189. 5 Fun Ideas to Keep Students Engaged After Testing Is Over

This is episode 189 of Teacher Approved. You're listening to Teacher Approved, the podcast helping educators elevate what matters and simplify the rest. I'm Heidi.

And I'm Emily. We're the creators behind Second Story Window, where we give research based and teacher approved strategies that make teaching less stressful and more effective. You can check out the show notes and resources from each episode at secondstorywindow.net.

We're so glad you're tuning in today. Let's get to the show.

Hey there. Thanks for joining us today. In today's episode, we're sharing some tried and true ideas for keeping your students engaged after testing season, and we're sharing a teacher approved tip for some end of the school year self care.

We are starting today's episode with a morning message, just like we used to do at morning meeting in our classrooms. This week's morning message is, you are getting a new student tomorrow, and they're named after your favorite font. Who are you welcoming to your class? Emily, what's your new student's name?

Well, Poppins is a really interesting name for a child, but here we are.

I think that could work. I could kind of see some like young, hipstery parents having a little Poppins.

Young Poppins. Yes, I could see it. It could be cute. Could be far worse. What's your new student's name, Heidi?

Well, we make all of our products in Neutraface, so I have to say Neutraface.

We love Neutraface.

Which is a terrible name for a child. That would be the worst.

Well, we got some fun responses from our teacher approved Facebook community. April is welcoming the unfortunately named Happy Paragraphs.

Oh, okay.

Brianne has the ideal new student in Perfect Penmanship.

That's also a mouthful, but I bet that's teacher's pet.

Yeah. Tanya and Evelyn are both getting a Times New Roman. Abby's new little darling has a lot to live up to as Inimitable Original

And get like fitting that in a name tag too.

Yeah, that's a long one. Cheryl has Coming Soon, coming to her class soon.

That's like a Who's on First problem right there.

And of course, we had to have a Comic Sans and Amy claims that one, and Ardena's student gets off lucky being named Ariel.

Oh, that is a lucky break. We would love to hear about your favorite fonts, or, I guess, students named after fonts in our Teacher Approved Facebook group. One of the biggest challenges for teachers this time of year is keeping students engaged, you know, especially once testing season wraps up.

Yeah, and let's be honest, the energy in your classroom after testing season is not the same as it was back in August. You've all been working hard, and now that the high stakes pressure is off, it can feel a little like you're just coasting to the finish line.

Or maybe it's more like you're dragging yourself to the finish line. Let's be real. Depends on the day.

True story. But just because testing is behind you doesn't mean the learning has to stop. There are plenty of ways to keep your students motivated, focused and even excited to come to school each day, yes, even in May.

So we've got five teacher approved ideas that you can try out to make these post testing days meaningful, manageable and maybe even a little magical.

All right, let's get to it. Five ways to keep students engaged in class after testing is over. Number one is to try out passion projects.

The end of the year is the perfect time for letting students explore something that they care about. Passion Projects are great because they give students choice, autonomy and a purpose for learning, and they are surprisingly easy to implement, even in your lower elementary classes.

I love the idea of using passion projects at the end of the year. So what's the best way to approach passion projects with your students, Heidi?

Well, the idea is simple. Just have your students choose a topic that they are interested in, animal sports, a favorite country, how roller coasters work, and guide them through the process of researching, organizing and presenting their learning.

My team used to do animal reports at the end of the year, and the kids loved it so much, and we always had a zoo field trip at the end of the year. So that's sort of how we tied it all together. So you could choose the category for them, or you could just let them pick from several categories, whatever they're excited to do a project about.

I think the key is having enough child friendly resources so that they can do the research, so that might limit the options that you can give to your students.

For sure.

And listener, Margaret suggests doing book studies. She says students get to choose between Wonder, The Sea of Monsters, My Louisiana Sky, or I Survived Hurricane Katrina. Whatever they choose, they do a book study with the others in the class who also chose the same book. Once they're finished with the book study, they have to come up with a presentation to convince the others to read the book of their choice over the summer.

