April 7, 2025 • 21 mins
Looking for fun, low-prep end of year activities after testing that will keep your students engaged and excited? In this episode, we’re sharing our five favorite ideas that will bring energy and creativity back to the classroom. From creative passion projects to student-led lessons and classroom transformations, these high-impact activities will help you wrap up the year on a high note.
Prefer to read? Grab the episode transcript and all resources in the show notes here: https://www.secondstorywindow.net/podcast/end-of-year-activities-after-testing/
Resources:
- Freebie: End of Year Road Map
- Camping Theme Day Activities
- Space Theme Day Activities
- Looking Back Bulletin Board
- Episode 188, Ending the School Year Strong: 3 Steps to Help Teachers Thrive in Term 4
- Episode 7, The Secret to End of Year Survival
- The Holiday Headstart Episode 27, Do These 5 Easy Things in March to Get Ahead for Christmas
- Cost Plus Drugs
- Connect with us on Instagram @2ndstorywindow.
- Shop our teacher-approved resources.
- Join our Facebook group, Teacher Approved
- Leave your review on Apple Podcasts!
Related Episodes to Enjoy:
- Episode 129, End-of-Year Reflection for Teachers: 18 Questions to Ask Yourself
- Episode 127, 10 Ways to Motivate Students at the End of the Year
- Episode 125, Why Theme Days Will Save You at the End of the School Year
- Episode 74, Teacher Approved Tips: Read to Your Class Before the First Day and End of Year Decluttering
- Episode 63, Celebrating the End of the School Year With Your Class: 10 Creative Ideas
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Heidi (00:01):
This is episode 189 of Teacher Approved.
You're listening to TeacherApproved, the podcast helping
educators elevate what mattersand simplify the rest. I'm
Heidi.
Emily (00:13):
And I'm Emily. We're the creators behind Second Story
Window, where we give researchbased and teacher approved
strategies that make teachingless stressful and more
effective. You can check out theshow notes and resources from
each episode atsecondstorywindow.net.
Heidi (00:28):
We're so glad you're tuning in today. Let's get to
the show.
Emily (00:36):
Hey there. Thanks for joining us today. In today's
episode, we're sharing sometried and true ideas for keeping
your students engaged aftertesting season, and we're
sharing a teacher approved tipfor some end of the school year
self care.
Heidi (00:52):
We are starting today's episode with a morning message,
just like we used to do atmorning meeting in our
classrooms. This week's morningmessage is, you are getting a
new student tomorrow, andthey're named after your
favorite font. Who are youwelcoming to your class? Emily,
what's your new student's name?
Emily (01:10):
Well, Poppins is a really interesting name for a child,
but here we are.
Heidi (01:16):
I think that could work. I could kind of see some like
young, hipstery parents having alittle Poppins.
Emily (01:21):
Young Poppins. Yes, I could see it. It could be cute.
Could be far worse. What's yournew student's name, Heidi?
Heidi (01:28):
Well, we make all of our products in Neutraface, so I
have to say Neutraface.
Emily (01:33):
We love Neutraface.
Heidi (01:34):
Which is a terrible name for a child. That would be the
worst.
Emily (01:41):
Well, we got some fun responses from our teacher
approved Facebook community.April is welcoming the
unfortunately named HappyParagraphs.
Heidi (01:50):
Oh, okay.
Emily (01:51):
Brianne has the ideal new student in Perfect Penmanship.
Heidi (01:55):
That's also a mouthful, but I bet that's teacher's pet.
Emily (01:59):
Yeah. Tanya and Evelyn are both getting a Times New
Roman. Abby's new little darlinghas a lot to live up to as
Inimitable Original
Heidi (02:10):
And get like fitting that in a name tag too.
Emily (02:12):
Yeah, that's a long one. Cheryl has Coming Soon, coming
to her class soon.
Heidi (02:18):
That's like a Who's on First problem right there.
Emily (02:21):
And of course, we had to have a Comic Sans and Amy claims
that one, and Ardena's studentgets off lucky being named
Ariel.
Heidi (02:29):
Oh, that is a lucky break. We would love to hear
about your favorite fonts, or, Iguess, students named after
fonts in our Teacher ApprovedFacebook group.
One of the biggest challengesfor teachers this time of year
is keeping students engaged, youknow, especially once testing
season wraps up.
Emily (02:46):
Yeah, and let's be honest, the energy in your
classroom after testing seasonis not the same as it was back
in August. You've all beenworking hard, and now that the
high stakes pressure is off, itcan feel a little like you're
just coasting to the finishline.
Heidi (03:02):
Or maybe it's more like you're dragging yourself to the
finish line. Let's be real.Depends on the day.
Emily (03:07):
True story. But just because testing is behind you
doesn't mean the learning has tostop. There are plenty of ways
to keep your students motivated,focused and even excited to come
to school each day, yes, even inMay.
Heidi (03:23):
So we've got five teacher approved ideas that you can try
out to make these post testingdays meaningful, manageable and
maybe even a little magical.
Emily (03:32):
All right, let's get to it. Five ways to keep students
engaged in class after testingis over. Number one is to try
out passion projects.
