end of year

Keeping Kids Tuned in at the End of the Year: A Secondary Linky

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! Join me for a fun recap of some ways to keep students tuned in this time of year. I’m sharing tips for secondary English classrooms, and since that’s where my experience stops, I’ve enlisted the help of other secondary teachers in all subjects to link up great ideas below!

In a middle or high school English classroom, this is an excellent time of year to start that novel you’ve been wanting to teach or to try a new project. So hopefully, these few ideas will make those even more creative for you! Plus, they are all student-centered and standards-based, so the kiddos stay engaged, and your job is easy!

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 that over my beloved classic fiction texts. Now, I’ve changed my tune completely. 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. 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.
Make It Personal – We all know that secondary students can be ah hem… self-centered. So anytime they get to talk about themselves, there’s pretty good buy-in. My seniors just completed my Generational Interview project as part of their reading tasks for the last section of my Fahrenheit unit. They – and their grandparents – really enjoyed the projects and the kids learned so much about their families and themselves. This was an out-of-class assignment, but they did share in class. Now that’s an easy prep! 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.
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. 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!
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.
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, and since I don’t show the 451 movie because it’s so old and not even worth the time, I thought this would be a fun way to end the unit. They’ll have to write something showing those parallels, of course!

Also, if you haven’t already followed over at my Facebook page, I’m doing a promo right now to give away The Shack when I reach 200 followers over there! You’ll need to follow and then go comment on that post, so I can enter your name!

Tips for Surviving the End of the Year in a Secondary Classroom

It’s that time of year when things are starting to wind down. It’s after state testing, and we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I teach juniors and seniors and that senioritis starts to creep in about March for the seniors who know their days in public education are just about over. Well, what if those feelings of apathy, tiredness, discontent, and general aggravation aren’t just coming from the students? What if you – the teacher –are starting to feel the summer slide, too? You know the symptoms all too well from seeing it in your students, so if you have that same diagnosis this time of year, here are a few ways to beat that senioritis bug and end the year strong. If you have any tips and suggestions that work, leave them in the comments below!

1) Clean. I don’t know about your classroom, but mine gets so dirty throughout the year with kids coming and going. I’m not talking about piles of papers here or general disorganization; I mean dirt and dust bunnies galore. My board is so smeared, and the desks are pretty much black. A couple times a month, I’ll take the time to wipe down the desks with a Clorox wipe, but at the end of the year, it’s a much better idea to go ahead and break out the 409 and paper towels and give them all a good scrub – mine included. I’ll even borrow a mop and scrub around the baseboards. I
always feel much more refreshed after I’ve given my room a good wipe down.

2) Organize. Piles of papers. Folders stacked here and there. Graded work heaping up. Books waiting to be checked back in. This pretty much describes the scene in my classroom by May. A messy room and/or desk does nothing for my motivation to be at school, and it even makes me want to just throw it all away, which wouldn’t be a good idea since I would have to start all over again in the fall. I have a decent system for organizing and filing, but it just seems to get away from me this time of year while I’m working on closing out yearbook, finalizing grades, and planning graduation. Having a system in place is key, though, because when I do have a second to clean up, it usually doesn’t take too long. I think the major road block to getting organized and maintaining that organization is an over-complicated process. An over-the-top organizational approach eventually gets overwhelming, and in the fast-paced life of a classroom teacher, things need to be simple. When I think of classroom organization, my main concern is not cute caddies and containers for my pencils, tape, etc. (I do have a classroom design/style/theme that I love, though. You can see that post here). Rather, I think of my day-to-day routine, and what it takes for me to plan, teach, grade, and manage my classroom without chaos. I’ve tried many different methods for organizing, and after a while, I think I’ve got it down to what works for me. Even though I teach multiple grades – three out of three preps every semester – I still use the same system for everything. Here’s how I take my desk from chaos to clean in five easy tips that have truly simplified my life over the years.

Have a place for students to turn in work. I’ve seen (and tried) different folders for each class or each student even. I’ve seen accordion files or hanging files for students to turn their work in. I’ve tried having a different place for late or make up work. I can never keep up all of that sorting, and eventually, I just give up. What I’ve come to find is that the more places you store the “Grade Me” work, the more opportunity for it to get misplaced. And that method takes up a lot of real estate in the classroom, too. I’ve been using one
basket as a place for students to turn in work for about three years now, and it has been the ONLY thing to stick – and work. Whether it’s make up work, late work, or daily work, it goes in the “Grade Me” basket. Whether it’s first period, second period, or fourth period, it goes in that one basket. Now, if I’m collecting work from one period, once everyone has turned in his/her paper, I’ll go ahead and paperclip all those together. If I have the answer key handy, I’ll even attach that to the pile as well. Then when I’m ready to grade, it’s all right there in that one place. Yes, make up work or work from other classes gets mixed in from time to time, but that’s ok with me. I know and kids know if their work makes it to the basket, I will eventually see it and grade it. It’s also simple for the kids, and we all know why that’s important. If they can’t figure it out, you can forget it.

