The best end of the year (or semester) activities in our Spanish classes are those that continue to build community, invite reflection, and produce a healthy dose of laughter. Don’t you agree?
I am beyond grateful that I was able to teach this entire semester fully in person. Pandemic teaching really took its toll on my mental health these past two years and that of many other educators I know.
This semester of in person teaching has been a breath of fresh air even though it has been far from perfect.
I like to keep the following in mind when it comes to closing the semester (or year) activities:
So, How Do We Make that Happen?
The teacher memes aren’t wrong, you know? We are really at that last part of December where our motivation as teachers meets the level of our students’ motivation. Just keeping it real.
Because I teach 90 minute semester classes, I will get brand new students next semester. To close the year on the most positive note, we needed a variety of activities. What did I do? I recycled activities I created during virtual learning and adapted them to in person learning. (You can read about those here!) The result? Tons of joy!
This SEL activities & activities with humor are super enjoyable for our learners, but we also love and need meaningful independent activities that drive adaptable output to different levels.
Why Does It Matter to Make These Last Weeks Meaningful with Our Learners?
To put it simply, this is why:
Engagement begins with building community. Establishing relationships with students is the key to success with everything else.
As we close this semester that brought most of us back to a new normal…
We are reminded over and over that we each teach human beings with strengths and weaknesses. When we create opportunities to bring out their strengths, these strengths are celebrated. These opportunities will turn into beautiful memories.
You know what else will happen? Your program will grow because students will want to stay connected to what your class and your program has to offer.
Remember…community triumphs curriculum.
Establishing community is crucial and so is maintaining it and nurturing from the beginning until the end.
My Preferred End of the Year Activities for Spanish Classes Suggestions
(before grades are due):
- Simple Spanish readers- Some of my favorite are by authors from Fluency Matters & Acento Latino. We can enjoy a variety of activities with novels. If you don’t have a novel guide, you can check out my printables ready to use with any Spanish reader here!
- Music! You really can’t go wrong with it. Specially when all the work is already done for you in activities like these ones.
You can check out my song packets in my Tpt store. Each packet can last beyond a week of teaching duration…or a day! You are in control here! It is all up to you! Also, one packet includes over 10 meaningful acquisition driven activities for Novices and for Intermediate, which means you can use the same song for all levels!!!
- Independent Self Paced SEL & Reflective Activities – These are a must because more than likely you are like me trying to claim back and avoid working on grades after school hours (because we know planning isn’t enough time to plan and grade…that is why it is called PLANNING and not PLANNING & GRADING). Here is my favorite independent self paced SEL reflective activity to keep my learners in the target language and fully engaged.
Reflective DO NOWS or EXIT that lead to further class appreciation, community building, and discussions – Last year, I conducted these activities via Jamboard, but this year, I have been doing these as printable DO NOW & exit tickets. They did not lose their engaging effect!
Now it is also the best time to invite students to think about how far they have come and the perfect time for them to provide us with honest feedback.
- Lead learners to reflect about their language growth with these simple activities available in Google slides. You can get your copy free here.
- End of the Year Survey – While receiving feedback from learners can be intimidating at the beginning, I consider this survey a must to close the year. I first learned about this practice from Annabelle Williamson aka La Maestra Loca. I have been doing it for years now, and I find it so beneficial and rich to my own reflective process, that I will dedicate another entire blog post just to this topic alone. You can get a free editable copy of my end of the class survey here!
What I Suggest To Avoid at All Costs:
First, the chances are that you have worked so hard this semester with your students already, and while I am not a fan of projects, I am not against them.
Personally, I prefer to assess my students through presentational speaking or presentational writing output activities.
It is in your best interest to not assign these these last couple of weeks. Our learners have already so much going on with testing and teenage life that our projects will not hold a priority position on their list.
Each year, I have witness friends wondering “what was I thinking?” after collecting projects students had the two of the last weeks of the semester to work on. Long story short and my honest advice is…just avoid the rage and don’t do it, unless you really want to and you know your students will complete these projects. You know your learners best.
Secondly, avoid throwing in the towel. I know it is so tempting to (been there, done that), but don’t check out on your students. If you must grade while your students are with you, then provide alternative community building opportunities for them to engage with. For example, host a game day where they can bring their own appropriate games to school but they will only play in Spanish. The game UNO is an all time favorite that is simple enough for students to play in Spanish. Check in with them from time to time. Use these last days to create even stronger bonds with learners as your most authentic self yet. Trust me, these little things are the powerful things that make our programs stay alive.
How Can We Keep Them Engaged Until the Last Day of the Semester?
This Wednesday 12/08, it would be an honor to have you join me at my free Facebook Community Transformation Through Acquisition Driven Instruction!
I will be sharing my game plan for the very last week of school. You know? I am referring to the week once students find out we can’t put any more grades in the grade book.
Not only that, these ideas are not only interactive and engaging, but they will also be the first step towards the beginning of your next semester.
I am so excited to share with you! There will be no sale pitches, just practical ideas. I hope to see you there!!!
Todo padrísimo. Me encantaría que fueras profa de francés (soy maestra de francés en México) . Saludos