Heidi (03:42):
The end of the year is the perfect time for letting
students explore something thatthey care about. Passion
Projects are great because theygive students choice, autonomy
and a purpose for learning, andthey are surprisingly easy to
implement, even in your lowerelementary classes.
Emily (03:56):
I love the idea of using passion projects at the end of
the year. So what's the best wayto approach passion projects
with your students, Heidi?
Heidi (04:04):
Well, the idea is simple. Just have your students choose a
topic that they are interestedin, animal sports, a favorite
country, how roller coasterswork, and guide them through the
process of researching,organizing and presenting their
learning.
Emily (04:17):
My team used to do animal reports at the end of the year,
and the kids loved it so much,and we always had a zoo field
trip at the end of the year. Sothat's sort of how we tied it
all together. So you couldchoose the category for them, or
you could just let them pickfrom several categories,
whatever they're excited to do aproject about.
Heidi (04:33):
I think the key is having enough child friendly resources
so that they can do theresearch, so that might limit
the options that you can give toyour students.
Emily (04:41):
For sure.
Heidi (04:42):
And listener, Margaret suggests doing book studies. She
says students get to choosebetween Wonder, The Sea of
Monsters, My Louisiana Sky, or ISurvived Hurricane Katrina.
Whatever they choose, they do abook study with the others in
the class who also chose thesame book. Once they're finished
with the book study, they haveto come up with a presentation
to convince the others to readthe book of their choice over
(05:03):
the summer.
Emily (05:04):
I love this idea so much because it has automatic buy in
and it's got the built inchoice. It gets them excited
about reading, and they'regetting their classmates excited
about reading books too. I thinkit's such a clever idea.
Heidi (05:16):
You have that student choice, and then also having
them work in groups, are greatstrategies for maintaining
engagement at, you know, thetime of the year when students
focus is probably at its lowest.Now, of course, your students
will need you to guide themthrough the process, but you can
scaffold the steps with simplegraphic organizers or
checklists. There are tons ofresources out there.
Emily (05:37):
And then you let the students present their final
project. You could assign amethod of presentation or let
them choose to present ithowever they'd like—a poster, a
slideshow, a podcast. Wouldn'tthat be fun? Or even a diorama?
Heidi (05:52):
Oh, yes.
Emily (05:53):
This could be as simple or as elaborate as your students
are ready for and as you want todeal with as the teacher.
Heidi (05:58):
Yeah, yeah. You decide what you want to deal with and
then work backwards from thatpoint. Yes, really this is such
a win win idea. We're addingstructure to the classroom by
doing a scaffolded project, andbecause students are choosing
what they want to learn about,the novelty factor is really
high, balancing structure andnovelty. Of course, that means
that the engagement piece oftentakes care of itself.
Emily (06:21):
On to idea number two, which is to create classroom
challenges.
Heidi (06:26):
Now, after testing, your students might be mentally
checked out, but kids can rarelysay no to a competition. Use
that to your advantage bysetting up some classroom
challenges.
Emily (06:37):
You could do academic based ones like a math fact
fluency challenge, or readingminutes challenge, or even a
math escape room.
Heidi (06:46):
Or you can keep it light hearted with team building
challenges like building aspaghetti tower, a classic, or
creating a Rube Goldbergmachine.
Emily (06:55):
We got a fun suggestion from Betsy to set up 100 piece
puzzles on the floor indifferent corners of the room.
That could be a fun fastfinisher or a challenge project
one afternoon, just be sure totalk to the custodian about not
vacuuming your room for a fewdays.
Heidi (07:10):
That's a hassle that is better to head off from the
beginning. Don't want to makethe custodian mad, especially at
the end of the year.
Now, I always love anopportunity to work in poetry,
and after testing, you couldchallenge kids to work on
memorizing a poem or two.
Emily (07:23):
And it's always a good idea to try a behavior
challenge. You can have yourstudents working cooperatively
as a class or in tables to earnrewards with their good
behavior. That means coming upwith a prize. But it doesn't
have to be complicated.
Heidi (07:37):
Really, rewards can be simple—extra recess, a popsicle
party or lunch with a teacher.But you know, honestly, we're
not going to blame you if youdon't want to spend your lunch
time break with your students.
Emily (07:47):
No, that would probably not be my first choice for
rewards. So all you got to do isstart a challenge, choose a
simple reward, and watch thatmotivation come flying back to
your classroom.
Now for idea number three, themedays or weeks.
Heidi (08:03):
Theme days are our secret weapon for thriving after
testing. There's reallysomething magical about them.
They kind of like flip a switchin kids brains. Suddenly,
everything you do feel special,even if it is just, you know,
your regular math lesson with atwist.
Emily (08:19):
You could try a camp read a lot week, stem Olympics,
animal week, or even travelaround the world days where each
day focuses on a differentcountry, and we always love
doing quiet as a mouse day.
Heidi (08:32):
Yeah, that was the best day of the year. And the best
part is that most of these ideascan be woven into your usual
content. That means you don'thave to adjust your schedule.
Just add a theme to what younormally do during the day to
spice things up. Fractionssuddenly becomes way more fun
when you are "baking" in yourclassroom bakery.
Emily (08:52):
Add in a few decorations and a theme to read aloud or
two, and you've got a classroomfull of engaged learners who
aren't even thinking about thecountdown to summer.
