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Make Your Google Sheets Look PRO in Under 10 Minutes!

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Make Teaching Easier in 2023: Find out the Top Productivity Apps!

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When you've got a few minutes left before the period ends, it's only normal to wonder: Do my students really understand what we covered? Do they remember what we started with, as well as what we just discussed?

While cleaning up and going over homework assignments often take up those final moments of class time, effective closing activities allow you to make better use of them by checking for understanding, correcting misunderstandings, and putting a little fun into the process to motivate your students to make sense of what they've just learned.

Closing activities don't need to happen every day, and they don't always require lots of advanced planning. They can occur at the end of a chapter, or even at the end of a large learning unit, and can also take various forms-incorporating movement, technology, and even components of social and emotional learning to build a stronger classroom community.

Here are 10 creative and fun closing activities we sourced from experienced teachers that you can try in your classroom.

1. Two-Dollar Summary: Ask students to write a two-dollar (or more) summary of the lesson they've just learned. Each word they use is worth 10 cents. For extra scaffolding, ask students to include specific words in their statement. For a twist on this, ask students to explain something as if they were teaching it to a first grade student. This will also push them to simplify complex ideas for themselves and therefore understand them better.

For a different spin on this, try educator Sarah Frisby Cook's "six-word summary" of the most important idea or concept. On Facebook, Cook told Edutopia that because students are limited in word choice, "they really have to think about what is most crucial to say."

6. Video Journals: Educator John Thomas uses the free app ChatterPix to get students creating and sharing video journals describing what they've learned. Because this can take a little time to create, this strategy might be best suited as a wrap-up activity at the end of a unit. The videos are playful and fun, and can easily be posted to classroom platforms like Seesaw.

8. Quiz the Next Class: Nikki Cobb-Struzynski gets her students to use the free platform Kahoot! to come up with quiz questions and multiple choice answers to give to their peers studying the same material in other classes. Recent research suggests that generating good questions promotes deeper engagement with content and improves retention. When a person formulates a question, "One has to reflect what one has learned and how an appropriate knowledge question can be inferred from this knowledge," University of Kassel researcher Mirjam Ebersbach told Edutopia.

9. Make Your Classroom a Beach: This activity will get students out of their seats and sharing with the whole class. Educator Eman Bekheet told Edutopia that she writes reflective questions on a beach ball using dry erase markers. Questions might include things like: "What is one thing you learned during today's lesson?" or "What was challenging about today's lesson?"

As the ball bounces around the room, you can come up with a mechanism for deciding which question they have to answer out loud-such as the question their left thumb is touching, or the very first question they see. Use the responses to generate further discussion about the day's lesson.

The Human Bar Graph is another twist that gets students moving. Label points along a line drawn on the floor or across a wall that show different levels of mastery: I'm confused, I'm okay, I got this. Ask students to stand where they feel most comfortable. This exercise requires a certain level of vulnerability, so it's best to try it once you built some trust with students.

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Instead of cleaning up or going over homework assignments, try these creative activities that can help students make sense of new material-and have fun in the process.

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https://www.boredteachers.com/post/respected-and-liked-by-students

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Teachers might be the authority in the classroom, but deep down inside they really want their students to like them. This is a great goal, but you are not there to be buddies with your students. You are there to teach them what they need to know to be successful throughout their school years and beyond. That doesn't mean that you need to accept a career filled with kids who hate your guts. Establish yourself as a caring, supportive teacher and your students will respond by caring about and respecting you in return. Get started with these 11 tips from teachers who have achieved the holy grail of having both - being both respected and liked by their students.

1. Be consistent: there is comfort in routine.

Consistency doesn't have to be strict or mean. There is comfort in routine. Outline your expectations and then follow through. Your students will adapt to your routine and enjoy knowing what's expected of them, which will, in turn, encourage them to respect you and maybe even like you.

2. Your priority is to create a safe, structured classroom environment.

Your priority is not to be BFFs with your students. Your priority is to create a safe, structured classroom environment. If your students know your classroom is a safe place to learn and be creative, they are more likely to come to class prepared and ready to listen, which are signs that they like you.

3. Don't use bribery to convince them to behave.

It can be very tempting to offer your students candy or trinkets as a way to convince them to behave. The ultimate goal would be to set your expectations and then expect your students to rise up and meet them simply because that's what they need to do. Students who understand this will respect you so much more than a teacher who has to give kids treats to get them to behave. Kids will love the candy, but they won't like you much.

