Categories: End of YearGeneral Teacher Tips

End of the Year Teacher Checklist – 2 Weeks to Go!

This is the third in a blog post mini-series. In this post, we will discuss your end of the year teacher checklist with 2 weeks to go.

It’s the end of the school year, and you are feeling frazzled. You are trying to get things done on your end of the year teacher checklist, but it somehow just keeps getting longer and longer. The answer? A solid plan where you map out your end of the year teacher checklist a month before school ends. Read here for your plan with 2 weeks left of school.

End of the Year Teacher Checklist Task #1: Start Grading

Seriously, the grading. It never ends. It’s one of those tasks that gets exponentially bigger rather than smaller at the end of the year, even when you feel like you are grading non-stop. So, it’s time to get a plan.

In the first blog post, I suggested making a list of everything that needs to be graded. If you didn’t read that yet, you can read the first blog post by clicking here.

When you have your list, it’s time to get serious. And with two weeks left, the time is really right now.

It will help greatly if you assign times and goals for your grading. It’s important to be realistic here, especially when you are grading essays and projects. I firmly believe that it’s reasonable to do some grading in class. It can’t be anything too extensive, but I might plan to put in all the scores of a grade that was graded electronically on Google Forms into my grade book. Or, I might say that I will grade 2 essays a period. Any little bit helps you to chip away.

So make a schedule, and do your best to stick with it, especially at the beginning. Once you see that things are getting done, it becomes addictive!

Wishing you seriously the best of luck with this. For me, it was by far the most difficult and draining part of my end of the year teacher checklist.

Task #2: Missing Work Checklist

I found that I needed to create a missing work checklist for each class as part of my end of the year teacher checklist. Here’s how I handled this:

I’d make a list for each class, going by student.
I’d make time to meet with students very briefly to tell them what they owed, and what (if anything) could be made up for partial credit.
I’d give students a very strict deadline, telling them that they had until a specific day and time to turn it in. I’d let them know how much credit they would get for it.
I’d send a brief email home, letting parents know the expectations. I made a form email…you can take a look at it in my first blog post.

Task #3: Next Year’s Bulletin Board

With such a huge end of the year teacher checklist, I know this sounds insane, but hear me out.

You are NEVER going to feel like making your welcome back bulletin board. It’s hard, tedious, and quite frankly, something that I personally resented on some weird level. I know it’s all part of being a teacher, but with so much to do, it was never a priority in my mind. So I needed a solution, and I found one.

Have this year’s class make the pieces for the bulletin board, put them away, and you’re all set for back to school. Use this collaborative bulletin board that reads “Words of Wisdom from the Class of 2024”. Kids get their piece of the bulletin board and write advice for the upcoming class. They can write something simple, like “don’t procrastinate” or “keep your locker organized”. Then, all you have to do is staple it in order. It’s so easy, and it gives your kids something fun and meaningful to work on now (and you can get some grading done as they are working).

Check out this product; I promise, it’s worth its weight in gold:

Perfect to keep kids busy, plus you’ll be all set with your back-to-school bulletin board!

Task #4: Gifts/Thank You Cards

I know everyone is different in this area, but I always wanted to give my kids a little something to remember me by at the end of the year. It was the one thing on my end of the year teacher checklist that I actually loved doing.

Because we teach many students, having a real “gift” for each student is not really feasible. Here are some ideas that worked well for me over the years:

Poem – As a language arts teacher, I did my poetry unit at the end of the year. One of the things I would write myself was a reflection piece about each class. I made them each a copy with a little personal note. I’ve had kids come back and tell me how much they cherished it. If writing is not your thing, you can use a poem that personifies your particular class.
Class Picture – Because we have so many classes, our individual classes are not represented in the yearbook. I have someone take a picture of the class on a day when everyone is there. I write a personal message, then I print it, “mount” it, and laminate it.
Book Mark – This sounds corny, but I’ve had kids come back and tell me that they still have it. I create this online and personalize it for each class. I print on card stock and laminate and add a ribbon. They are really cute!
Memory Book – Although not really a gift, it becomes a keepsake for kids. You can do this in many ways…I have one available if you are interested. This is particularly helpful as kids can work independently as you get things done on your end of the year teacher checklist. End of Year Flip Book

As an FYI, there are lots of options on TPT for easy gifts. I don’t currently have any in my store, but if you are short on time, I would start there. I would personally stay away from consumable gifts, such as candy, as it isn’t a keepsake. Although not all kids will treasure this, some actually will.

Speaking of gift giving, many kids would give gifts, and it was so appreciated. I would always make sure I had printed thank you cards or grabbed a bunch at the dollar store. I tried my best to write them in as I got the gift and return the thank you card ASAP. There have been years that I had to do this at home and mail them, and it just became too big of a job. So I highly recommend having something pre-printed that you can just write a quick note in to personalize. Trust me, you will be happy that you did this!

Not enough time to read? Try the Podcast!

I recently started a Podcast for middle school language arts teachers. Check it out!

Listen here!

Any questions or comments? I’d love to hear how you tackle your end of the year teacher checklist. I can also help if you have specific questions. Drop a comment below!

In the meantime, hang in there. I know it’s hard, but you’ve got this!

-Linda A. “All in One Middle School“