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5 Ways to Keep Students Tuned-In at the End-of-the-Year

It’s getting to be that time of year when things get a little crazy – a little sideways. Students – and teachers – are starting to tune out! So hopefully, these ideas will make these end-of-year days less stressful, and more fun. Plus, these 5 ways to keep students tuned-in at the end-of-the-year are all student-centered and standards-based, so the kiddos stay engaged, and your job is easy. Join me for a fun recap of 5 ways to keep students tuned-in this time of year. Perfect for any secondary education classroom.

1) Make It Real

When the CCSS started to roll out and there was so much emphasis placed on nonfiction, I’ll be honest – like many other “old English teachers” – I was nervous about giving up so much class time to those texts over my beloved classic fiction texts. Now, I love finding nonfiction texts that stand alone and/or that pair with my fiction. And, honestly, the kids LOVE it when they know it’s real. Students really “tune-in” with nonfiction because sometimes it’s so hard to believe that it is actually real! Sometimes I have them go searching on their own for real information – like in my mini research project on banned books in my Fahrenheit unit. Or other times, I’ll pair the info for them and have them dig into the material in class like in my lesson on the LeRoy HS outbreak after we read Act 1 of The Crucible. Also, take a look at several bundles of hot topics informational text lessons I have ready-to-go. Whether you teach English or not, finding ways to bring in the “real-world” aspect of your subject matter really gives your topic purpose, and I find students are much more likely to buy-in.

Hot Topics Informational Text Lessons: BUNDLE, Set 1, 5 Ways to Keep Students Tuned-In at the End-of-the-Year

Hot Topics Informational Text Lessons: BUNDLE, Set 2, 5 Ways to Keep Students Tuned-In at the End-of-the-Year

2) Make It Personal

We all know that secondary students can be ah hem… self-centered. (Bless) So anytime they get to talk about themselves, there’s interest. When my seniors read Fahrenheit 451, they do a generational Interview project as part of their reading tasks for the last section of my Fahrenheit unit. They – and their grandparents – really enjoy the project and the students learn so much about their families and themselves. Another way to make it personal and keep kids tuned in is with poetry that speaks to them. In my treating senioritis poetry pack, I’ve selected several poems that draw on students’ personal experiences and the follow up activities ask students to reflect on their past, present, and future. Another teacher shared this classroom success story about my poetry pack: “With less than a month left for the Seniors, they are losing their focus in class quickly. These are great assignments that keep them engaged and challenge them to keep at it. This is also great for Poetry Month (April). My student’s actual poems (from the extension activities) are being published in our campus newsletter to celebrate it.” Anything you can do as part of a lesson or short research project that allows students to make connections with their own lives will add a layer of interest they won’t be able to resist.

End of Year Poetry, Surviving Senioritis, Poetry Month Act, 5 Ways to Keep Students Tuned-In at the End-of-the-Year

3) Make It Interactive

I have to admit that I’d never used puppets in the classroom before with high school students, but now that I have, I can’t stop. I also have to admit that it was partly my students’ idea to conduct the first puppet show I ever conducted. When my seniors read The Canterbury Tales, I had made little cards with the characters on them. I wanted each student to read and research about that character to share with the class. One student was holding up her card and thought she was being funny when she said, “We should do this as a puppet show.” I said, “Actually, that’s a great idea. Yes, we should.” That night I glued Popsicle sticks on the cards and borrowed a puppet curtain my mom had made for my nieces. Voila! The next day we had a puppet show! After that, I let my emoji addiction get a little more out of control, and I made emoji puppets for accountable talk, review, point of view, and more! See my Facebook post about them. If you don’t have puppets for your class, then just consider what topic you teach that students to re-enact or role play. For an extra layer of rigor, have the students write the scripts, too!

Escape games are super hot right now, too, and you can find them in just about any subject and grade level. The end of the year is the perfect time to give one a try for review or just for fun. I’ve made full-length games for some favorite stories I teach, and I recently started to make mini escape games that last 30 minutes! All of my games are designed so that you can use a physical lock box that you buy premade or make yourself or digitally with Google. I love using the physical lock box for students, and I’ve created this quick video tutorial just in case you’ve wanted to try it, but have been a little apprehensive about it. When I conduct an escape game in class, I have 100% participation and engagement. It doesn’t get more tuned-in than that!

4) Make It Project-Based

Projects don’t have to be a lot of work for you. Nor should they be a lot of work to prep. One year I wanted something new and fun for Earth Day, so I rummaged through my junk drawers at the house and had student create uses for the various items. The skills we covered? Propaganda, Info-Text Analysis; Speaking and Listening, Presenting. That project is for sale here! This time of year, my yearbook students also work on projects to keep them busy until the books come back. They would be excellent for a yearbook class, business, art, or technology class. I’ve also successfully done short research projects, and I have a ton of those available as well on a variety of topics.

Earth Day Paired Text Reading Lesson, Speech and Poem , 5 Ways to Keep Students Tuned-In at the End-of-the-Year

5) Make It a Movie Day

Let’s be real for a minute. We can’t always show a movie, but if we are talking about getting tuned in, well, we can’t ignore the obvious. If you missed my post about how to incorporate media effectively, click here to go check that out. I will say that my seniors are going to be watching The Hunger Games next week. Why in the world, right? It was their idea – and it wasn’t because they just wanted to watch it randomly. In fact, they’ve been asking me all along our 451 unit if there’s a sequel to Bradbury’s magnum opus. (Can we pause to just say how awesome it is that they want to read MORE 451?!?!?) Then one day, it dawned on a student that there was quite a bit of intertextuality between 451 and THG. I had noticed the parallels before because I love THG! He made a pretty good case for it, so I thought this would be a fun way to end the unit. They’ll have to write something showing those parallels, of course. Plus, I’ve got you covered for tons of movies with ready-made, standards-based movies guides. All you need to do is get the DVD and press play. Click over to my other blog post, as well, with more Tips for Teaching with Movies.