4. Building relationships makes your job easier and more enjoyable.

When you build a mutually respectful relationship with students, it makes your job easier. Just don't fall into the trap of thinking that a relationship means every student likes you. You might be able to get students to respect you because of the relationship, but that doesn't mean they like you. Get over that. The relationship is more important than whether every student likes you or not.

5. Be yourself: let your personality show in your classroom.

Be the teacher you were trained to be. Let your personality show a bit in your classroom. Just as with every aspect of life, some people will like the real you and some won't. That's OK. As long as you go into your classroom everyday dedicated to making a difference, most of your students will end up liking the real you.

6. Treat them like important humans no matter their age.

Just like teachers want to be treated with respect, children of any age want the same. Look at your students as if they hold the potential to change the world, wonder what awesome people they will become, and then treat them like they are world-changers. Who wouldn't like a teacher who is so excited about their future?

7. Don't try to be the cool teacher.

Nothing makes a kid laugh harder than an adult trying to be "cool." You don't need to be up on the latest slang and fashion trends to convince students to like you. As an authentic adult who cares more about the students than about being "cool," you are more likely to be respected and liked.

8. Find something to like about each and EVERY student.

It can be hard to find something to like about each student. Some students are just hard to enjoy. But when you make the effort to do so, it will be more probable that they will like you. Students just want to be valued by their teachers, just as we want them to appreciate us.

9. Remember kids don't need a friend, they need a good teacher.

That's what kids need. They don't need another friend. They need a teacher who shows up every day dedicated to teaching them what they need to know. Kids like good teachers. Don't worry about being liked; worry about what you can do to be a good teacher to your students. The liking will follow.

10. Follow through

Students can't respect a teacher that says one thing and does something different. Even if you regret promising something, follow through. You will be both respected and liked when students learn they can trust your word.

11. Command respect

Establish your rules, tell them to your students, and then enforce them religiously. You are not being mean when you do this! Once students realize that you love them enough to expect respect, they will realize that they do like you in addition to respecting you.

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How to Be Both Respected and Liked By Your Students: According to Veteran Teachers

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Students don't need another friend. They need a teacher who shows up every day dedicated to teaching them what they need to know. Kids like good teachers. Don't worry about being liked; worry about what you can do to be a good teacher to your students. The liking will follow.

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Teachers can use the artificial intelligence tool to effectively automate some routine tasks.

ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot trained to understand typed prompts and generate content that sounds human, is the fastest-growing web platform ever. For a couple of months, I've assessed how ChatGPT handles dozens of common teacher tasks. It's not perfect, but the chatbot can reduce the 10 hours and 40 minutes a day that the average teacher works by automating the first drafts of our most time-consuming professional writing.

In the paragraphs that follow, I've divided these tasks into the following categories: planning instruction, handouts and materials, differentiation, correspondence, assessment, and writing instruction and feedback. Welcome to the revolution.

Category 1. PLANNING INSTRUCTION

Unit outline:When you align its output with the Common Core State Standards, the AI tool is able to craft a unit outline for any grade level, subject, or timeline.

Lesson plans:Ask ChatGPT to write a lesson plan on, say, Westward Expansion. The tool composes assessments, activities, scaffolding, and objectives. Want that in the form of problem-based learning or revised for a flipped classroom? ChatGPT can adjust the lesson plan according to your instructions.

Slide shows: When directed to outline a slide show for any topic and grade level, ChatGPT creates an intuitive organization and adds formative assessment questions if requested.

X-factor instruction: When I asked ChatGPT to devise a "challenging and creative approach to teaching metaphors" to students, the tool described an activity that involved integrating student-created metaphors into original stories conveyed through visual genres (e.g., a comic strip, a storyboard).

Simplify topics:Having difficulty articulating an advanced concept? Ask ChatGPT to "explain the topic to a first grader." Here's the tool's simplified explanation of chloroplasts: "Chloroplasts are little green things inside plant leaves that help the plant make its own food. They are like tiny factories that use sunlight, air, and water to make the plant's food."

Discussion questions: Use ChatGPT to write engaging, higher-order prompts for a class discussion on any topic.

With its mighty language processing and generation capabilities, ChatGPT can streamline planning when you're developing the following assets:

Category 2. HANDOUTS AND OTHER MATERIALS

Develop instructionsthatdescribe cooperative learning roles and expectations.

Generate assignment directions with a detailed overview, grading criteria, a description of the required format, and task details.

Create solved examples of math problems, chemistry equations, etc., with explanations of each step.