Heidi (09:02):
If you want more ideas for using theme days, head way
back to episode seven, where weshare all of our best tips and
tricks for making theme dayswork for you.
Emily (09:12):
And make sure you check out the links in the show notes
where we will link our twoalready done for you theme day
sets, one for a Camping Day andone for a Space Day. Each set
includes themed work packets,craftivities, book
recommendations, reviewactivities, so much more. We
often hear from people thatthere's so much more in there
than they can even use.
Heidi (09:32):
Yeah, theme days can be a lot of work to set up, but the
nice thing is that when youfigure it out once, it is so
easy to reuse each year. I wantto shout this for teachers,
because this saved me so manyyears.
Okay, let's take a look at ideafour, and I'm excited about this
one, let students become theteachers.
Emily (09:53):
I know, this is such a cute idea. You can let students
teach a mini lesson to the classon something they're good at, or
something they love. This givesthem ownership, and it builds
their confidence, and it letsthem share something with their
classmates that they are trulyskilled at.
Heidi (10:08):
That's such a gift for your kids that maybe have felt
overshadowed academically allyear to let them have a minute
in the spotlight. You can guidethem to plan a short
presentation, a demo oractivity. It could be anything
from teaching how to draw acartoon character, how to fold
origami, how to do a cartwheel,or explaining the rules of their
favorite game.
Emily (10:27):
Yeah, and you'll be surprised how serious they take
this and how much the rest ofthe class loves learning from
each other, plus it is a sneakyway to reinforce speaking and
listening skills.
Heidi (10:38):
Those are really important life skills that can
be hard to find a time to workon much during the school year.
But just a tip that if you wantto keep parents on your side, do
the work on this during class.Zero parents, I can guarantee,
want to be facilitating a bigproject at the end of the school
year.
Emily (10:57):
Yeah, that is true for all of these, their passion
projects that they're doing, thebook recommendations, work on
that in class. Do the researchfor things in class. Do not make
this a parent problem in May,they will not be happy.
And that brings us to ideanumber five, do creative
projects with a purpose. The endof the year is a great time for
(11:19):
project based learning. Workdoesn't have to be standards
driven to still be meaningful.You could plan a future me
project where students createvision boards or write letters
to their future selves.
Heidi (11:31):
Or you could make a classroom memory book, an end of
year time capsule, or a classmuseum where they display
artifacts and memories from youryear together.
Emily (11:40):
And we also have an awesome resource for this, which
is to make a looking backbulletin board where your
students look back at the schoolyear and highlight something
that was a wonderful memory forthem in this school year.
Heidi (11:54):
So once the kids have illustrated their memory, and
you could put up your sign, youknow, looking back at third
grade or second grade orwhatever, whatever grade you
happen to be in. Now the magicof this comes that you're gonna
get double duty out of it, andyou can either leave it up over
the summer or put it up again atback to school and change out
the title to be looking forwardto whatever grade you're in as a
(12:16):
way to get kids excited aboutall the fun things they'll get
to do in their new grade.
Emily (12:20):
I know, it's so fun. And then your students from this
year, when they come by yourclass next year, they will see
their memories still up. So it'sa fun way to connect with them,
too. I mean, this is like, win,win, win, win. This idea. I love
it so much. These kinds ofprojects are not only fun and
engaging, they help studentsprocess the end of the year and
reflect on their growth.
Heidi (12:40):
And honestly, they give you some really special
keepsakes to remember the magicof this class. So make sure you
check out the show notes for alink to our looking back
bulletin board project.
Emily (12:51):
So let's quickly recap our five ideas to keep students
engaged after testing is over.One, try passion projects. Two,
create classroom challenges.Three, use theme days or weeks.
Four, let students be theteacher. And five, plan creative
projects with a purpose
Heidi (13:10):
No matter what you choose, just remember this time
of year does not have to beabout coasting. It can still be
rich and meaningful, evenwithout test prep hanging over
your head.
Emily (13:21):
You and your students deserve to finish strong and
have some fun. You've worked sohard all year. Make the most of
these last few weeks together.
Heidi (13:28):
And make sure you head to the show notes. We've got all
the links there today, where youcan find a link for our free end
of year roadmap digital planner.This will help you figure out
your schedule for the next fewmonths, reflect on what you want
to maintain and change in thecoming weeks and help you break
down tasks so that you can getthings done without stress.
Emily (13:47):
We talked all about the roadmap in last week's episode,
so make sure to check outEpisode 188 if you want the
details.
Heidi (13:54):
We would love to hear what you are looking forward to
in term four. Come join theconversation in our Teacher
Approved Facebook group.
Emily (14:01):
Now let's talk about this week's teacher approved tip.
Each week we leave you with asmall actionable tip that you
can apply in your classroomtoday. This week's teacher
approved tip is to stock apersonal recovery kit. Tell us
about this one, Heidi.
Heidi (14:14):
I love this idea so much. Now if you join us over on the
Holiday Headstart podcast, youhave heard us talk about this
already, but this is such ahandy tip for teachers that we
didn't want to limit it toholiday headaches. The idea is
that in advance of a stressfulevent, such as, you know, the
end of the school year, you cancreate a recovery kit for
(14:35):
yourself. The idea is to get,you know, a box or basket that
you can fill with little thingsto help you pamper yourself as
you recuperate from what you'vejust been through.
