Wondering how you and your students are going to survive the end of the school year?
Wondering how to keep your students actively engaged in learning after Spring Break and all that testing?
It's after Spring Break and THAT testing is over (or almost over) and everyone in your little classroom is antsy.
The sun is shining outside and the smell of vacation is in the air.
So, how can you keep instruction meaningful and maintain active student engagement?
Change is ALWAYS good!!
It's not lining up movies or "busy work" tasks just to keep students entertained. Students can watch movies at home. That’s not why their parents send them to school and that’s not why you became a teacher!
Let's help students keep their minds off of their summer vacation fever and have so much fun at school they don't even realize they are learning! I know...I know...that's the goal from Day One, but it's a special challenge at the end of the school year!
Teachers are natural researchers!
We try strategies.
We invent strategies.
We revise our plans…on the spot!
Try out new ideas!
Implement a new strategy or idea that you want to make part of your classroom next year. Get your hands dirty. Use this year’s students as your guinea pigs.
What’s the worst that can happen?
They learn something new or just plain stay engaged!
This time of year lets you test out new things and get your hands dirty so that you can work out the kinks over the summer vacation and start fresh the next year with your new group of students.
Maybe you’ve wanted to overhaul your word study time.
Maybe you want to try out a new schedule to see how the day flows.
This year’s students are trained and are flexible to change things up. Just think, this may be the key to keeping them engaged.
It’s always good to try something new.
Think Miss Frizzle from the Magic School Bus…
“Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!”
Some Definite Possibilities
Check out this menu of possibilities and don't forget to continue reading after the infographic for ready to go suggestions.
Use a new piece of technology that has been intimidating you
Maybe there is a new piece of technology that everyone is using but you just aren't sure how it will fit into your classroom. Now is the time to dive in and try it out!
Use a technology tool to supplement your literacy instruction
Such as, any tool from Connecting Comprehension and Technology by Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis. This book is full of great lessons for helping students use technology in RELEVANT ways.
Implement a new literacy instruction component
Maybe there is a literacy component that you have been thinking about and haven't figured out how to make it part of your classroom. Now is the time to try it out!
Just a suggestion... Launching Focus Poetry to Enhance Word Study, Comprehension and Fluency.
Change your daily schedule
Change your schedule for a trial run to monitor its flow and effectiveness.
Check out these schedules I've successfully used over the years. Go ahead...click it because it's FREE!
Maybe you just want to be planned and ready to go for the next school year. You want to get things organized so that you can hit the ground running at the beginning of the new school year.
Everything is still fresh in your mind about this school year and you want to make a couple of changes to your curriculum and how you present it to your readers and writers.
Check out this year planning resource for getting the big picture of your school year planned out and organized so you are not spinning your wheels when the new school year begins.
Implement a new strategy you've read about and want to try
Maybe you've had discussions during a professional book study or in a PLC about a literacy instructional strategy that you haven't tried and want to give it a shot to see what it's all about!
Maybe it's Shared Reading or Close Reading. Check out this free download all about Shared Reading.
Until next time...
