No one is the same anymore.
You’re a different teacher and your students are different kids. It’s a different time of year and a different mental space. Emphasis on the mental. You simply can’t expect the same behavior.
Students are going to have higher energy. Allow for more movement and activity. Your classes will be more talkative. Let them work in partners or groups. Their attention spams will be shorter. Keep whole group instruction to a minimum.
Don’t budge on anything that pertains to respect or safety. But seriously reconsider anything else. Embrace the fact that everyone is different during the last couple weeks of school and enjoy it. You’ll be a better teacher for it.
I find it funny how often we are told to keep high expectations and continue teaching and learning, but then the days are filled with tons of interruptions and alternate schedules and last-minute changes. I'm with you. The end of the year is different. I'm not sure if we've changed as much as we are now known to each other and we are much more aware of the time ticking by.
ReplyDeleteAs a kindergarten teacher, I am very aware of the change in energy and behavior :-). What did we do more of?--outside play (I did individualized reading assessments at the picnic table!), dancing and singing, extended project exploration.
ReplyDeleteBut I do not take the room apart until the very last day, and then I allow the children to be involved. We check the manipulatives, sort the books, toss dead markers. Keeping the room active and familiar, until the last day, is reassuring and comforting. It also allows me to give them extra freedom, without it becoming mass chaos!
ReadWriteSing
Philip- I'm with you on those interruptions. Yikes!
ReplyDeleteChrissy- I love that you don't take the room down until the last day. That's really important for young kids. Good thoughts.