Emily (14:44):
Think how great it would be to have this on hand after
the last day of school, or evenjust after a particularly
stressful day of school at anytime of the year.
Heidi (14:53):
I think for women, and especially women with children,
talking about pampering andtaking time to rest and recover
can truly feel impossible. Buteven though it might not be easy
to make it happen, finding a wayto rest is really essential for
your health.
Emily (15:07):
And if you're someone who struggles with guilt over taking
time for yourself, remember thatif you want to be able to give
your best to the people youlove, you have to be a little
selfish sometimes.
Heidi (15:17):
Gretchen Rubin from the Happier Podcast, which is a
podcast that we really love, shehas a great saying that applies
here. When we give more toourselves, we can ask more from
ourselves. If you want to beable to show up as the best
version of yourself, you have tomake your well being a priority
sometimes.
Emily (15:35):
And this is especially important after a draining event
like the last few weeks ofschool. You hear people talk all
the time about how you can'tpour from an empty cup, and
making a recovery kit is atangible way to help refill that
empty cup.
Heidi (15:48):
Think how great it will feel to come home after a long
day and pull out your recoverykit with some fuzzy socks or a
head massager or a magazine thatyou love but don't normally buy.
Emily (15:57):
If socks and head massages and magazines don't
interest you, stock yourrecovery kit with things that
do. Maybe a new notebook, acraft kit or art supplies would
be more restorative for you. Ormaybe you want to stock up on
some DoorDash gift cards so youdon't have to think about meals
for a few days.
Heidi (16:15):
If you aren't sure where to start with a project like
this, try thinking about yourfive senses. What are some
soothing sounds or scents? Whattextures do you find comforting?
What is something relaxing thatyou can read or watch? And of
course, you know you can't gowrong with a few treats.
Emily (16:31):
You can get started by finding a box or bin to use and
then start adding to it over thenext few weeks. You can even ask
friends or family to donatesupplies. I'd love it if someone
I care about reached out withsomething like this. Being told
about a tangible way to help aloved one survive a stressful
time is a gift. I'd be so happyto help.
Heidi (16:51):
We all know that we need some downtime to recover before
we can bounce back. A recoverykit is a way to make sure that
that needed downtime is actuallyrestorative, and, you know, not
just passing out on the couch.
Emily (17:02):
And keep adding to your recovery kit over the summer.
Those DoorDash gift cards can bea real lifesaver the first few
weeks of school. By spendingjust a little bit every week or
so, you're supporting yourfuture self without placing a
huge burden on your budget.
Heidi (17:16):
To wrap up the show, we are sharing what we're giving
extra credit to this week.Emily, what gets your extra
credit?
Emily (17:21):
I'm giving extra credit to the TV show Running Point on
Netflix. And despite this beinga Mindy Kaling project, I have
to say I was a little skepticalof the premise and even the
previews, I just didn't think itwas going to be that funny. But
it really has been very funny towatch. So the premise is that
Kate Hudson plays a reformedparty girl who has to prove
(17:42):
herself as a business woman whenshe's unexpectedly put in charge
of her family's pro basketballteam. It does have some
language, so heads up on that ifyou're sensitive.
Heidi (17:52):
I have not heard of the show at all.
Emily (17:54):
Really? They talked about it on The Popcast, because
they'd been making fun of itleading up to it, and then Knox
watched it and he loved it.
Heidi (18:01):
Oh, well, I'm a little bit behind there, so I'll have
to catch up there too.
Emily (18:07):
My other extra credit is that I love The Popcast, that's
my favorite podcast.
Heidi (18:11):
That is a fun one.
Emily (18:12):
What are you giving extra credit to, Heidi?
Heidi (18:14):
This is not nearly as fun. My extra credit goes to
cost plus drug company, which isthe mail order pharmacy started
by Mark Cuban. Now I have onlyused it one whole time so far,
but they offered theprescription that I usually have
to pay more than $80 for, theyoffered it to me for $21. So
(18:35):
even with the added $5 forshipping, I am still saving 70%
so I would say it's definitelyworth checking out if you have
any expensive prescriptions.
Emily (18:45):
So this is the thing where you pay out of pocket
instead of using your insurance,but then it's actually cheaper,
right? Isn't that the way itworks?
Heidi (18:51):
Yes, so they do take some insurance. They don't take ours,
but what I was paying out ofpocket, like the $80 was what I
was paying out of pocket. Soeven if they don't take
insurance, I'm still saving 60bucks.
Emily (19:04):
Yeah, I think that happens more and more in medical
care, where cash pay is actuallycheaper than what you pay with
your co pay for insurance thatyou're paying a lot of money
for. I mean, it's crazy. So thatis definitely worth looking
into. I'll have to go see ifanything I need is cheaper over
there.
Heidi (19:22):
And they break down the cost, so you see exactly what
the pills cost them, how muchthey're taking, and then, like,
how much of it goes to thepharmacist. So, like, it's all
transparent. It's such a changewhen you know you've dealt with,
you know, medical bills, whereyou're just told, like, yep,
here's $300 you owe us. Andyou're like, I will have to
trust that that's accurate.
