As each school year tends to go on forever, it always catches me off guard when it ends so quickly. At this point in the school year, students and teachers alike are usually burnt out on the day-to-day routines of school. So this is a great time to take a step back and do something out of the ordinary.
Now that state testing is over, district benchmark assessments are nearly complete, and next year is just a glimmer in our eyes, I suggest you do something fun to bid farewell to the 2008-2009 school year. There are so many ideas to choose from, most of which can incorporate learning standards!
- Take a walking field trip to a nearby store or restaurant. Have students calculate what they will purchase ahead of time, plus tax.
- Assign students to write a letter to next year’s teacher, highlighting what they learned this year and what their hopes are for next year.
- Demonstrate citizenship by having students create cards for residents of a local assisted-living facility.
- Hold a penny drive for a nonprofit organization. Set a goal for how much your class would like to raise. Then, work on marketing and advertising to encourage others to contribute!
- Encourage students to choose a story from their writing portfolio and “publish” their own book. You can purchase blank bound books online from various sites.
- Teach something that interests you but isn’t necessarily a part of your district’s curriculum. Maybe you lived in or visited an interesting part of the world. Teach a short unit on it!
- Let your students do some teaching. Allow them to choose a topic to become an expert in and then teach what they learned to the rest of the class.
- If you are a 6th grade teacher, have your students visit 5th grade classrooms to talk to the younger students about what to expect. Maybe they can even teach a lesson to students on something they learned during the year.
We’re all anxious for those last few days of the school year to pass us by. But don’t let your guard down on your class. Students need to be engaged in learning activities through the last day of school. Relax too much and you will pay for it in poor behavior in your classroom!