I love this idea so much because it has automatic buy in and it's got the built in choice. It gets them excited about reading, and they're getting their classmates excited about reading books too. I think it's such a clever idea.

You have that student choice, and then also having them work in groups, are great strategies for maintaining engagement at, you know, the time of the year when students focus is probably at its lowest. Now, of course, your students will need you to guide them through the process, but you can scaffold the steps with simple graphic organizers or checklists. There are tons of resources out there.

And then you let the students present their final project. You could assign a method of presentation or let them choose to present it however they'd like—a poster, a slideshow, a podcast. Wouldn't that be fun? Or even a diorama?

Oh, yes.

This could be as simple or as elaborate as your students are ready for and as you want to deal with as the teacher.

Yeah, yeah. You decide what you want to deal with and then work backwards from that point. Yes, really this is such a win win idea. We're adding structure to the classroom by doing a scaffolded project, and because students are choosing what they want to learn about, the novelty factor is really high, balancing structure and novelty. Of course, that means that the engagement piece often takes care of itself.

On to idea number two, which is to create classroom challenges.

Now, after testing, your students might be mentally checked out, but kids can rarely say no to a competition. Use that to your advantage by setting up some classroom challenges.

You could do academic based ones like a math fact fluency challenge, or reading minutes challenge, or even a math escape room.

Or you can keep it light hearted with team building challenges like building a spaghetti tower, a classic, or creating a Rube Goldberg machine.

We got a fun suggestion from Betsy to set up 100 piece puzzles on the floor in different corners of the room. That could be a fun fast finisher or a challenge project one afternoon, just be sure to talk to the custodian about not vacuuming your room for a few days.

That's a hassle that is better to head off from the beginning. Don't want to make the custodian mad, especially at the end of the year. Now, I always love an opportunity to work in poetry, and after testing, you could challenge kids to work on memorizing a poem or two.

And it's always a good idea to try a behavior challenge. You can have your students working cooperatively as a class or in tables to earn rewards with their good behavior. That means coming up with a prize. But it doesn't have to be complicated.

Really, rewards can be simple—extra recess, a popsicle party or lunch with a teacher. But you know, honestly, we're not going to blame you if you don't want to spend your lunch time break with your students.

No, that would probably not be my first choice for rewards. So all you got to do is start a challenge, choose a simple reward, and watch that motivation come flying back to your classroom. Now for idea number three, theme days or weeks.

Theme days are our secret weapon for thriving after testing. There's really something magical about them. They kind of like flip a switch in kids brains. Suddenly, everything you do feel special, even if it is just, you know, your regular math lesson with a twist.

You could try a camp read a lot week, stem Olympics, animal week, or even travel around the world days where each day focuses on a different country, and we always love doing quiet as a mouse day.

Yeah, that was the best day of the year. And the best part is that most of these ideas can be woven into your usual content. That means you don't have to adjust your schedule. Just add a theme to what you normally do during the day to spice things up. Fractions suddenly becomes way more fun when you are "baking" in your classroom bakery.

Add in a few decorations and a theme to read aloud or two, and you've got a classroom full of engaged learners who aren't even thinking about the countdown to summer.

If you want more ideas for using theme days, head way back to episode seven, where we share all of our best tips and tricks for making theme days work for you.

And make sure you check out the links in the show notes where we will link our two already done for you theme day sets, one for a Camping Day and one for a Space Day. Each set includes themed work packets, craftivities, book recommendations, review activities, so much more. We often hear from people that there's so much more in there than they can even use.

Yeah, theme days can be a lot of work to set up, but the nice thing is that when you figure it out once, it is so easy to reuse each year. I want to shout this for teachers, because this saved me so many years. Okay, let's take a look at idea four, and I'm excited about this one, let students become the teachers.