Emily (19:41):
Yeah, that's awesome. I'm gonna check that out.
Heidi (19:46):
That's it for today's episode. Remember our five ideas
for how to keep students engagedafter testing is over, and don't
forget to start stocking thatself care recovery kit.
We hope you enjoyed this episodeof Teacher Approved. I'm Heidi.
Emily (20:01):
And I'm Emily. Thank you for listening. Be sure to follow
or subscribe in your podcast appso that you never miss an
episode.
Heidi (20:08):
You can connect with us and other teachers in the
Teacher Approved Facebook group.We'll see you here next week.
Bye, for now.
Emily (20:14):
Bye.
This is episode 189 of Teacher Approved.
You're listening to TeacherApproved, the podcast helping
educators elevate what mattersand simplify the rest. I'm
Heidi.
Emily (00:13):
And I'm Emily. We're the creators behind Second Story
Window, where we give researchbased and teacher approved
strategies that make teachingless stressful and more
effective. You can check out theshow notes and resources from
each episode atsecondstorywindow.net.
Heidi (00:28):
We're so glad you're tuning in today. Let's get to
the show.
Emily (00:36):
Hey there. Thanks for joining us today. In today's
episode, we're sharing sometried and true ideas for keeping
your students engaged aftertesting season, and we're
sharing a teacher approved tipfor some end of the school year
self care.
Heidi (00:52):
We are starting today's episode with a morning message,
just like we used to do atmorning meeting in our
classrooms. This week's morningmessage is, you are getting a
new student tomorrow, andthey're named after your
favorite font. Who are youwelcoming to your class? Emily,
what's your new student's name?
Emily (01:10):
Well, Poppins is a really interesting name for a child,
but here we are.
Heidi (01:16):
I think that could work. I could kind of see some like
young, hipstery parents having alittle Poppins.
Emily (01:21):
Young Poppins. Yes, I could see it. It could be cute.
Could be far worse. What's yournew student's name, Heidi?
Heidi (01:28):
Well, we make all of our products in Neutraface, so I
have to say Neutraface.
Emily (01:33):
We love Neutraface.
Heidi (01:34):
Which is a terrible name for a child. That would be the
worst.
Emily (01:41):
Well, we got some fun responses from our teacher
approved Facebook community.April is welcoming the
unfortunately named HappyParagraphs.
Heidi (01:50):
Oh, okay.
Emily (01:51):
Brianne has the ideal new student in Perfect Penmanship.
Heidi (01:55):
That's also a mouthful, but I bet that's teacher's pet.
Emily (01:59):
Yeah. Tanya and Evelyn are both getting a Times New
Roman. Abby's new little darlinghas a lot to live up to as
Inimitable Original
Heidi (02:10):
And get like fitting that in a name tag too.
Emily (02:12):
Yeah, that's a long one. Cheryl has Coming Soon, coming
to her class soon.
Heidi (02:18):
That's like a Who's on First problem right there.
Emily (02:21):
And of course, we had to have a Comic Sans and Amy claims
that one, and Ardena's studentgets off lucky being named
Ariel.
Heidi (02:29):
Oh, that is a lucky break. We would love to hear
about your favorite fonts, or, Iguess, students named after
fonts in our Teacher ApprovedFacebook group.
One of the biggest challengesfor teachers this time of year
is keeping students engaged, youknow, especially once testing
season wraps up.
Emily (02:46):
Yeah, and let's be honest, the energy in your
classroom after testing seasonis not the same as it was back
in August. You've all beenworking hard, and now that the
high stakes pressure is off, itcan feel a little like you're
just coasting to the finishline.
Heidi (03:02):
Or maybe it's more like you're dragging yourself to the
finish line. Let's be real.Depends on the day.
Emily (03:07):
True story. But just because testing is behind you
doesn't mean the learning has tostop. There are plenty of ways
to keep your students motivated,focused and even excited to come
to school each day, yes, even inMay.
Heidi (03:23):
So we've got five teacher approved ideas that you can try
out to make these post testingdays meaningful, manageable and
maybe even a little magical.
Emily (03:32):
All right, let's get to it. Five ways to keep students
engaged in class after testingis over. Number one is to try
out passion projects.
Heidi (03:42):
The end of the year is the perfect time for letting
students explore something thatthey care about. Passion
Projects are great because theygive students choice, autonomy
and a purpose for learning, andthey are surprisingly easy to
implement, even in your lowerelementary classes.
Emily (03:56):
I love the idea of using passion projects at the end of
the year. So what's the best wayto approach passion projects
with your students, Heidi?
Heidi (04:04):
Well, the idea is simple. Just have your students choose a
topic that they are interestedin, animal sports, a favorite
country, how roller coasterswork, and guide them through the
process of researching,organizing and presenting their
learning.
Emily (04:17):
My team used to do animal reports at the end of the year,
and the kids loved it so much,and we always had a zoo field
trip at the end of the year. Sothat's sort of how we tied it
all together. So you couldchoose the category for them, or
you could just let them pickfrom several categories,
whatever they're excited to do aproject about.
