the crucible Archives - Faulkner's Fast Five

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.

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Updated 2021, written by Julie Faulkner

It is rather evident that most teens are well-versed in the
art of ~~snarky comments~~ sarcasm.
In fact, we might even be able to assert that verbal irony might be their
first language with English coming in as a close second language to most of them :). As we were studying The Crucible this month, I needed to review irony before state
testing rolls around in December, but I needed something quick and fresh to use. I also wanted them to have a fun and challenging out-of-class
project. I mentioned in my last post,
where I shared some memes that I had created for fun while I anxiously await
the release of the next HG movie installment, that I had decided to task my
students with creating memes for The
Crucible. The result was a short review lesson on the three types of irony
and the challenge of

creating a meme that stayed “inside the text.” After the short lecture, I gave students a
simple chart for them to note irony in the play. It was sort of a scavenger
hunt through the acts to find examples of the three types of irony. Ultimately,
this exercise was a form of brainstorming for the project and inspired their
memes to come from within the text. This
activity is definitely worth the time spent, and if you are thinking your students
might love it as well, consider these factors as part of the rationale for incorporating
it into your lesson.

1) Modern – I never want to think I’m
an “old fogey” when it comes to my classroom, but I know that sometimes I do
tend to stick to some traditional methods, assignments, and projects. This was
one activity I felt 100% good about that was new and fresh but still very
grounded in standards.

2) Meaningful – There is only so much
time to cover material and standards each semester before state testing rolls
around. It’s always weighing on my mind when I plan that I only have limited opportunities with my students, so I always ask
myself when I start an activity, “What are they really going to get out of this?”. This project blended perfectly with
my Crucible unit, it was text-based,
and I was able to put a check by CC RL.11-12.6.

3) Great for all levels of learners –
No matter if it was my honor students or regular education students, this
project was designed for them all to be successful and have fun. It does require access to technology, which
thankfully our school has several computer labs open in the morning and
afternoon. So, my students who didn’t have it at home could do the activity at
school. Additionally, it offers differentiation
in the sense that students who needed to stick to the basics could use the
memes from the meme generator site, while others could go above and beyond
using images and ideas of their own.

4) Quick and Easy Yet Challenging –
Once students completed the scavenger hunt and had a grasp on the irony in the play, they were
able to generate their meme in 10 minutes or less, copy it to Google Docs,
write a statement about it, share it with me, and voila! The project is complete. Several students even did more than one– so loved that!!

5) Great Display – I always like to hang student work in my
classroom and outside my door. Now admin, teachers, parents, and other students
can chuckle to themselves as they walk past my door. Plus, the students in my
classes are really enjoying see each other’s creations! Not to mention, that it
is a great review after we have completed the play!

Want to see some of the results of my students’ creativity? I love how much depth these show of their understanding of the layers within the play…. *bursting with teacher pride*!