Its nearing the end of the year.... We know the end of the school year is near because we are thinking in terms of days rather than weeks or even months. State testing for our school is under way or coming to a close. We're tired and all of our students are tired too, but school is still not over. How can we keep from pulling our hair out as well as keep our classes under control? One word- Engagement.
As an administrator, I see a jump in referrals to the office during the remaining days due to a lack of student engagement. Yes, we are all tired but school is in still in session and the students are still here. So what can we do to keep them engaged now? If you have finished the state test for your content then help out your school and your peers by turning your focus to other content areas that have yet to be tested. If all of the state testing is done, then now is the time to have fun with your classes. That is not to say that we haven't had fun thus far, but now we can do the lessons that had to be put to the side in order to stay focused on our states tests.
All of us have things that we are passionate about and want to share with our students. The problem is that these things don't always fit neatly into the regular school year. These passions or fun lessons are what can keep students engaged and excited about coming to our classrooms. Try some new ideas or technology that you have been hesitant to do. Even if it doesn't go as planned, it will still be fun for you and your students as well as be a welcome change of pace. If we run out of ideas then we can ask our students what they want to learn about. All of this will take planning of course, but the hard work up front will keep our students engaged and classroom discipline at bay.
