Keeping Learning Productive the Last Weeks of School, by Kristi Dragan, Biology Teacher at Wilson Central High School

As a teacher, one of the most important things we can do for most students in our classrooms is keeping the structure at the end of the year. As an EOC teacher, I find myself skipping fun labs/activities to get content covered throughout the semester before my students take their EOC. I find the weeks after TN Ready testing, AP testing and EOC testing is a great time to go back and perform the hands-on activities/labs I had left out due to time restraints. I feel students appreciate that we are still learning while being active participants in my room. This also allows students to work together while experimenting with content they should have mastered. They feel good about their content knowledge and are able to have meaningful conversations. I find that students enjoy hands-on activities that they get to work with their peers. Learning is taking place while these different activities are taking place. Just take a step back and look and listen to your students. They are communicating! I find that students are engaged and want to participate if I can get them moving. Having the time, patience and understanding of a structured classroom will help the last few weeks of school pass by fast. Students will remember these activities and hopefully it will be retained in their next course that follows. Planning will take some extra effort on your part, but it is so worth having your class be productive while having fun together.