Heidi (04:33):
I think the key is having enough child friendly resources
so that they can do theresearch, so that might limit
the options that you can give toyour students.
Emily (04:41):
For sure.
Heidi (04:42):
And listener, Margaret suggests doing book studies. She
says students get to choosebetween Wonder, The Sea of
Monsters, My Louisiana Sky, or ISurvived Hurricane Katrina.
Whatever they choose, they do abook study with the others in
the class who also chose thesame book. Once they're finished
with the book study, they haveto come up with a presentation
to convince the others to readthe book of their choice over
(05:03):
the summer.
Emily (05:04):
I love this idea so much because it has automatic buy in
and it's got the built inchoice. It gets them excited
about reading, and they'regetting their classmates excited
about reading books too. I thinkit's such a clever idea.
Heidi (05:16):
You have that student choice, and then also having
them work in groups, are greatstrategies for maintaining
engagement at, you know, thetime of the year when students
focus is probably at its lowest.Now, of course, your students
will need you to guide themthrough the process, but you can
scaffold the steps with simplegraphic organizers or
checklists. There are tons ofresources out there.
Emily (05:37):
And then you let the students present their final
project. You could assign amethod of presentation or let
them choose to present ithowever they'd like—a poster, a
slideshow, a podcast. Wouldn'tthat be fun? Or even a diorama?
Heidi (05:52):
Oh, yes.
Emily (05:53):
This could be as simple or as elaborate as your students
are ready for and as you want todeal with as the teacher.
Heidi (05:58):
Yeah, yeah. You decide what you want to deal with and
then work backwards from thatpoint. Yes, really this is such
a win win idea. We're addingstructure to the classroom by
doing a scaffolded project, andbecause students are choosing
what they want to learn about,the novelty factor is really
high, balancing structure andnovelty. Of course, that means
that the engagement piece oftentakes care of itself.
Emily (06:21):
On to idea number two, which is to create classroom
challenges.
Heidi (06:26):
Now, after testing, your students might be mentally
checked out, but kids can rarelysay no to a competition. Use
that to your advantage bysetting up some classroom
challenges.
Emily (06:37):
You could do academic based ones like a math fact
fluency challenge, or readingminutes challenge, or even a
math escape room.
Heidi (06:46):
Or you can keep it light hearted with team building
challenges like building aspaghetti tower, a classic, or
creating a Rube Goldbergmachine.
Emily (06:55):
We got a fun suggestion from Betsy to set up 100 piece
puzzles on the floor indifferent corners of the room.
That could be a fun fastfinisher or a challenge project
one afternoon, just be sure totalk to the custodian about not
vacuuming your room for a fewdays.
Heidi (07:10):
That's a hassle that is better to head off from the
beginning. Don't want to makethe custodian mad, especially at
the end of the year.
Now, I always love anopportunity to work in poetry,
and after testing, you couldchallenge kids to work on
memorizing a poem or two.
Emily (07:23):
And it's always a good idea to try a behavior
challenge. You can have yourstudents working cooperatively
as a class or in tables to earnrewards with their good
behavior. That means coming upwith a prize. But it doesn't
have to be complicated.
Heidi (07:37):
Really, rewards can be simple—extra recess, a popsicle
party or lunch with a teacher.But you know, honestly, we're
not going to blame you if youdon't want to spend your lunch
time break with your students.
Emily (07:47):
No, that would probably not be my first choice for
rewards. So all you got to do isstart a challenge, choose a
simple reward, and watch thatmotivation come flying back to
your classroom.
Now for idea number three, themedays or weeks.
Heidi (08:03):
Theme days are our secret weapon for thriving after
testing. There's reallysomething magical about them.
They kind of like flip a switchin kids brains. Suddenly,
everything you do feel special,even if it is just, you know,
your regular math lesson with atwist.
Emily (08:19):
You could try a camp read a lot week, stem Olympics,
animal week, or even travelaround the world days where each
day focuses on a differentcountry, and we always love
doing quiet as a mouse day.
Heidi (08:32):
Yeah, that was the best day of the year. And the best
part is that most of these ideascan be woven into your usual
content. That means you don'thave to adjust your schedule.
Just add a theme to what younormally do during the day to
spice things up. Fractionssuddenly becomes way more fun
when you are "baking" in yourclassroom bakery.
Emily (08:52):
Add in a few decorations and a theme to read aloud or
two, and you've got a classroomfull of engaged learners who
aren't even thinking about thecountdown to summer.
Heidi (09:02):
If you want more ideas for using theme days, head way
back to episode seven, where weshare all of our best tips and
tricks for making theme dayswork for you.
Emily (09:12):
And make sure you check out the links in the show notes
where we will link our twoalready done for you theme day
sets, one for a Camping Day andone for a Space Day. Each set
includes themed work packets,craftivities, book
recommendations, reviewactivities, so much more. We
often hear from people thatthere's so much more in there
than they can even use.
Heidi (09:32):
Yeah, theme days can be a lot of work to set up, but the
nice thing is that when youfigure it out once, it is so
easy to reuse each year. I wantto shout this for teachers,
because this saved me so manyyears.
Okay, let's take a look at ideafour, and I'm excited about this
one, let students become theteachers.
