So, you’ve made it down the home stretch and the finish line is finally in sight. Congratulations for reaching this milestone, particularly this year with all the challenges that Covid-19 so graciously provided to educators across the globe.
Although many teachers, understandably, believe that once state-mandated testing is over, its time to chillax for a bit and ‘let the kids have some fun’. In a perfect world, I suppose that would be a well-earned reward for 9 months of hard work on their part, however, it’s important to keep in mind that many students already have severe deficiencies and learning gaps; while much learning loss can be attributed to Covid, others have fallen through the gap over the course of their entire school career.
Now is not the time to sit back and watch the paint dry or eat bon-bons, rather its an opportunity to engage our students differently, while still maintaining the focus of standards. And you know what? Maybe this is when we can finally allow for some solid collaboration and exploration.
I invite you to try out the following resources that will help you end your school year on a high note and engage your students in ELA unlike before!
End of the Year Socratic Seminar
Heaven knows secondary students love to debate, and one really great way to end the school year is by having students engage in scholarly discussions about what they’ve read and how it applies to the real world.
The main purpose of a Socratic Seminar is to achieve a deeper understanding about the ideas and values in a text, where participants systematically question and examine issues and principles related to a particular content, and articulate different points-of-view. The group conversation helps students construct meaning through disciplined analysis, interpretation, listening, and participation.
Use this FREE customizable Socratic Seminar Before-During-After Planning Sheet and the Socratic Seminar Student Note Taking Guide with any thematic text set. These two resources can be used repeatedly and applied to any high-interest article to fully engage students. You’ll find they even surprise themselves with their ‘college-like’ banter.
A terrific way to prep for a final exam or even as a final exam alternative. Better yet, combine with one of the 10-Day Novel Study resources below to ignite the fire within your students!
Novel Study
As most of us already know, one of the downsides to standardized testing in ELA has been a decreased interest in leisurely reading. Be sure to try out one of these 10-day novel study resources to get your students excited about reading again! Complete with author and character studies, paired informational texts, and plot analysis, each day focuses on a specific common core standard with embedded collaboration activities and writing tasks.
Looking for a classic? Give To Kill a Mockingbird 10-Day Novel Study a try and watch them make connections to the universal theme of justice and inequality, particularly relevant to current events.
Prefer something more modern to connect them to? The Glass Castle 9-Day Novel Study is perfect, especially for building empathy for a character and relating to overcoming adversity.
Lyrical Poetry Analysis Activity
Kids of all ages love music, but high schoolers, especially, connect with it, unlike all others. So, why not have your students analyze the lyrics to their favorite song, just as they would any other poem? Using the Lyrical Poetry Analysis Activity, students will select the lyrics to a song of their choice (no explicit lyrics allowed) and explore the artist’s word choice and universal themes within using the TPCASTT strategy. Then, using their notes from the TPCASTT, they will write an essay-style literary analysis of the song they’ve chosen. Lots of lightbulb moments throughout the classroom as students become aware of hidden messages in the music they’ve been listening to!
A selection of 5 suggested song titles with lyrics is included. Feel free to adjust by adding some more modern and relevant song titles from today to create heightened interest among your students.
Final Thoughts
Whatever the project, novel study or collaborative activity you choose to wrap up your year, be sure to select a resource of high interest that allows for a bit of socializing, interacting with one another and guided research. Its a great way to not only help your students let off a little steam after a hard 9 months, but fools them into learning as they get ready for the following school year!