Build a prereading or advance organizerby extracting critical and unfamiliar vocabulary from a chapter and listing keywords with their definitions.

Provide word problems-for example,using ratios: ChatGPT gives the problem, the formula for solving it, and a full explanation of the procedure.

Compose a syllabus (boilerplate) that includes a course schedule, late-work policies, and a description of how assignments will be graded.

Make flash cards with questions and answers.

Produce posters that list classroom rules, 10 reasons why algebra is important to the students' future, or the 20 most common writing errors of high school students, with short definitions and examples included.

Perhaps ChatGPT's biggest time feature is that it can generate text for materials and handouts that target your specific instructional needs. It can do the following:

Category 3. DIFFERENTIATION

Need a choice boardfor an art activity? Boom, done. Ask ChatGPT to create a passage, chapter, or book summary for students who need support. The tool can also function as a text compactor that analyzes readings and creates more concise and condensed versions. Furthermore, the AI will generate differentiated rubrics for an assignment so that each heuristic emphasizes customized expectations and levels of challenge.

Category 4. PROFESSIONAL CORRESPONDENCE

Using ChatGPT, teachers can streamline communication with parents, colleagues, and administrators via AI-composed welcome-to-class letters, newsletter copy, volunteer and donation requests, supply lists, grant and field trip proposals, assembly programs, and permission sheets.

Category 5. ASSESSMENT

Quizzes:AskChatGPT to create tests on specific topics using any type of question format. Paste a passage into the chatbot or identify the title and chapter of a classic piece of literature, and the AI will produce a test bank and answer key.

Rubrics: ChatGPT will compose a rubric for any type of student performance. Depending on the needs of the user, examples include analytic, holistic, and developmental rubrics, as well as rating scales.

Checklists: The tool can develop an observation checklist to document students' academic, social, emotional, and physical progress.

Cloze tests: ChatGPT can create a Cloze comprehension test, where words are removed from a passage, and the reader is asked to fill in the blanks to test their understanding of the main ideas, vocabulary, and sentence structure of the passage.

With careful oversight, teachers can use ChatGPT to quickly create a variety of assessment materials.

Category 6. Writing Instruction and Feedback

Prompt generator:The tool can compose writing prompts for any genre and include a corresponding rubric.

Essay improvement: Submit sections of student writing to ChatGPT, and it will suggest enhancements.

Grammar feedback: When kids make grammar errors, teachers can direct ChatGPT to define, describe, and identify how to improve the error and also provide examples.

With ChatGPT's assistance, teachers can improve their students' writing skills through a range of tools and features.

While ChatGPT amplifies our pedagogy and automates routine tasks, it's easy to overlook its greatest weakness: The tool always sounds authoritative, even when disseminating inaccurate content. Erroneous and polished bloviation pops up in human communication as well. Nevertheless, we must check all AI-produced information for accuracy and usefulness before it reaches students.

The chatbot's prose represents another shortcoming. Without clear directions from the user, it comes off as canned, like it was written by an algorithm, when a prerequisite for uplifting, informing, and empowering students and school stakeholders is correspondence that sounds like you, not Wikipedia. Using ChatGPT responsibly means always viewing its compositions and curricula as first drafts.

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Teachers can use the artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT to effectively automate some categories o routine tasks.

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Strategies used before, during, and after reading can help high school students locate and retain important information.

In over two decades of teaching, I've heard many students say, "I'm not a good reader." While secondary educators often don't see themselves as reading teachers, I see our role in the classroom as one whereby we can teach students strategies that strengthen their reading skills and improve their learning outcomes. By teaching active reading and having students map out their reading, educators can engage students with reading so that they are not only learning to read but reading to learn.

Making the Active Reading Process Visible

It was common for me as a secondary teacher to have students read a text and then analyze it after they'd finished reading. However, when I noticed that students weren't able to engage in an analytical discussion about a text until they finished reading the entire text and they couldn't recall what they had read, I was forced to confront the idea that I was doing it wrong. Most of the thinking happens during the reading process, but my classroom was designed to engage in thinking after reading. I had to change what I was doing.

I decided to show my students my thinking process during reading, so I read a story out loud to them and then mapped out my thinking while I was reading. This exercise was an opportunity for students to visualize what happens in the mind of an active reader.

Days later, I discussed the story with my students again, and they still remembered vivid details about it, which revealed that when students engage in the guided active reading process, it can enhance reading recollection. I knew that this process worked during guided reading, so I wanted to build self-efficacy by putting more individual responsibility on students.