Have a place to store graded work until you can get it handed back. You probably already have a space like this in your classroom, but again for me, it must be simple and not take up much space. I just use a magazine bucket, but a hanging file folder box would work well, too. All my classes do
have a separate folder in that box, and when it gets full, I know it’s time to hand work back. Just be aware that students needing to do make up work, might go pilfering through that box for answers on work you’ve already scored.

Have a place for teaching materials you are using on a daily and weekly basis. Again, this is something that I’ve struggled with for years and years, and I just now have a system that works. It also works for having materials handy for makeup work. It goes like this: one box, one hanging folder per class. The end. I think you might be noticing a trend. I like to keep everything in one place. This crate sits on the corner of my desk, and when I make my morning or afternoon copies, I drop them in the correct folders when I walk into the room. If I have multiple lessons going for one class – which I usually do in an honors class – there are smaller folders inside the hanging folders. And, I usually have a folder for the master copies (which came out of my binders and are in sheet protectors) and then another folder for the student copies. I actually have one crate for each prep, and the past few years, I have had three preps, so that’s three crates.

Have a place for master copies of teaching materials. I mentioned master copies in sheet protectors above. By master copies of my teaching materials, I mean one blank copy of any worksheets, etc. the unit plan overview, daily lesson plans, and the answer keys. These go in a sheet protector in a 3-ring binder by class: junior honors, senior dual enrollment, yearbook, etc. Any extra copies or ideas I find during the unit that I might use later go in a manila folder to be filed. As a side note, these sheet protector packs can get pretty hefty, so I use extra capacity sheet protectors that I get from Amazon. Those binders sit on the shelf behind my desk. When I’m ready to start a new unit, I pull out the sheet protector pack and move it to the daily materials box.

Have a place for teaching materials that need to be filed. Since I do have three preps out of three preps each year, this is probably the pile that gets the largest more quickly than any other pile. My “FILE Me’ box is big enough to fit file folders and several stacks of papers. Then, when I’ve finished a lesson and have extra copies or student work samples to file later – during my down time 🙂 – it’s all in one place ready to go in its long-term home in the filing cabinet. If I can, I’ll go ahead and pop it in the filing cabinet as soon as I can. But if it has to sit for a minute, at least it’s already in a folder.

3) Try something new and/or student centered. Now that you’ve completed those lessons that are tried and true to get your students ready for state testing, etc. try something you’ve been curious about all year. It’s easy to get stuck in a rut, which leads to boredom, behavior problems, and bad moods. I’ve wanted to try Kahoot – since last May – but I couldn’t fit it in during the year. Plus, I was just really uncertain of how smoothly it would go. Last week, I was not in the mood to do anything – specifically review for EOCs, so I decided it was time to shake things up. We still needed to review grammar before the state testing, so I decided to load some of my real world grammar fails images into Kahoot and just give it a try. Because I already had those made up, it was just a matter of loading those pics and adding the choices. It took me less than 30 minutes to prep it, and it was very easy to use in class. I put my students in groups and let them use one device per group to select their answers. The program basically walks you through the steps. You can also search public Kahoots for free and play with no prep at all! The kids loved it! I was in a much better mood after doing a little something different from the status quo!

More ideas for trying something new:

Another thing that gets me down this time of year being busy from bell-to-bell. At this point in the year, usually, there isn’t any new material to cover, but having nothing for kids to do – or giving them busy work day after day gets old. They eventually catch on and that leads to more problems. A student-centered short research project where students pick their own topic, manage their own product, and then present to the class is just what the doctor ordered. Check out my free Antiques Show and Tell Research Project.

Antiques Show & Tell Common Core MLA Research Project -Fea

4) Have a party.

Kids beg for a party this time of year. I’m not against parties, but I do want them to be on purpose. I’ve shared about my Gatsby party before. Click here to check out that post. Last week, my seniors finished 451, and we had a final party where all the food was red, orange, or yellow. These are the times memories are made, and, of course, some sweet treats are surely the perfect antidote for senioritis. Look at how creative my students were in preparing their “hot” dishes!

5)Plan ahead. What feels better than planning ahead and taking some of the pressure off those first few days of school in the fall? Where I teach, we don’t normally know our schedule or students until a couple of weeks before school starts, but I still always try to take time to reflect on what I did this year. If I have time, I’ll even ask the students to reflect and evaluate the class, so I have authentic feedback as I’m looking at next year. Take a look at ALL my planners – printable and Google-drive planners here!

Here’s to a strong end to the year and a great summer!

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Sailing Into Summer: End of Year Ideas Blog Hop

I’m excited to be “sailing” along this blog hop with other fabulous teacher-bloggers. We hope you find loads of ideas to make your end-of-year experience smooth sailing!

1) Final Exam Idea – At the end of the year I am super busy
because I sponsor the yearbook and graduation. So extra time to grade papers or
final exams before grades are due is very limited. A few years back, I decided
I would do a project-based final exam, and I couldn’t have been happier with the
results. With the menu-style format, students
take complete ownership over their final exam from what project they choose to
what grade they want. All I have to do on final exam day is grade the presentation
and project with my rubric and then enter the grade. Easy peasy! Here’s a link to the direct FREE download!

