I made all the resources in this post, to help me survive the end of the year chaos, so I obviously love them. I’m sharing them along with the ideas. If you decide to take the idea and make it your own, awesome. If you want my ready to go resources, they’re linked for you. I’ll make a small commission and I hope they’re valuable for you.
The email hits like clockwork at the end of every year:
“As a friendly reminder, no movies should be shown in May. All learners are expected to be engaged in rigorous instruction. This will prevent behavioral issues. Incidentally, all admin will be conducting observations, so please be mindful of limited bandwidth for referrals. Additionally, Chromebooks will be collected on the last day of April.”
Cool. Cool cool cool. So basically… it’s the Wild West, but make it academic. No tech. No movies. No patience. And somehow still “rigor.”
Here’s how I survive it.
This is my hill to die on.
Group work. Movement. Mild chaos. Built-in structure.
And yes, I reward EVERY group that finishes with a bag of popcorn to split.
I’m not sorry.
It buys me engagement and 45 minutes of not putting out fires. Plus the kids kinda tend to love it.
I use these Gen Z/Gen Alpha slang coloring pages I made. I print them, then let the kids choose one or more to color. They giggle, roll their eyes, say “brain rot” approximately 1000 times a minute, and generally chill. This is GREAT for those after test days when you have no idea how long class will be, which class periods you’ll see that day or who is actually going to be there.
If I get observed, we are suddenly having a very deep discussion about:
- connotation vs. denotation
- tone
- the evolution of language
(Kids are WEIRDLY good at absolutely locking in when it comes to observations…and very bad at most other times.)
If I don’t get observed?
They’re coloring and I’m actually getting to talk to them as humans and enjoy some of our last moments of the year together.
Everyone wins. Especially me.
This is just academic enough to pass the vibe check.
The directions are simple. The expectations are loose. The results are… chaotic, but in the best possible way.
The kids love it because:
- they get to be creative
- they get to roast me
- they get to “warn” next year’s students
I love it because it fills multiple days and requires minimal effort from me. PLUS I get to use them as a low stress start the next year.
We are “building communication skills.”
They are competing over who can finish first.
Same difference.
It keeps them moving, talking (productively-ish), and not asking me every five seconds what they’re supposed to be doing. It’s also another great opportunity for them to actually engage with one another in the classroom community we’ve spent all year building.
I like to give the winner of each round the opportunity to lead the next one. They love having power.
This is my “I have nothing left to give” activity. We all have those days at the end of the year. Most of us have many of them. But here’s the thing. This actually isn’t a wasted activity.—plot twist—it’s “persuasive speaking.”
They debate. They argue. They get weirdly invested.
I sit back and facilitate like I planned it all along. I give my opinions too, usually just to stir the pot and up the chaos factor a little more.
This one surprises me every year.
Individuals or groups of 2–3 pick something they actually care about and teach the class. I have to approve it for obvious reasons, but I’m really just checking to make sure their topic isn’t going to end up with me in the principal’s office.
They have to have a visual, a lesson of at least 10 minutes and some kind of activity. It sounds chaotic. It is chaotic.
But it’s also one of the only things that still motivates them in May. It’s also actually pretty cool how the shy kids light up and take over the room when they get to be the expert on something they actually love.
And somehow… it works. No assignment sheet, no rubric, nothing to print or grade. They just…go. And magic happens every time.
I’m not winning any awards with these activities…and that’s okay.
I’m not reinventing the wheel in May.
I’m surviving it.
If it looks academic enough to pass an observation, keeps students busy, and doesn’t require me to create 47 new materials from scratch… it’s going in the rotation.
Call it engagement.
Call it rigor.
Call it what you want.
I call it making it to the last day.