Here’s to a great rest of the year. Comment below with ways you successfully keep students tuned-in at the end-of-the-year.

Love this content? Join a group! There are already tons of ideas, freebies, and fabulous teachers in my new groups, and joining is simple. Just click over to the following links, answer a few questions, and voila! Thanks again for following along my classroom stories and small-business journey. I really do hope you to see you over in my new “backyards” where we can chat and share all things English and Yearbook.

Updated 2021, written by Julie Faulkner

I’m continuing the series today on Classroom Success Strategies. Today’s post is a two-in-one tip for interactive and real-world teaching strategies. At the bottom of the post, feel free to link up with your own favorite strategies in the comments section. Link products, ideas, etc.!

In the fast-paced world of today’s teen, I am always looking for new and different ways to appeal to my students. I don’t always expect everything to be fun all the time, but I know that I’ll accomplish more if my students are engaged. If you are on the cusp of branching out into the interactive world of teaching strategies, or even if you are well-versed, perhaps my take below will spark you to get interactive this week!

1) An interactive lesson doesn’t have to be silly. I think a lot of times, especially
high school teachers, think that interactive lessons are akin to playing games
and are silly. Granted, I’ve seen some
that are. To me, an interactive lesson can be anything from using task
cards with individual students or in a group setting to making human
MLA citations! If you wanted to bring in a little silly with the serious, play a funny song or have students race the clock! It really depends on
your style and, of course, what your goals are for the class.

2) An interactive lesson doesn’t have to take a long time in class. I
like to chunk my classes into segments – usually about 15-20 minutes each. This is usually an excellent structure for my daily grammar bell ringer routine, lesson intro, interactive/group work, and individual
task. Sometimes my “real-world” connection
is simply a relatable video as a set activity or a funny grammar mistake from my growing collection of pictures.
Other times, my real-world connections are more project-oriented, take a
while longer, and give students time to work in groups, process through
problem-solving strategies, and employ critical thinking skills. If you wanted to experiment with longer projects, start small. One really
successful project I’ve done is my Earth Day Info Text and Real-World Project,
which is perfect for April. In this Earth Day
themed lesson, students compare and contrast the presentation of a similar theme
or topic across genres (different types of writing) to explain how each genre
shapes the author’s presentation of the theme. Next, they use their
problem-solving skills to raise awareness of the need to be good stewards of
the earth. Students love getting “their hands dirty” with this
real-world project and presentation, and you will love that they are critically
thinking about the world around them while demonstrating their understanding of
key CCSS. Perhaps, you will give
it a try!

Earth Day Paired Text Reading Lesson, Speech and Poem with

3) An interactive lesson doesn’t have
to be hands-on or project-oriented. In
order for a lesson to be interactive, it doesn’t have to be a full-blown
project or even something where students move around. An effective and purposeful whole-group discussion
or guided small-group discussion can take the attention off the teacher and
make it more student-centered and interactive. I also think when a student is 100% engaged in
his/her learning, that’s pretty interactive, too. I like to give case studies and short research
projects where students are responsible for extracting the information about
the assigned topic on their own, and then they give a presentation. If you wanted to be more adventurous and try something interactive while keeping students focused, my students enjoy readers’ theater or role playing. I love keeping a box of costume props
handy when we are reading some favorites like The Crucible, Macbeth, Beowulf, or Trifles. It doesn’t take but a few minutes, and it’s
great for those out-going students.

4) An interactive lesson doesn’t have
to be labor-intensive for the teacher. The idea behind an interactive or real-world
lesson is that students are going to be doing most of the work and hopefully, they will be more engaged – which takes the pressure off of the teacher. One quick way I review
before a test involves a small ball that we toss around the room. In fact, I
call it Ball Toss Review – creative, right? Each student
must answer a question about the topic, and then he/she gets to toss the ball to
whomever he/she chooses. I don’t have to
prepare anything, but the students are on their toes thinking and
responding the entire time. Technology is another
excellent way to get students more involved, and it may or may not involve a little prep work.
Especially when technology
is involved, most times students will dive right in. I love my newest Google-Drive eWorksheets for
poetry, which are a super-cool tool for bridging the gap between today’s teens and poetry!

Digital Poetry eWorksheets Analysis & Comprehension for An

5) An interactive lesson doesn’t have
to cost you anything. Sometimes it may seem daunting to buy game pieces, cut and laminate game cards, or prepare online worksheets or discussion boards for students. If your time and resources are limited (of course they are), there are plenty interactive ideas that are completely free. If you are in the middle of a writing unit, have students complete a 4-square peer review. Students fold a piece of notebook paper into four squares and review each other’s paper for the thesis statement, grammar/spelling, organization, and language. With April being poetry month, another fun and free hands-on idea is to have students write Characterization Poems for the piece of literature you are currently studying. Just beg and borrow to get a few magazines, and you’ll be set. If you have a bit more time, a smart device, and time to print and cut a glass set of Plickers, you will love the results. Even Plickers are mostly free, and would be excellent way to jazz up your traditional exit tickets.

I don’t think every single lesson, every single day needs to be interactive. Sometimes, teachers come down with
the “activity-itis” syndrome. I’ve been guilty of it myself. See more of my thoughts about that here.
The most important thing to keep in mind for a successful lesson is that it
just needs to be on purpose. More on that topic in another post in this series.
Stay tuned!

If you are looking for more interactive ideas right now, I wrote an entire blog post here a while back that describes several ways to engage secondary students in the classroom.