And just like that, it’s the last week of school. This week will be a super-easy teaching week because final exams are scheduled for the last three days of school. So, really, I have only two more teaching days and then I’ll just proctor and score exams. Easy.
Here’s this week’s agenda:
Monday
Present this “Words to Live By” lesson where students will compare/contrast three famous examples of adults dispensing advice to young people:
• Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If”
• Polonius’ advice to Laertes in Act 1, Scene 3 of Hamlet
• “Wear Sunscreen” newspaper column
For HW, students should study for their final exam, worth 15 percent (oh!) of the semester grade.
Tuesday
Review of writing portfolios.
Textbook return/book billing, as needed.
Final Quarter Trio challenge (review games for the final) and crowning of the 4th quarter champions.
For HW, students need to be ready for the final exam.
Wednesday – Friday (Final Exams)
Students will have only two exams per day and be finished each day by lunch. My exam will include M.U.G. Shots, vocabulary from Words on Wednesday, some Greek and Latin Roots, a section of Analogies, and Argument Writing questions. Grades must to be filed by 4 p.m. Friday, so there won’t be an essay component this time around; there’s just no time to grade that and, frankly, I’m wrung dry. I’ll simply snap those ZipGrade sheets, upload the scores, and get on with s-u-m-m-e-r.
Vacation on, everyone!
Thank you for your weekly posts, Laura. I have read and enjoyed each one. Have a great ending to your school year, and have a relaxing summer!
Ah, thanks, Michelle, for hanging in there for the whole series. It’s funny, but I grew to enjoy building these posts because working through everything early Saturday morning (unexpectedly and happily) made Sunday Night Dread evaporate. Even though the series is now done, I think I’ll keep the Saturday a.m. prep routine. It helped clear my head for the rest of the weekend and I stopped thinking about class until 7:45 a.m. on Mondays. Nice, right?
Thank you! I enjoyed reading this all year! Keep us updated on your summer plans 🙂
Will do, Kay! For now, my only plans are to get through these last three days. Al…most…there…
What do you have your students do for their writing portfolios? I’m looking to implement this as part of their quarterly exam grade this year and am interested to see what you did. Thanks!
Michelle
Hey Michelle,
Great question. I could definitely do more with those portfolios, but I pretty much just use them to hold all of the students’ major writing assignments for the year. During the portfolio review mentioned in the calendar, I have students go through their work and fill in a grid that records their titles and scores for content and grammar on each assignment. If the system works, they should see growth in their skills. The portfolio overview is also helpful for the next year’s teachers who receive the folders during our portfolio swap in the first two weeks of the new school year. The folders follow our students all four years, so they’re pretty packed by the time kids graduate.
Oh, the review grid also lists all of the SSR titles students reported to me over the year, which helps prevent a student from trying to double-dip on a title with the next year’s teacher.
Hope you’re having a good summer!
🙂 Laura
Laura, I am so happy to have found your material. I am a veteran teacher, but your lessons have inspired me to try something new! Thank you so much for sharing all of your ideas. Is there a chance you would ever have someone shoot a video of you teaching? I would love to see you in action! Thank you!
And I’m so glad you found me, too, Ava. Welcome to the party! As for a video, I can’t think of anything more nerve-wracking! The YouTube video series was enough of a challenge for now, I’m thinking. 🙂