I don’t know what is going on this year (maybe it’s the lack of having a dedicated middle school principal or the influx of students in middle school who have obvious Covid-gaps or maybe it’s the 15-year slump) but I am feeling it this May.
I am not the kind of teacher who counts down the final days of school because it fails to acknowledge all the wonderful things happening right now. But this year, I have to really try and keep my focus.
Whenever I feel disengaged from teaching, I always look for invigorating activities that are high engagement, low prep, and academically-minded.
Luckily for me and you, I have a bunch of ideas from my teacher-friends that are tried-and-true activities that students enjoy while also getting them to reflect back on their school year.
First up, gameify their reflections!
I love playing the NY Times game “Connections'' and so I had to find a way to make it academic. (If you are not familiar, this game challenges players to examine 16 words and create groups of 4 that all share a common theme.)
Last week, when my students finished reading Lord of the Flies, I put the finishing touches on the Connections-style game and had my students create their own games based on the novel, which was seriously awesome! I wish you could have seen their critical thinking and heard their deep conversations!
Because of the success with that activity, I had to think of more ways to incorporate the game into our class. As we wind down the year, I always have my students do a reflection on their experience in my class. This not only informs me about what pedagogical experiences I should keep and which I should ditch, but it also helps students see their growth and progress.
This year, however, I am going to add a whimsical twist to their reflections and have them create a Connections-style game that acts as a year in review. They could create categories dealing with sports wins and losses, major assignments, memorable school lunches, or anything else they want to remember and reflect on from the year.
My favorite part about having them create this game is when they get to share it with their classmates and challenge each other to make accurate connections. Using this activity as a reflection and recap for the year is guaranteed to bring back some incredible memories while building that classroom community. If I wanted to make it more specific to my class, I could always add that parameter and get an authentic sense of what students are taking with them when they leave my room.
Oy! Now that I am thinking about it, there are so many possibilities with this game as an end-of-year activity!
If this is something you want to try in your classroom, I have everything you need right here: slide deck, brainstorming handouts, link to digital game, and more! This can be used for ANY subject and ANY topic!
Ok-I am feeling excited about Monday again, but if you need more inspo and creative ways to encourage reflection, keep reading!
Kristy from 2 Peas and a Dog loves 6 Word Memoirs as an engaging reflection activity. Students brainstorm a variety of memories and events from the school year. Then they use those ideas to create a 6 word memoir that represents their school year.
Students can get creative with their presentation of these memoirs, they can use graphic design software like Canva to create a poster or a social media post or even use a real canvas to share their memoir through mixed media.
If there’s one thing that Lesa from SmithTeaches9to12 loves to include in class it’s essay writing. Nah, that’s not what she loves to include… let’s be real, it’s music!
Playing music in the background during group work can set the tone. Analyzing music for figurative language means getting student buy-in. Choosing music to fit a character means intense classroom debates!
So to keep these positives going, Lesa uses music to reflect on the school year. Students choose songs to fit the books and units covered, to suit the mood of the class, to summarize their thoughts on the school year, or to predict their summer. Basically whatever you want to declare as a prompt can work for students to pick a song and then justify the choice.
The justification is key. It means writing succinctly and on topic. These justifications can lead to small group and whole class discussions.
Want to extend the activity? Have students bring in a copy of clean lyrics for one of their songs and review figurative language devices in the song, make a blackout poem from it, or use it as a creative writing prompt to create a character or a scene based on the lyrics (this is a great option for practicing new vocabulary too!).
Teacher Tip: Add the songs to a Spotify list and share the playlist with the class. They’ll have a little (FREE) memento of the year and you have some new music to listen to as well!
Grab this good-to-go Music Playlist Reflection Activity to complete with your students as you wrap up the school year.
Struggling to get your students to take the reins of their own learning? You're not alone. Carolyn from Middle School Cafe has been in your shoes and felt the same frustration until she realized she needed to teach her students how to reflect.
Many students approach school thinking it just happens to them - that they are stuck. But here's the secret: student reflection can change the game. By tweaking the questions we ask students so they focus on how and why they learn, we begin to see a mindset shift. Students begin to understand how their actions are connected to their learning. They suddenly realize they hold the power to their learning experiences. Students become an active participant in their learning. And isn’t that what we are all looking for?
At the end of a unit (or term) ask students to think about how they interacted or participated in the learning. Ask them to think about what they learned about themselves through the learning process. Questions such as these require students to go beyond the content and think about how they learn, which is key to taking ownership of their learning.
Not sure where to get started? Grab this free resource for student worksheets and posters that will help you teach your students how to reflect on their learning.
Amanda from Mud and Ink Teaching is a huge fan of sketch and doodle notes as a way of reflecting on learning. Whether students are reflecting on their personal growth from the year or something academic (or a hybrid of both!), sketchnotes have been highly successful. Why? Well it provides students space to reflect that’s off the computer and not within the traditional bounds of writing. Sketchnoting leans into a more free-spirited approach of expression, and when it comes to reflection, these go together nicely.
A starburst format is a visually appealing layout for reflection. In the center of the page (you can use the premade templates here), students write a word or phrase connected to the reflection. They could write:
Semester 2
The year (2024, e.g.)
My Reading
My Writing
Junior Year
Then, in the starburst areas around the word, students fill in the entire space with color, words, doodles, photos, and more to express the varied representations of that word over the given time from (school year, semester, etc.).
Be sure to give Amanda’s templates a try and share with her on social media -- Amanda loves to reshare teacher work on her Instagram!
When reflecting on the school year or semester, making memes is a great way for students to demonstrate and reflect on their learning in a fun, low-stakes way that is sure to engage everyone.
Katie from Mochas and Markbooks assigns students a course reflection meme activity near the end of a semester that requires them to create a meme that demonstrates a skill or concept learned during the course. Students can create their memes digitally by copying and pasting photos into the template, or by hand, cutting pictures from magazines. The key to meme success is to provide students with some examples and caption prompts to help students generate their ideas. For example, using the common meme phrase, “that feeling when…” and relating it to something learned in the course.
After students have created their memes, they can be displayed on a classroom bulletin board to represent all of the important concepts from the course. Another way to display the memes is a gallery walk, with students walking through the classroom to see each meme. You can take this activity a step further by having students place an assignment, textbook chapter, or item with their meme that demonstrates the same skill or concept from the course.
As the school year winds down, it’s an excellent opportunity for students to be reflective. And one way that Jeanmarie from McLaughlin Teaches English knows that sometimes we need something super easy. And that’s where a Top Ten One Pager comes in.
A One Pager uses both words and images for a concise way to share information. So taking your school year down to the top ten events, assignments or moments can be a great way for students to reflect on their school year as a whole or just for your class. In fact, if you have them do it just for your class, it can also give you feedback on the texts and assignments you have used throughout the year.
You can give as many or as few directions as you choose. Jeanmarie finds that it is sometimes easier for students to process if they have one pager templates, although she also gives her students the option to use a blank sheet of paper. And as a bonus, you can use these one pager templates to reflect on the calendar year as well.
Ok, teachers, you now have so many fantastic ideas to not only get you to the end of the year, but also help your students meaningfully and creatively reflect on the year. You got this!
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