Emily (09:53):
I know, this is such a cute idea. You can let students
teach a mini lesson to the classon something they're good at, or
something they love. This givesthem ownership, and it builds
their confidence, and it letsthem share something with their
classmates that they are trulyskilled at.
Heidi (10:08):
That's such a gift for your kids that maybe have felt
overshadowed academically allyear to let them have a minute
in the spotlight. You can guidethem to plan a short
presentation, a demo oractivity. It could be anything
from teaching how to draw acartoon character, how to fold
origami, how to do a cartwheel,or explaining the rules of their
favorite game.
Emily (10:27):
Yeah, and you'll be surprised how serious they take
this and how much the rest ofthe class loves learning from
each other, plus it is a sneakyway to reinforce speaking and
listening skills.
Heidi (10:38):
Those are really important life skills that can
be hard to find a time to workon much during the school year.
But just a tip that if you wantto keep parents on your side, do
the work on this during class.Zero parents, I can guarantee,
want to be facilitating a bigproject at the end of the school
year.
Emily (10:57):
Yeah, that is true for all of these, their passion
projects that they're doing, thebook recommendations, work on
that in class. Do the researchfor things in class. Do not make
this a parent problem in May,they will not be happy.
And that brings us to ideanumber five, do creative
projects with a purpose. The endof the year is a great time for
(11:19):
project based learning. Workdoesn't have to be standards
driven to still be meaningful.You could plan a future me
project where students createvision boards or write letters
to their future selves.
Heidi (11:31):
Or you could make a classroom memory book, an end of
year time capsule, or a classmuseum where they display
artifacts and memories from youryear together.
Emily (11:40):
And we also have an awesome resource for this, which
is to make a looking backbulletin board where your
students look back at the schoolyear and highlight something
that was a wonderful memory forthem in this school year.
Heidi (11:54):
So once the kids have illustrated their memory, and
you could put up your sign, youknow, looking back at third
grade or second grade orwhatever, whatever grade you
happen to be in. Now the magicof this comes that you're gonna
get double duty out of it, andyou can either leave it up over
the summer or put it up again atback to school and change out
the title to be looking forwardto whatever grade you're in as a
(12:16):
way to get kids excited aboutall the fun things they'll get
to do in their new grade.
Emily (12:20):
I know, it's so fun. And then your students from this
year, when they come by yourclass next year, they will see
their memories still up. So it'sa fun way to connect with them,
too. I mean, this is like, win,win, win, win. This idea. I love
it so much. These kinds ofprojects are not only fun and
engaging, they help studentsprocess the end of the year and
reflect on their growth.
Heidi (12:40):
And honestly, they give you some really special
keepsakes to remember the magicof this class. So make sure you
check out the show notes for alink to our looking back
bulletin board project.
Emily (12:51):
So let's quickly recap our five ideas to keep students
engaged after testing is over.One, try passion projects. Two,
create classroom challenges.Three, use theme days or weeks.
Four, let students be theteacher. And five, plan creative
projects with a purpose
Heidi (13:10):
No matter what you choose, just remember this time
of year does not have to beabout coasting. It can still be
rich and meaningful, evenwithout test prep hanging over
your head.
Emily (13:21):
You and your students deserve to finish strong and
have some fun. You've worked sohard all year. Make the most of
these last few weeks together.
Heidi (13:28):
And make sure you head to the show notes. We've got all
the links there today, where youcan find a link for our free end
of year roadmap digital planner.This will help you figure out
your schedule for the next fewmonths, reflect on what you want
to maintain and change in thecoming weeks and help you break
down tasks so that you can getthings done without stress.
Emily (13:47):
We talked all about the roadmap in last week's episode,
so make sure to check outEpisode 188 if you want the
details.
Heidi (13:54):
We would love to hear what you are looking forward to
in term four. Come join theconversation in our Teacher
Approved Facebook group.
Emily (14:01):
Now let's talk about this week's teacher approved tip.
Each week we leave you with asmall actionable tip that you
can apply in your classroomtoday. This week's teacher
approved tip is to stock apersonal recovery kit. Tell us
about this one, Heidi.
Heidi (14:14):
I love this idea so much. Now if you join us over on the
Holiday Headstart podcast, youhave heard us talk about this
already, but this is such ahandy tip for teachers that we
didn't want to limit it toholiday headaches. The idea is
that in advance of a stressfulevent, such as, you know, the
end of the school year, you cancreate a recovery kit for
(14:35):
yourself. The idea is to get,you know, a box or basket that
you can fill with little thingsto help you pamper yourself as
you recuperate from what you'vejust been through.
Emily (14:44):
Think how great it would be to have this on hand after
the last day of school, or evenjust after a particularly
stressful day of school at anytime of the year.
Heidi (14:53):
I think for women, and especially women with children,
talking about pampering andtaking time to rest and recover
can truly feel impossible. Buteven though it might not be easy
to make it happen, finding a wayto rest is really essential for
your health.
Emily (15:07):
And if you're someone who struggles with guilt over taking
time for yourself, remember thatif you want to be able to give
your best to the people youlove, you have to be a little
selfish sometimes.
