The Final Few Days

It is the last “real” Friday of the year.  Next week, Friday is the Middle School Sports Day and Final Assembly.  Grades are due on Tuesday, so we really don’t have much time left.

Am I telling kids that grades are due?  No WAY!  They are already slacking off in regards to homework completion and effort in class.  I am not about to give them an excuse to totally shut down.

How will I finish the year?  I have 2 academic days left with grade 7, and 2 with grade 8.  I will continue to have them do work and activities so that they can be ready for next year’s math classes (Algebra 1 or Geometry).  I will keep them busy, even if the work is not really being graded.  We will play some games (Bingo, jeopardy) and just continue to make them think I am getting grades.

The end is fast approaching.  I will miss the 8th grade (I taught most of them for 2 straight years)  and I am looking forward to only teaching grade 8 next year (three years in a row with many students!)

One month to go!

Exactly one month until school is out for the summer.  I know the kids are excited.  When I say something in class like “Soon you will be in high school”  instead the kids respond “Almost summer!”  I guess I know where their priorities are.

With one month to go means it is time for the end of year stuff.  Projects to finish up units, MAP testing (ugh…..that is this week and next, so I need to lighten up on the homework for a few days), final dance, Sports Day, …..the list goes on and on.

How do I keep my students motivated for the last month?  THis is hard.  There are no more breaks or long weekends.  THe best I can do is to incorporate in class activities that are fun and keep the students engaged, while allowing them to have the chance to talk and work simultaneously.

I guess that is why I love to do cut and paste activities.  There are so many of them out there.  One of my favorites is using the Tarsia program.  Input the problem and the answer, and the program generates them onto different shapes that need rot be matched to form a shape.  I love this!  There are so many ways I use it.  Review activity.  Assessment activity.  partner activity (Put a few mistakes and have the students identify the mistakes and tell why).  It also breaks up the monotony of the classroom routine.

I did a Tarsia puzzle last week with my grade 8 students.  Factoring polynomials.  What was interesting is that very few students decided to multiply the binomials to see which trinomial it matched.  This would have been my approach.  Much easier.  I graded the puzzles.  Most students had 100%, except for the few who turned pieces when they glued it down, making an incorrect match.  Ooops!  Of course, I took of points.  And wrote them a note “Be careful when gluing pieces down!”

One month to go.  I am not stressed like I would be in the USA if I were teaching there.  Instead, I am relaxed (for the most part) and still working hard to finish the year strong.