The heat is on and we are all just about checked out already! I'm ready to be done and the kids are soooooo wild and crazy. Trying to keep a lid on it is like trying to get water from a cactus y'all! This time of year, is all about driving skills home, keeping behavior under control, and utilizing free labor motivating students to get ready for the next school year. Here are some of the things I am doing to keep behavior problems at bay and keep students engaged.
1. Keep as many routines normal as possible. With only 14 days of school left, we still have about a unit and a half to go in math! Soooo... I am pressing onward and hoping these skills come easy!
2. Find some engaging themes for researching and presenting. Sharks are always a favorite topic this time of year and this unit makes it incredibly fun and engaging. Everything is there for you... even links to help students get started researching.
3. Take learning outside. Students can look for angles, shapes, patterns and numbers outside. Have them write addition and subtraction stories about animals, plants, or other objects that they see. Enjoy the peaceful sounds of quiet spot and write a summer themed acrostic or haiku.
4. If you are fortunate enough to have iPads, have students use them to create a campus tour for new students and parents. You can create a slide show using powerpoint or flipagram.
5. Another iPad project (I'm soooooo sorry if you don't have them, they are AWESOME!) is to have students create videos for your class next year about your routines, rules and expectations. I had students choose a topic such as pencil sharpening, lining up, and playground rules, then they had to write a script with a greeting and closing before they could record. We used the TOUCHCAST app so that students could include pictures of what they were presenting. If there is time, there is also a teleprompter in which they can type their script so that they can use it and still appear to be looking at the camera.
picture from touchcast.com
6. One more iPad project (sorry, AGAIN!) that my students are helping with... they are practicing reading (and re-reading, and re-reading) read alouds, then recording them on the AUDIOBOOM app. I then create QR codes, print and tape to the back of the book. I am writing student name on them and the year as well. INSTANT LISTENING CENTERS for next year AND keeping students engaged.
7. Plan one or two board/card game days. NO ELECTRONICS! I usually divide my class in half and let one half bring one day and the other half brings the next day. Students must be able to play and explain the games that they bring, or your day will be a disaster :( BE SURE TO HAVE EXTRA GAMES AVAILABLE in case some of your students forget or don't have games.
8. Create an ABC themed memory book, one for your each of your current students and create a classbook for next years class.
9. Plan a camping day. Set up a small tent or two, build a fake fire, and use these camping themed games to keep the learning alive. Serve hotdogs in the classroom. After lunch start some s'mores in a solar pizza box oven. These take about an hour so you'll want an early start.
10. Start a reader's theater the last 2-3 weeks of school. Assign the script for reading homework the first week without telling students their parts, this way they will get a feel for the story and have some knowledge of when they will say their lines. Assign parts with 1-2 weeks left and spend the last days of school creating props and scenery and practice, practice, practice!!! Invite rising students to your classroom to see the play and encourage them to read over the summer so that they can be ready for fun times like this next year.
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