Heidi (15:17):
Gretchen Rubin from the Happier Podcast, which is a
podcast that we really love, shehas a great saying that applies
here. When we give more toourselves, we can ask more from
ourselves. If you want to beable to show up as the best
version of yourself, you have tomake your well being a priority
sometimes.
Emily (15:35):
And this is especially important after a draining event
like the last few weeks ofschool. You hear people talk all
the time about how you can'tpour from an empty cup, and
making a recovery kit is atangible way to help refill that
empty cup.
Heidi (15:48):
Think how great it will feel to come home after a long
day and pull out your recoverykit with some fuzzy socks or a
head massager or a magazine thatyou love but don't normally buy.
Emily (15:57):
If socks and head massages and magazines don't
interest you, stock yourrecovery kit with things that
do. Maybe a new notebook, acraft kit or art supplies would
be more restorative for you. Ormaybe you want to stock up on
some DoorDash gift cards so youdon't have to think about meals
for a few days.
Heidi (16:15):
If you aren't sure where to start with a project like
this, try thinking about yourfive senses. What are some
soothing sounds or scents? Whattextures do you find comforting?
What is something relaxing thatyou can read or watch? And of
course, you know you can't gowrong with a few treats.
Emily (16:31):
You can get started by finding a box or bin to use and
then start adding to it over thenext few weeks. You can even ask
friends or family to donatesupplies. I'd love it if someone
I care about reached out withsomething like this. Being told
about a tangible way to help aloved one survive a stressful
time is a gift. I'd be so happyto help.
Heidi (16:51):
We all know that we need some downtime to recover before
we can bounce back. A recoverykit is a way to make sure that
that needed downtime is actuallyrestorative, and, you know, not
just passing out on the couch.
Emily (17:02):
And keep adding to your recovery kit over the summer.
Those DoorDash gift cards can bea real lifesaver the first few
weeks of school. By spendingjust a little bit every week or
so, you're supporting yourfuture self without placing a
huge burden on your budget.
Heidi (17:16):
To wrap up the show, we are sharing what we're giving
extra credit to this week.Emily, what gets your extra
credit?
Emily (17:21):
I'm giving extra credit to the TV show Running Point on
Netflix. And despite this beinga Mindy Kaling project, I have
to say I was a little skepticalof the premise and even the
previews, I just didn't think itwas going to be that funny. But
it really has been very funny towatch. So the premise is that
Kate Hudson plays a reformedparty girl who has to prove
(17:42):
herself as a business woman whenshe's unexpectedly put in charge
of her family's pro basketballteam. It does have some
language, so heads up on that ifyou're sensitive.
Heidi (17:52):
I have not heard of the show at all.
Emily (17:54):
Really? They talked about it on The Popcast, because
they'd been making fun of itleading up to it, and then Knox
watched it and he loved it.
Heidi (18:01):
Oh, well, I'm a little bit behind there, so I'll have
to catch up there too.
Emily (18:07):
My other extra credit is that I love The Popcast, that's
my favorite podcast.
Heidi (18:11):
That is a fun one.
Emily (18:12):
What are you giving extra credit to, Heidi?
Heidi (18:14):
This is not nearly as fun. My extra credit goes to
cost plus drug company, which isthe mail order pharmacy started
by Mark Cuban. Now I have onlyused it one whole time so far,
but they offered theprescription that I usually have
to pay more than $80 for, theyoffered it to me for $21. So
(18:35):
even with the added $5 forshipping, I am still saving 70%
so I would say it's definitelyworth checking out if you have
any expensive prescriptions.
Emily (18:45):
So this is the thing where you pay out of pocket
instead of using your insurance,but then it's actually cheaper,
right? Isn't that the way itworks?
Heidi (18:51):
Yes, so they do take some insurance. They don't take ours,
but what I was paying out ofpocket, like the $80 was what I
was paying out of pocket. Soeven if they don't take
insurance, I'm still saving 60bucks.
Emily (19:04):
Yeah, I think that happens more and more in medical
care, where cash pay is actuallycheaper than what you pay with
your co pay for insurance thatyou're paying a lot of money
for. I mean, it's crazy. So thatis definitely worth looking
into. I'll have to go see ifanything I need is cheaper over
there.
Heidi (19:22):
And they break down the cost, so you see exactly what
the pills cost them, how muchthey're taking, and then, like,
how much of it goes to thepharmacist. So, like, it's all
transparent. It's such a changewhen you know you've dealt with,
you know, medical bills, whereyou're just told, like, yep,
here's $300 you owe us. Andyou're like, I will have to
trust that that's accurate.
Emily (19:41):
Yeah, that's awesome. I'm gonna check that out.
Heidi (19:46):
That's it for today's episode. Remember our five ideas
for how to keep students engagedafter testing is over, and don't
forget to start stocking thatself care recovery kit.
We hope you enjoyed this episodeof Teacher Approved. I'm Heidi.
Emily (20:01):
And I'm Emily. Thank you for listening. Be sure to follow
or subscribe in your podcast appso that you never miss an
episode.
Heidi (20:08):
You can connect with us and other teachers in the
Teacher Approved Facebook group.We'll see you here next week.
Bye, for now.
Emily (20:14):
Bye.
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