Articles

The walls of the classroom look emptier than they looked a month ago and a few remnants of the presence of students remain: a pencil here or a sticky note there containing a past thought. As the last student leaves the room in which you’ve built a community, many emotions…

You’ve made it to the last few months of the academic year! From spring fever to state testing, there are lots of reasons why students might need a nudge to stay engaged in academics around this time of year. Here are some tips that can help! Keep things moving Attention…

Once June arrives, it’s tempting to focus on the more leisurely days ahead. That’s important to do—we all need rest and rejuvenation. But before you begin that well-earned downtime, pause for a moment to bring closure to your year of teaching—to consider what went well in your teaching and how…

Although we hope that our students’ learning won’t stop just because school does, it’s good to help them reach a sense of closure during the last few weeks of the year. Good endings leave students with feelings of pride in their growth, a strong sense of themselves as capable learners,…

On Move-Up Day, a rite of passage for the children at my school, I tend to feel a bit wistful as the second graders I've been teaching head off to meet their new teacher, and I welcome next year's class. Although the first graders are always eager to meet me,…

At the end of another school year, it's tempting to count the days left, wave goodbye to my class, pack up my room, and mentally check out for the summer. I've earned it, haven't I? But as the year winds down, I'm reminded that many of the end-of-year activities I…

Ideas from Responsive Classroom consultants Lynn Majewski, Babs Freeman-Loftis, and Tina Valentine  Lynn Majewski: You can do this one in conjunction with packing up the classroom library: each child chooses a favorite book and tries to convince classmates to read it over the summer. There are a variety of ways…

Take time at the end of the school year to help children reflect on how they have worked to get to know each other, efforts they have made to be kind, and the friendships they have formed. Here are two tales of unique and unlikely friendships that you could use…

As the school year winds down, how will your students reflect on the hopes, dreams, and goals they set for this year? Many books could inspire this sort of reflection, including those I wrote about in "Read-Alouds to Inspire Hopes and Dreams" and "Revisiting Hopes and Dreams in the New…

How has your class grown this year? What acts of kindness have they done for each other? What have they learned? What do you hope they will remember? Children's books can be great vehicles for exploring these sorts of questions during the last weeks of school. Here are two great…

The end of the school year is an emotional time. By this time, many students (and teachers!) are eager for summer vacation, yet many children have mixed feelings about leaving the comforting structure of school. As the weather warms, attention to schoolwork fades. And perhaps most difficult for teachers who’ve…

What do you read to your class on the last day of school? I always put so much energy into that last choice. I wanted a book that would celebrate the community we had built, the friendships we had made, the values we had discussed . . . and at…

It's April. It's tempting to think that by now students understand our expectations and know how to behave, so we can all just coast to the end of the year. But, in most classrooms, that's probably not true. In this season, children are filled with spring fever, facing mixed emotions…

Endings can be difficult for both children and adults. As the last days of school approach, the children in my first grade classroom and I will be feeling a range of emotions, including sadness at saying goodbye to friends, anticipation of new adventures, and anxiety about the coming transitions. The…

Q: What's the most important thing to focus on during the last weeks of school? A: Showcasing students' learning and celebrating the community you've built together should be the focus at the end of the year.  It's a prime time for doing deeply engaging work, such as a culminating project,…

A few weeks before school ended last year, I wrote my fourth grade students notes stating a “hope and dream” for each of them as they moved on to fifth grade. My goals were to help them feel proud of their accomplishments over the year and to encourage them to…

When Kyle and his grandparents walk into Summit Elementary School on Success Night, the hallways are already buzzing with children and their families. Kyle’s grandmother catches sight of his second grade teacher and waves. Kyle says they’ll visit her room later. “First I’m going to show you what I’ve done…

Publicly recognizing children’s accomplishments can benefit their learning and the overall school climate. But how do you do it without setting up a competition among students? This is a question that many schools face, especially as the end of the year draws near. At Sheffield Elementary, a grade 3–5 school…

As each school year ends, I look for ways to highlight for my students all they’ve learned during our time together. Last year, I found a quick, fun way to do this during Morning Meeting, while also giving the children a bit more practice in observing and classifying—important skills in…

The school year is drawing to a close. It’s been a year filled with many learning experiences for the children and for you. Though learning doesn’t end just because school does, it’s good to help children bring a sense of closure to the year of classroom learning. This article highlights…

Question: What's something you do with students to end the year on a positive note? A: A few years ago I decided to make sure my class would have time for saying goodbye on the last day of school. To help them prepare, the night before I gave them “thinking…

For students, teachers, and parents alike, few events bring more hope and nervousness than the start of a new school year. As the summer winds down, many teachers begin to have conflicting feelings about the year ahead. We’re at once curious about our new students and daunted by the challenge…

Question: The end of the school year offers a unique opportunity for students and teachers to reflect on their year of learning together. It’s a time to recognize efforts, celebrate achievements, acknowledge challenges, and look forward to the year ahead. We asked several teachers, from kindergarten to eighth grade, to…