Wrapping Up a Great School Year with Enthusiasm!
By Pamela Scott-Bracey
Put your dancing shoes on…summer is almost here! It’s almost time for the break that most teachers long for with hopes of recuperating from a long, stressful (yet highly fulfilling) year of instruction! However, before this nice warm weather drains your energy and influences you to continuously pop videos into the DVD player, it is imperative to remember that school is still in session. Learning must continue to thrive until the last bell of the semester rings! We all know that as summer draws near, it’s truly a challenge to maintain a high level of enthusiasm and motivation inside the classroom. Although pressure from testing is probably rising, I encourage you to channel your tensions into unique activities and learning excitement!
Below are a few ideas to help you make the most of these last few weeks before the break:
- Map a school or classroom treasure hunt with clues related to former lessons
- Give students a brief overview of what they can expect to learn next year in the following level of your course (if applicable)
- Host a class auction of student art work or projects (with classroom currency, of course)
- If you choose to show a video, be sure that it is relevant and appropriate—it may also be a great idea to develop reflection questions to spark an interesting discussion
- Play a comprehensive game of “Jeopardy,” but allow students to create the questions and answers
- Allow students to take turns being “Teacher for a Day” to help review (this serves as great lesson reinforcement)
- Have students jot down their favorite experiences or activities of the year, and creatively design and compile them for you to keep and review as your own “personal evaluation”
- Host an awards ceremony for your students and give each of them a unique award to let them know that they are special (Ex: Neatest Handwriting, Most Versatile, etc.)
Let’s put those creative minds to work; don’t let this warm weather get the best of you! Just remember that many of your students are probably more excited about summer than you are, so don’t give them the impression that you are already in “relax mode.” Make them forget about the anticipation of continuous cyber-surfing or heading to the beach, by engaging them in fun, yet educational activities!
Be sure to save (back-up) lesson plan files to a CD and flash drive to guarantee that you have access to them while at home, in case updates or revisions are needed. Good luck with testing, and have a great summer!
Contact the author, Pamela Scott-Bracey at Pamela.Bracey@unt.edu.
