Activities for the End of the School Year

The last few days of a school year can evoke many emotions. Teachers are tired. Students are restless and are often anxious about end-of-year tests. And yet, it is also a time for reflection, and a time to feel nostalgic about young people we have come to love and admire. They will leave us soon, and we hope to see them again and hope that we have made a difference in their lives.

After the test reviews are complete and we are satisfied that our students are ready to end their course of study with us, there will be days when we need to find something for them to do. You can call them filler assignments if you wish, but I like to make them both meaningful and enjoyable. The key is to make the students use their minds and give them Higher Order Thinking Assignments (HOTS). 

I will share two of them with you. One is free. Enjoy!

Click here for a HOTS Classification Exercise that will make your students think.

Click here for a FREE HOTS Classification Exercise that is perfect for the last few days of school before summer break.

Thanks for reading,

Here are some other great ideas and free products from TpT teacher/authors.

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HOTS HIgher Order Thinking Skills Are Important

Whenever possible, find a way to promote Higher Order Thinking Skills into your daily lessons.

Students must do more than just memorize and retell information. They have to think about what they have learned and not just play back information like a tape recorder does. 

They will more easily retain the information they learn if they have to use those facts or manipulate them.

Examples of the ways they can reach higher thinking levels are to predict, estimate, define, evaluate, diagram, construct, order, classify, identify, etc.

Encourage your students to think!

Click here to purchase a HOTS Classification Exercise from my store.  

Thanks for reading,

Teaching Tip for the Winter Holiday Season

On the day or two before the Winter Holiday begins, students have usually completely shut down their studious brains and fully engaged their frolicsome personalities. On such days, giving students free time is about as much fun for the teacher as having a root canal.

Some teachers need activities to keep students engaged during seemingly endless class periods, and others need good activities for students to work on after they finish semester exams.

I always had a couple of holiday-themed exercises ready that would be fun for the students to do, but would also stimulate their higher order thinking skills. A little planning on my part made the hours leading up to the much needed Winter Break a whole lot easier on everyone.

Please click here or on the photo below for two FREE exercises. I hope you and your students enjoy them!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Thanks for reading,