End of the Year Worksheets

We have a ton of great worksheets just for the end of the school year. If you are out of ideas, these will definitely help you. Relax a little, you deserve it!

Worksheets and Puzzles

Great End of the Year Teacher Resources

How to Keep Students Focused Towards the End of the School Year

It is quite natural for you and your students to check into summer mode towards the end of the school year. If you are worried about keeping your students engaged during this time, you need not worry.

Contrary to popular belief, this can be the most engaging time of the year. We have put together a few magical secrets to keep your students focused during this time! Read on to find out!

Keeping students engaged towards the end of the year can be a challenge as a teacher. Here are some tips and tricks on keeping your students focused at the end of the school year.

1. Explore New Topics That Your Students Are Interested In

Motivation levels of both students and teachers can be low towards the end of the school year because, at this point, everyone is just counting the days till the summer break. This anticipation causes students to lose focus on schoolwork. This time is perfect for exploring new topics with your students that might interest them.

As a teacher, you have the privilege of conducting a small survey to gauge what interests your students. Kids these days have access to a lot of information, so don't be surprised by their answers if a student answers Egyptian pyramids.

Be open to their responses and likewise explore some new topics together. Knowing that they suggested the topic of discussion will help give your students a sense of ownership and control, hence increasing class participation, student engagement, and thereby, their focus towards the end of the school year –the ultimate goal!

2. Spice Things Up with a New Classroom Layout and Decor

Coming to the same classroom for the whole school year tends to get boring for most students. You can spice things up and engage students every day with a new classroom layout. Ask your students for ideas and involve them as much as possible in the process. Such activities will serve as a great way to keep them engaged while giving them a chance to engage the creative side of their brains.

The activities can be as simple as simply moving the furniture around and creating a new seating arrangement. For example, you could go from a theatrical seating style to round tables.

To add to the decor, you could add new charts to the classroom. Engage your students by giving them the chance to prepare charts on lessons and topics they covered in the school year. Allow them to use stickers, colors, markers, paints, and charts. Seeing the result will give them a sense of pride.

3. Stick to a Routine

The last few weeks of school can be a bit crazy, but you must have a strict routine in place to keep your students focused. It is great to engage them in fun learning activities, but you need to have a defined study schedule or routine for your students.

Having a set routine will help your students feel calmer, and they will take the last few weeks of the school years a lot more seriously as opposed to just having fun and passing the time! Having a routine will also prepare them for all the summer homework that needs to get done.

4. Celebrate Different Themed Days

Another great activity to help keep your students focused towards the end of the school year is to have special themed days. For example, you would have a special day for different colors. If your school doesn't have a uniform, all the students could dress up in a particular color and even bring snacks of the same colors.

Others theme day ideas could be a sports day, arts and craft day, water day, earth day, Hollywood day, Disney day, friendship day, history day, a wacky day, and many more. You could also link some of these themes with different lessons, like Earth Day could be an extension of a topic from geography. History day could be based on a particular era studied in history class. So, be creative and have fun!

5. Reverse Roles by Giving Your Students a Chance to Teach

You've been teaching for the entire school year; how about you reverse the roles for a change? Allow your students to teach something in class. You can do this by assigning a topic to them or letting them pick one they like.

To make things interesting, students could even be allowed to dress up like a teacher or professor. Give them full discretion on how they teach the lesson. Encourage the use of props, charts, and other material. Presenting on a topic they researched and prepared will improve their public speaking skills and help build their confidence.

6. Invite a Guest Speaker

Are you worried about not having too many ideas to keep your students engaged? Invite a guest speaker for a change. This will allow you to take a break from teaching for a day and be an interesting and interactive experience for your students.

Communicating with someone new will also give students the confidence to interact with people. Before the session, brief your class on the etiquette of treating a guest and making them feel welcome.

7. Conduct Friendly Competitions

Last but not least, try conducting friendly competitions in class. Divide your class into groups, assign topics and tasks and allow them to be fully engaged in this learning process. This is a great tip on motivating students to do better. You will notice that your students are more vocal and engaged if there is a competitive aspect to the task at hand. To make things interesting, you could arrange for a surprise judge or reward at the end of the competition.

Our Concluding Thoughts

Staying focused at the end of the school year can be challenging for both the teachers and students. However, you can ensure that your students don't lose focus with a positive and engaging approach.