Mapping the Active Reading Process

After modeling active reading, I had the students read a story in small groups and map their thinking by using the prereading, during reading, and after reading method. It allowed students to collaborate with each other to construct meaning and explore how we all experience texts differently. I also chose this collaborative reading and mapping exercise so that struggling readers could work with their peers who had stronger reading skills, to engage in the reading process together.

Then, several weeks later, while reading a new story, I asked students to individually map out their thinking. When I assessed their work, it revealed that students were able to engage in the reading process to construct meaning.

Active Reading Creates Good Noise

I've had students say, "Reading makes me sleepy" or "Reading is boring." However, I've found that teaching students how to be active readers and map their thinking has changed how they read. Instead of students silently reading at their desks, the classroom is filled with noise-pencils on paper, dry-erase markers rolling on desks, and students' voices talking with their classmates about what they're reading. This noise demonstrates interest and also sparks engagement within my students who initially said they didn't like reading.

I created a poster with prompts to give students to consider while they read. It provided a starting point for mapping out their thinking process during reading, but they also initiated student conversations.

Because students paused while they read in order to think, they were engaged in their learning, and the engagement led them to want to talk with their peers to share what they were thinking about. It moved reading from a quiet and solitary activity to a cooperative one with exchanges like this:

"Wowie!! Did you read the part with the ultimatum?"

"No. What page is that on?"

"Page 3. What page are you on?"

"Oh. So, what do you think the answer to the riddle is?"

"I don't know. It's tricky. What do you think?"

"I already know because the answer is on page 3."

"Oh. Stop reading and just wait for me to get there. Give me a minute and we can talk."

Listening to my students' conversations revealed some interesting things.

First, they used the active reading prompts to launch into mapping their reading and engaging in conversations, but they also moved beyond the prompts to create their own questions. Additionally, they made connections beyond the text to other texts they had read or to their own lived experiences. I heard students say, "This is like the movie I saw because no choice is a good choice" and "This reminds me of a time when I came home from school and something just didn't feel right."

Second, the visibility of the mapping, coupled with the conversations that were happening in the classroom, allowed me to identify students who were having difficulty with reading.

Identifying Struggling Readers

Often, particularly in high school, struggling readers can go unrecognized. Their lack of participation in class discussions can be seen as shyness. When they don't complete reading comprehension tasks, it can look like disengagement, or when they don't do their reading homework, it can seem like laziness. However, research shows that these are also signs of an adolescent student who struggles with reading.

Offering reading materials that aligned with student's reading level

Providing access to an audio reading of the text

Reading out loud with them

Giving them more time to read so that they could process at their own speed

Sharing a glossary of difficult words in the text so that they could better understand the reading

The students' maps allowed me to identify those who needed additional support. This visibility allowed me to intervene and support them during the reading process rather than afterward. I sat with these students one-on-one and offered different strategies to help them develop their reading skills. The methods I used included the following:

When students have difficulty reading, they often choose not to read, which results in their not submitting work or turning in partially completed work. As a result, my intervention takes place after everyone has finished reading and, often, when we've moved forward in the class. When students are taught how to map their reading and then encouraged to use it, it allows them to remain engaged during the reading process and acts as a resource for them to use during small group and full class discussions.

Having notes prompts students' ideas and willingness to participate. Further, because they've read and understood the text, they are able to complete evaluation tasks that occur after the reading, leading to decreased incidents of nonsubmission or partial submission of work.

When students are illiterate or under-literate, they often feel excluded from reading-centered tasks. Yet, interventions with supportive strategies during the reading process helped my students feel included and confident. This led to their being able to engage with their peers in meaningful conversations about what they read.

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Teaching High School Students Active Reading Skills

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Strategies used before, during, and after reading can help high school students locate and retain important information. In over two decades of teaching, I've heard many students say, "I'm not a good reader."

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English Language Learners

These strategies can help English language learners feel like they're an essential part of the school community.

In the United States, the number of English language learners (ELLs) in public schools has been increasing steadily over the years. Those arriving as teenagers face a variety of stressful circumstances, including cultural differences, linguistic barriers, and financial stressors.

As educators, we strive to integrate these students into the school community so they can thrive socially, emotionally, and academically. The following are techniques to support ELLs as we prepare them for an increasingly globalized world.

Create an inclusive physical environment

The first thing ELLs experience when they arrive in a new school is the physical environment. As they walk around the hallways and sit in the classrooms, much of their time is spent observing. This is why it's vital to create a welcoming atmosphere. It helps put them at ease and gives them a sense of safety and belonging.