I know, this is such a cute idea. You can let students teach a mini lesson to the class on something they're good at, or something they love. This gives them ownership, and it builds their confidence, and it lets them share something with their classmates that they are truly skilled at.

That's such a gift for your kids that maybe have felt overshadowed academically all year to let them have a minute in the spotlight. You can guide them to plan a short presentation, a demo or activity. It could be anything from teaching how to draw a cartoon character, how to fold origami, how to do a cartwheel, or explaining the rules of their favorite game.

Yeah, and you'll be surprised how serious they take this and how much the rest of the class loves learning from each other, plus it is a sneaky way to reinforce speaking and listening skills.

Those are really important life skills that can be hard to find a time to work on much during the school year. But just a tip that if you want to keep parents on your side, do the work on this during class. Zero parents, I can guarantee, want to be facilitating a big project at the end of the school year.

Yeah, that is true for all of these, their passion projects that they're doing, the book recommendations, work on that in class. Do the research for things in class. Do not make this a parent problem in May, they will not be happy. And that brings us to idea number five, do creative projects with a purpose. The end of the year is a great time for project based learning. Work doesn't have to be standards

Or you could make a classroom memory book, an end of year time capsule, or a class museum where they display artifacts and memories from your year together.

And we also have an awesome resource for this, which is to make a looking back bulletin board where your students look back at the school year and highlight something that was a wonderful memory for them in this school year.

So once the kids have illustrated their memory, and you could put up your sign, you know, looking back at third grade or second grade or whatever, whatever grade you

I know, it's so fun. And then your students from this year, when they come by your class next year, they will see their memories still up. So it's a fun way to connect with them, too. I mean, this is like, win, win, win, win. This idea. I love it so much. These kinds of projects are not only fun and engaging, they help students process the end of the year and reflect on their growth.

And honestly, they give you some really special keepsakes to remember the magic of this class. So make sure you check out the show notes for a link to our looking back bulletin board project.

So let's quickly recap our five ideas to keep students engaged after testing is over. One, try passion projects. Two, create classroom challenges. Three, use theme days or weeks. Four, let students be the teacher. And five, plan creative projects with a purpose

No matter what you choose, just remember this time of year does not have to be about coasting. It can still be rich and meaningful, even without test prep hanging over your head.

You and your students deserve to finish strong and have some fun. You've worked so hard all year. Make the most of these last few weeks together.

And make sure you head to the show notes. We've got all the links there today, where you can find a link for our free end of year roadmap digital planner. This will help you figure out your schedule for the next few months, reflect on what you want to maintain and change in the coming weeks and help you break down tasks so that you can get things done without stress.

We talked all about the roadmap in last week's episode, so make sure to check out Episode 188 if you want the details.

We would love to hear what you are looking forward to in term four. Come join the conversation in our Teacher Approved Facebook group.

Now let's talk about this week's teacher approved tip. Each week we leave you with a small actionable tip that you can apply in your classroom today. This week's teacher approved tip is to stock a personal recovery kit. Tell us about this one, Heidi.

I love this idea so much. Now if you join us over on the Holiday Headstart podcast, you have heard us talk about this already, but this is such a handy tip for teachers that we didn't want to limit it to holiday headaches. The idea is that in advance of a stressful event, such as, you know, the end of the school year, you can create a recovery kit for

Think how great it would be to have this on hand after the last day of school, or even just after a particularly stressful day of school at any time of the year.

I think for women, and especially women with children, talking about pampering and taking time to rest and recover can truly feel impossible. But even though it might not be easy to make it happen, finding a way to rest is really essential for your health.

And if you're someone who struggles with guilt over taking time for yourself, remember that if you want to be able to give your best to the people you love, you have to be a little selfish sometimes.

Gretchen Rubin from the Happier Podcast, which is a podcast that we really love, she has a great saying that applies here. When we give more to ourselves, we can ask more from ourselves. If you want to be able to show up as the best version of yourself, you have to make your well being a priority sometimes.

