourself) to return to.
- Load up your lessons in Google Classroom or your LMS platform. Make sure your slideshows are ready to go. The only thing you should do on the Sunday before school begins again is pack a lunch. Your copies and digital materials should be prepped and ready to go.
- Ease back into the school routine using activities that focus on review or are just for fun. This New Year’s Goal Setting Activity is perfect for getting students excited and engaged during the first week after winter break. This will let students discuss the break, share experiences, and set goals for the remaining months of school.
- You could also use this New Year’s Digital Escape Room, where students will use their reading and listening comprehension skills and general knowledge about New Year’s Eve, New Year’s, and Goal Setting to solve each escape room challenge.
- Consider refreshing the classroom environment with new decorations or displays related to the upcoming lessons. When a classroom has fun, new things to look at and explore, it can create excitement about returning to school after winter break.
- Remind students of the classroom rules and expectations. Let students tell you the rules, and create a list on the board or a visual display for student reference. Establish a warm-up activity to use at the beginning of class with your students using daily attendance questions. Learn more here: 22 Interesting Ways to Use Daily Attendance Questions.
Managing Students’ Lack of Focus and Motivation
For many people, winter break is a time to visit friends and family, participate in outdoor activities, and be on the go during the day. Your students are visiting friends, playing outside, and being active.
Now that they’re back to school after winter break, sitting at a desk all day can make it hard for them to focus, especially after the fun of winter break. Incorporate movement into the day by including activities that get your students moving. This blog post, 11 Fun Ways to Get Students Moving in the Classroom, has some great ideas.
You can also find educational, interactive, and engaging activities to transition students into more rigorous work gradually. Try some of the activities listed below or check out the linked posts for ideas:
ELA
- Pet Memes Narrative Writing Assignment
- Winter Creative Writing Assignment
- 10 Tips for Making English Class Fun
- Fun Winter Literacy Activities For Middle School
Science
- Dog DNA Tests
- Forensic Science Digital Escape Room
- Middle School Science Digital Escape Room Bundle
- 10 Ways To Make Science Class Engaging and Fun For Students
Social Studies
- Japan’s Cat Islands Non-Fiction Article
- Canadian History Sub Plans – Parliament Hill Cat Colony
- 14 Ways To Make Geography Class Fun
- 13 Ways to Make History Class Engaging for Students
Media Literacy
Try something different: Let students explore the trades or learn about winter sports through a Winter Sports Digital Escape Room. Try out a non-fiction article about Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year so they can learn about other New Year traditions.
Use technology, group work, or experiments to make learning more engaging. It’s also important to break lessons into shorter ones and get students up and moving throughout the day.
Catching Up On Material
When students are returning to school after winter break, they’re bound to forget something. Think of how much review time has to be spent at the beginning of a school year after summer break – that usually still happens after shorter breaks, too.
Dedicate the first few days to reviewing key concepts covered before the break. Use digital escape rooms, non-fiction articles, or podcasts to go over material learned in an exciting and engaging way. You can also use games, quizzes, or group activities to make the review engaging.
Assess to gauge where students are at after the break. This can help you assess what they remember and where there may be gaps. You can also think about how the previous lesson connects to the next and weave in review as you introduce a new topic.
Dealing With Absences
Create lesson plans that can be easily adapted if students are absent. This can include having digital resources or recorded lessons students can listen to at home or when they get back. Many 2 Peas and a Dog resources have a digital component (e.g., Google Slides and/or MP3 audio files) that can easily be assigned through Google Classroom. You can find these resources through Shopify CAD or Teachers Pay Teachers USD.
Use communication tools such as emails, websites or apps to keep absent students and their parents informed about what they’ve missed and how they can catch up. Consider setting up a website, Google Classroom, or other LMS tool for your classroom where you can share what the class is currently learning or create a calendar in Google Docs that can easily be shared with parents and students so they can see the upcoming schedule.
You could also create a buddy system where students can help each other if one is away and will need to catch up on missed work. They can share notes and provide summaries of the lessons that were missed.
Most importantly, be flexible. Make sure you have some sub plans ready in case you need to be away from school.
Here are some sub plans you can check out:
- Middle School ELA Sub Plans Bundle
- Middle School Science Sub Plans Students Will Love
- Canadian History Sub Plans Bundle
Reestablishing Classroom Routines and Behaviour Expectations
Reestablishing routines and behaviour expectations is the hardest part of returning to school after winter break. Before students leave for winter break, they’re usually bouncing off the walls, eager to be out of school for a few weeks; when they return, they still want to be home, and their routine has now changed from being able to sleep in and do what they want to having to get up early and sit in a classroom all day.
Even for teachers, this isn’t a great transition.
Treat returning to school after winter break as you would when returning to school after summer break. Spend time teaching and practicing routines and behaviour expectations just as you would if it was the beginning of the year.
Use positive reinforcement to encourage sticking to the routine and for students who show good behaviour. You can use resources such as Classroom Management Reward Coupons and Reward Passes.
Most importantly, be consistent with consequences for not following the routines and expectations. This consistency will help students understand the importance of these rules.
For more tips and tricks on classroom management, you can read these posts:
- Top Classroom Management Tips
- Effective Middle School Classroom Management
- The Magic of a Homework Pass for Classroom Management
- Great Classroom Management Strategies For Middle School
- Effective Middle School Classroom Management Resources for Teachers
Balancing Teaching with Personal Life
The entire school year is a balancing routine when it comes to making time for your career and your personal life. Leaving the classroom at the end of the day and switching gears from being a teacher to being you can be tricky at the best of times. However, we all know that mental health is extremely important, so finding this balance is important.
- Set boundaries. Make sure that you have a clear line between work and personal time. Avoid bringing work home whenever you can, and try to keep the school work at school. You can even set specific times for checking emails or grading papers. Set a timer on your phone or computer, and you’re done that task when it goes off.
- Prioritize self-care and mental health. Who doesn’t love a good self-care challenge? We must take the time to do something for ourselves. Teaching can take a lot out of teachers, so taking the time to do something that relaxes you, whether going for a massage, reading a good book, watching your favourite TV series, or going for a walk, will be extremely beneficial in the long run. Check out this blog post, Important Teacher Mental Health Strategies, for ideas on prioritizing your personal mental health.
- Plan and delegate. You are not alone in your teaching journey. Delegate tasks, when possible, to your students or classroom volunteers. Your colleagues might be able to help you out, too! Your school librarian, for instance, is a great resource for finding materials for your classroom. Also, plan your lessons and grading schedule so you are not stressed out. Take advantage of long-term planning and make sure you have a plan in place when returning to school after winter break. Some grade teams divide up the planning – each team member plans a subject or a unit, makes all the photocopies for everyone and then shares them. This can help cut down on time spent planning.
- Make sure to seek support. Returning to school after winter break is stressful for everyone, so don’t hesitate to seek support from your colleagues, friends, or family. Have a support system in place so you can talk about your challenges.
Winter break is a great time for everyone, students and teachers alike, and it should be enjoyed. Returning to school after winter break will be a breeze when you have a plan in place and have done some preparation before heading out for the holiday. It might be a cool, wintery breeze, but it will be a breeze nonetheless.
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