Post flags of home countries. Distribute a list of home countries that are represented in your school community, and invite educators to print and post flags.

Create multilingual labels and signs. Educators and ELLs can collaborate to create labels for classroom objects and signs for display throughout the school. This helps the transition of students during their first months in the school.

Post a weekly bilingual "Phrase of the Week." "I'm here to help you" and "You are improving every day" are examples that can be posted throughout the school and shared by email and in the morning announcements. Vocalize these to your students throughout the week, and invite them to help expand the list of phrases along with the English translation. (Thanks to Michelle Milgrim, who originated this idea of weekly Spanish "lessons," and Dr. Marisol Manríquez-Weiner, who translated a list of positive affirmations created by the author.)

Decorate bulletin boards with photos of ELLs. Collect photos of students in their home countries, and label them with informative captions.

Increase multicultural awareness

Equally important to ELLs' social and emotional well-being is the school community's interest in learning from them. Creating opportunities to educate students and staff about the languages and cultures of ELLs enriches the learning experience for all and shows ELLs that their background knowledge is an asset to their community.

Introduce ELLs to others who speak their language. When new ELLs take a tour of the school, introduce them to faculty, staff, or students who speak their language or have familiarity with their culture.

Host language tables. This can be an informal after-school or lunchtime activity, where any interested members of the school community join to practice conversation in a particular language. Provide handouts with conversation topics and common vocabulary; participants can simply listen or use a translator if they have little to no background in the language.

Coordinate cultural exchanges. This can be done between ELLs and World Language classes or with students who need volunteer hours for a class or club. If there is an ELL class of all native speakers of Spanish, coordinate interactive opportunities with a Spanish class. Students can also exchange brief bilingual notes to encourage multilingual social interactions-for example, "I'm glad to know you" or "If you see me in the hallway, say hello," written in both Spanish and English.

Help ELLs prepare guest presentations in classrooms of varying subject areas to discuss topics from their own cultural perspectives. For example, ELLs can be guest speakers in a history class where they discuss the economy of their home country and factors that lead to emigration.

Make a welcome video. Highlight the linguistic abilities of students, faculty, and staff with the purpose of welcoming nonnative speakers of English. Students in a club or a video production class can edit these videos. See an example here from Saugerties Central School District.

Post world language worksheets in a public area. Label individual folders with the languages that are reflected in the ELL population of the school community. Attach the folders to a bulletin board, and fill each with worksheets about these languages. Passersby can take a paper from a folder to practice writing the language of their choice and learn vocabulary that they can use with their ELL classmates.

Offer cultural workshops in collaboration with multilingual students. Attendees can use the worksheets mentioned above to practice the written form of the language, and student volunteers can demonstrate pronunciation of the words and answer questions about how the language functions. Another idea is to propose these workshops to administrators to be offered on a regular basis after school. If funding isn't available, ELLs can give workshops during their stand-alone English language classes, with an open invitation to the school community to attend.

Share documentaries about the home countries of ELLs. Disperse a weekly or monthly film from YouTube or another freely accessible video streaming site. Invite teachers to share with students or view on their own.

Offer bilingual morning announcements. This will ensure that ELLs are informed and provide an additional opportunity for the school community to regularly be exposed to languages other than English.

Provide supplemental supports

In addition to the above, ELLs are put at ease when they know they have a team of people who want to help them. Staff who can communicate in the home language of ELLs or show an understanding of and respect for the home cultures are a tremendous asset to the school community.

When possible, hire multilingual staff. Teacher assistants, guidance counselors, administrators, and administrative assistants who are able to communicate in the native language of ELLs can provide a sense of safety and familiarity for new students and their guardians.

If funding is available, teachers can provide additional support in an extended day program. Invite students to stay after school for extra help with English. They thrive with added academic support and small-group attention.

Our desire to belong is universal. The above recommendations are steps in supporting ELLs, while also promoting understanding, tolerance, and acceptance. Bilingualism, a tool in understanding multiculturalism, is common in much of the world and, with the help of our ELLs, perhaps will be increasingly valued in school communities across the United States.

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Welcoming Newly Arrived High School ELLs

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English Language Learners These strategies can help English language learners feel like they're an essential part of the school community. In the United States, the number of English language learners (ELLs) in public schools has been increasing steadily over the years. Those arriving as teenagers face a variety of stressful circumstances, including cultural differences, linguistic barriers, and financial stressors.

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4 Ways to Make Classroom Participation More Inclusive