And this is especially important after a draining event like the last few weeks of school. You hear people talk all the time about how you can't pour from an empty cup, and making a recovery kit is a tangible way to help refill that empty cup.

Think how great it will feel to come home after a long day and pull out your recovery kit with some fuzzy socks or a head massager or a magazine that you love but don't normally buy.

If socks and head massages and magazines don't interest you, stock your recovery kit with things that do. Maybe a new notebook, a craft kit or art supplies would be more restorative for you. Or maybe you want to stock up on some DoorDash gift cards so you don't have to think about meals for a few days.

If you aren't sure where to start with a project like this, try thinking about your five senses. What are some soothing sounds or scents? What textures do you find comforting? What is something relaxing that you can read or watch? And of course, you know you can't go wrong with a few treats.

You can get started by finding a box or bin to use and then start adding to it over the next few weeks. You can even ask friends or family to donate supplies. I'd love it if someone I care about reached out with something like this. Being told about a tangible way to help a loved one survive a stressful time is a gift. I'd be so happy to help.

We all know that we need some downtime to recover before we can bounce back. A recovery kit is a way to make sure that that needed downtime is actually restorative, and, you know, not just passing out on the couch.

And keep adding to your recovery kit over the summer. Those DoorDash gift cards can be a real lifesaver the first few weeks of school. By spending just a little bit every week or so, you're supporting your future self without placing a huge burden on your budget.

To wrap up the show, we are sharing what we're giving extra credit to this week. Emily, what gets your extra credit?

I'm giving extra credit to the TV show Running Point on Netflix. And despite this being a Mindy Kaling project, I have to say I was a little skeptical of the premise and even the previews, I just didn't think it was going to be that funny. But it really has been very funny to watch. So the premise is that Kate Hudson plays a reformed party girl who has to prove herself as a business woman when she's unexpectedly put in charge

I have not heard of the show at all.

Really? They talked about it on The Popcast, because they'd been making fun of it leading up to it, and then Knox watched it and he loved it.

Oh, well, I'm a little bit behind there, so I'll have to catch up there too.

My other extra credit is that I love The Popcast, that's my favorite podcast.

That is a fun one.

What are you giving extra credit to, Heidi?

This is not nearly as fun. My extra credit goes to cost plus drug company, which is the mail order pharmacy started by Mark Cuban. Now I have only used it one whole time so far, but they offered the prescription that I usually have to pay more than $80 for, they offered it to me for $21. So even with the added $5 for shipping, I am still saving 70% so I would say it's definitely worth checking out if you have any expensive prescriptions.

So this is the thing where you pay out of pocket instead of using your insurance, but then it's actually cheaper, right? Isn't that the way it works?

Yes, so they do take some insurance. They don't take ours, but what I was paying out of pocket, like the $80 was what I was paying out of pocket. So even if they don't take insurance, I'm still saving 60 bucks.

Yeah, I think that happens more and more in medical care, where cash pay is actually cheaper than what you pay with your co pay for insurance that you're paying a lot of money for. I mean, it's crazy. So that is definitely worth looking into. I'll have to go see if anything I need is cheaper over there.

And they break down the cost, so you see exactly what the pills cost them, how much they're taking, and then, like, how much of it goes to the pharmacist. So, like, it's all transparent. It's such a change when you know you've dealt with, you know, medical bills, where you're just told, like, yep, here's $300 you owe us. And you're like, I will have to trust that that's accurate.

Yeah, that's awesome. I'm gonna check that out.

That's it for today's episode. Remember our five ideas for how to keep students engaged after testing is over, and don't forget to start stocking that self care recovery kit. We hope you enjoyed this episode of Teacher Approved. I'm Heidi.

And I'm Emily. Thank you for listening. Be sure to follow or subscribe in your podcast app so that you never miss an episode.

You can connect with us and other teachers in the Teacher Approved Facebook group. We'll see you here next week. Bye, for now.

Bye.