2) An Activity I Want To Do Again Next Year – This year I began
using Classflow.com with my yearbook students for their yearbook-themed jump
starter activity. I absolutely loved
being able to send the daily tasks out to them on their comps at the start of
class. It made delivery and discussion seamless. I will for certain be using Classflow.com
again next year!

Yearbook Class 100 Days of Bell Ringer Class Starter Activities

3) Something I Want to do Differently Next Year – At
the end of the semester this month, I did a week of lessons that I called Beach
Week. It was a good way to bring in some final lessons at the end of the year
without being too much like work! Everything was beach-themed from info text to poetry to the final movie. I even decorated my room with a few beachy touches. It worked
out so well doing it for my second semester students that I thought I would
love to do something like that at the end of my first semester. I’m thinking Christmas Week. The plans are
still in development, but I know for sure I want to do a community service
project with my students.

4) Gift Idea For Coworkers/Students/Aids – I like to send my
students at Kids’ Church and helpers out each summer with a small gift. One year I made tags to go with frozen Popsicles. These tags are cute, easy to
use, versatile, and FREE. You can put them on a Popsicles, ice cream gift cards, and more! Click below to get the free tag!

5) Organizing Tip for Planning – The best thing I ever did for
my organization was creating a notebook just for planning. There are so many
notebooks available out there, but there were a few things that kept me from
buying one such as not having enough places for multiple preps, being specific
to only one year, and including too many “other” things I didn’t need for
planning. Once I finally went to just one notebook with ONLY planning supplies
in it, the results were terrific. Now
this summer, all I’ll have to take with me is my flash drive and my planner for
next year! No more loose calendars, pages of standards falling out, or extra
pages to flip through. Click below to get my NEW Tribal Design Planner.

Be sure to stop by the other posts in this hop!

An InLinkz Link-up

Ways People React to Test Anxieties That Might Annoy Others: Are You Guilty?

Testing
season is upon us, and with that comes test anxieties. Although, I’m not sure
who has more anxieties about the tests – teachers or students! Either way the
stress that goes along with testing is very real, so I thought a light-hearted
post was in order. This post was inspired by a conversation I had with my
students after they completed the state writing exam, which is timed and taken
on the computers. We aren’t allowed to
administer the test to our own students or discuss test’s content, but I always
like to ask them how they felt about it afterwards. My honors group had been very nervous, apparently,
because their senses were heightened to every possible distraction in the room. To say they were somewhat distracted by every
little thing would be a huge understatement.
I couldn’t help but laugh as they shared their testing room experience
with me. Perhaps their list of “Ways People
React to Text Anxieties That Might Annoy Others” will give you a little
chuckle.

1) Leg Shaking – Anxiety increases
adrenaline levels, and when adrenaline goes up, your body has a natural
“fight or flight” response.
Leg shaking must equal the need to get up and run out of the room for
dear life. It might make time pass more
quickly for you, but the person next to you feels as if they are on a bad
amusement park ride. If you’re a
leg-shaker, try to just wiggle your toes instead!

2) Heavy Mouth Breathing and Nose Sniffling – I almost laughed
so hard I cried when my kids mentioned this to me, but it’s a reality. When that adrenaline gets going, breathing is
a struggle. If you often find yourself short
of breath during testing, try to do a few breathing exercises before entering
the testing room so you have that under control!

3) Mumbling – What signifies mumbling, you might ask? Well, if
you are Goody Osburn (from The Crucible),
mumbling could get you condemned a witch.
If not, you might just be a testing room proctor who isn’t quite on her “A
game.” In this case, the proctor was mumbling to herself and hovering during
the entire test. When you are reading
and writing on the spot, every moment counts.
Being distracted by a mumbler, well, that’s not the charm you are
looking for.

4) Loud Typing/Writing – Machine guns firing. That’s what my students
told me it sounded like when people began typing their essays. (Teenagers love hyperbole.) In a room of complete silence, though, I imagine that
is probably true. While some students were still trying to read the text, others
were rapidly firing their sentences to beat the clock. Online testing… sounds like an efficient way
to collect and grade responses, but in reality, it might not be the best “bang”
for the buck.

5) Pen Clicking/Tapping – This is probably my biggest personal
pet peeve. It’s not band class and we don’t
need a drum roll, but some students/people can’t resist the urge to click,
click, click, rap, tap, tapping at my chamber door….. Oh, sorry. I forgot I
wasn’t quoting Poe. Yes, the tapping. If pen clicking is your go-to tick during
testing, perhaps take a long some writing utensils that aren’t so interactive!

Are you
guilty of any of these? You probably don’t even know you have these aggravating
habits, but it is probably driving someone else in the room batty! May the odds be ever in your *testing* favor! Click on the keep calm image below to download a free pdf version of this cute sign!

Keeping Kids Tuned in at the End of the Year: A Secondary Linky

Tips for Surviving the End of the Year in a Secondary Classroom

Sailing Into Summer: End of Year Ideas Blog Hop

Ways People React to Test Anxieties That Might Annoy Others: Are You Guilty?

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