Teachers – Make the Last Few School Days Enjoyable for Everyone

Posted by Barb on June 2, 2010

When it comes to the end of the year, everyone seems ready for summer including us, the teachers.  And by this time students’ disruptive behavior seems to pop up more frequently.  We feel trapped and just want to finish up the year with out anyone getting hurt.

Here’s the good news.  Because it is the end of the year, you might have some more flexibility in your instruction.  Take your curriculum and turn the assignments or presentations into more enjoyable ones for your students.  Allow them some freedom to work with a partner or in a small group.  This extra movement and permission to talk quietly to complete a project might limit the disruptions to a small number.

Here are some ideas for creative presentations.

Create a poster, brochure, or flyer based on the content you want them to learn.  For example in social studies you might be reading about your state’s wildlife or historical landmarks.  Have them create a poster that promotes it, giving details that let you know they understand.

Have them debate opposing sides of the same issue you have been studying. If you have read a story, have students debate whether one of the characters solved the problem in the right way.

Set up a mock interview.  This can be based on a character in a book, famous person in history, or even an animal you are studying in science.  Students can work with a partner to develop questions and responses.  Then perform a mock interview for the class.

Reenact or role-play an event or situation. Students will have acting out parts of a book, an event in history, or a situation related to children today (such as dealing with a bully).

These are just a few ideas that hopefully will spark your interest.  Change them, expand upon them, and use them to meet your students’ needs.  It is hard to sometimes change students’ behavior, but you can change your instruction that might lead to better behavior these last few days.

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