Categories: General Teacher Tips

End of Year Countdown – 1 Week to Go!

This is the fourth and last in a blog post mini-series. In this post, we will discuss the end of year countdown and everything that you need to accomplish on your checklist with 1 week to go.

The end of year countdown is on! You feel like you should be winding down, but as every educator knows, this is crunch time. You are working harder than ever, yet your list keeps getting longer and longer. How to handle it? Read here for your end of year countdown with 1 week left of school.

End of Year Countdown: Task #1 – Get Your Grading Done

I know I don’t have to remind you…but obviously now is the time. I do have a few tips to help you with this most important tasks on your end of year countdown list:

Time in class: You can absolutely get some grading done during the school day. I know how challenging this can be. It is preferable to do the easier grading during the day, such as quiz grades and entering data into your online grade book. Make a schedule for yourself and stick to it. For example, it could say: Monday: Period 1 – enter all quiz grades; Period 2 – Grade 5 reader’s notebooks, etc. This way, you enter the week with a plan. It will be key to have activities that kids can work on independently while you get some of this done. If you need ideas, check out my end of the year activities…they are all independent but provide meaningful and purposeful work for your students.
Time at home: Unfortunately, most middle school ELA teachers find themselves grading at home. It’s the nature of the beast. Don’t do the easy, mundane things at home; that can be done in class. Save home time for essays and projects that require more focus. Again, you’ll want to go in with a plan. Example: Monday – grade 6 essays; Tuesday – Finish period 2 projects, etc.
Flex time: Schedule in some flex time into your schedule to take care of the odds and ends that will not get done or things that pop up last minute. I used to take a Saturday afternoon and go to my public library or coffee house. I told my family I was “out of commission” for those few hours. This way, it was built in and I was mentally prepared.

Task #2: Room in Order

Having your room closed up to your district’s specifications is part of your end of the year countdown. My room was used in the summer for recreation camp (!!), so I had to completely dismantle it. It was a huge job every year. Here are some of my tips to make sure you are good to go:

List: Keep a running list of what needs to be done. Have it out and prominent so you can see it. As you start checking things off, you will gain momentum and it will (hopefully) motivate you.
Student Help: From that list, there were always things that kids could do to help. I would use the first 10-15 minutes of each of my classes to divvy up some tasks that kids could handle. For example, my library was a big one. I would put one of my classes in pairs of kids. Each pair would get a section of the library (example: the historical fiction section). They would re-alphabetize the books and put them back neatly. It was a huge time saver for me.
Independent Work: Again, you’ll need some meaningful but fun work for your students. If you are in need of some fresh ideas, again, check out my end of year activities. Many of them can double as your back-to-school bulletin board.

Task #3: Make Time for EOY Activities

With one week to go, you are well aware of grade-level and school-level activities. You will, however, want to make time for EASY activities to incorporate into your end of year countdown.

With one week left, these activities must have these 3 qualifications:

Print and go – because kids generally don’t have their devices any longer at this time of year
Independent – because you don’t have time to help them with something new at this point
Meaningful – because no one likes busy work
Useful – because you can easily turn this into a bulletin board for next year

As I have been saying, I have lots of these types of activities in my store. Some that meet all 4 criteria:

Collaborative Poster – kids color and write advice to next year’s students
Color by Code Reflection – also makes a nice welcome bulletin board
End of Year Choice Board – 15 different activities; when printed, makes a perfect bulletin board as well
Thumbs Up to a Great Year – this is a unique project that kids will love

Trust me, you will be so thankful to have activities like this at the ready.

Task #4: Day 1 Activities

Oh, I know you don’t want to hear this…but you really don’t want to leave without at least your first day activity prepped and ready to go. Although it feels like a lot, future you will thank present you so much. And since you are almost done, why not quickly do this easy task on your end of year countdown list?

Like the end of the year, you’ll want something independent, print and go, meaningful, and useful. Usually, you are looking for “ice breaker” type activities and “getting to know you”. Here are some of the products in my store that meet this criteria:

Back to School Collaborative Poster – doubles as your opening bulletin board
Color Code Getting to Know You – fun and another great choice as an opening bulletin board
First Day Stations – a fun and collaborative assignment
Getting to Know You Printables – easy and the perfect icebreaker activity

I’m serious when I say all you have to do is print and you are set. It’s a “win-win” and will be the easiest task on your end of year countdown.

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 the last week of your end of year countdown is going. 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“