Whether you are counting down until the last day of school or the school year has already wound down, in just 7-minutes per unit you can create a document that will guide your planning for the next school year... and then completely shut down and disconnect from all things school-related.
In the video linked below I shared one of my tried and true end of the year practices that allowed me to reflect on the school year as I wrapped up for summer break.
Keep, Toss, Tweak
Just before dashing out to enjoy a well deserved and long awaited break take some time to reflect on each unit. What will you keep doing? what will be tossed out? and What needs tweaking?
Here’s the protocol.
With your curriculum in hand (or on your digital device) write/type the title of each unit.
Then one by one take two-minutes to review the learning objective for the unit.
Finally take 5 minutes to reflect on:
What you will KEEP doing next year, because students were highly engaged and learning deeply.
What teaching practice, move, or task will you TOSS because just the opposite was true for students’ engagement and learning.
And what needs to be TWEAKED because you are pretty sure what you tried can be improved upon so students are meaningfully engaged in what they are learning.
The 7-minutes you spend reviewing, reflecting and jotting down quick notes about each unit will serve as a time capsule that will guide your planning for the new school year. Let’s hope and pray there aren’t any surprise curriculum or grade level changes over the summer.
ProTip:
Set it and Forget it: Schedule an email to yourself with your unit notes 2-3 weeks before the start of the school year, to both your personal and work email address.
Thanks for reading. Please leave a comment and share your Wrapping Up the School Year tips with us, so we can learn and grow together.