Motivating Students During the Final Weeks

Key things to Remember (from the Dear Molly Blog)

1) Dont let the Teacher Facade Crack Now we cant send any messages that things are going be
easier. Focus on different, engaging, and creative.
2) Re-center efforts towards your Big Goal or End of Year Goal
3) Have fun- share yourself with kids these final days and how important their success is to you
How do I determine what end of year investment strategy to use?
First, determine what the key problem is and then find a solution that is aligned. Below I have some ideas,
but ask your colleagues or PD to help you find out what the key problem is.
Challenge
Students show
signs of
disinvestment
towards end of
year goal

Students are not

connecting daily
work to EOY
Goal
Ss arent sure
what and why
they are
reviewing
certain material

What should I do to
address this?
- MAKE THE GOAL THE
BIGGEST THING EVER!
-Bring new life to the Big Goalnew poster, who do I work
for activity,
-Remind them daily of the goal
and why its important.
-Ensure they are seeing their
progress towards the goal
(self-tracking)
-Start the day with a
chant/stomp
-Set Daily/Weekly Class goals

Where do I find it?

-Consistently reinforce the

goal in all components of
every lesson.

Sample Lesson w/ reinforcing the goal:

http://www.tfanet.org/wps/myportal/
teachinglearningcenter/resourceexchange/resourceprofile?
resource_id=c6fdebb1c867415a:2810f597:12415642673:-72c8

-Make sure you have a strong

re-teach/review plan that is
actually aligned to what they
need.
-Share that plan with the
students

Re-teach vs. Review:

http://www.tfanet.org/wps/myportal/teachinglearningcenter/resour
ceexchange/resourceprofile?
resource_id=c6fdebb1c867415a:33147d8d:1274f3a131f:-ce0

Great Examples of how to use data to reinvest students

towards goal:
http://www.tfanet.org/wps/myportal/teachinglearningcenter/resour
ceexchange/resourceprofile?resource_id=c6fdebb1c867415a:73684d6d:12698fd4102:521e
Self Tracking Science Resumehttp://www.tfanet.org/wps/myportal/teachinglearningcenter/resour
ceexchange/resourceprofile?
resource_id=4ffa44dae06433a9:6d0a857c:120f7e589d8:-728f
Have students define what this goal means for them and
who they are working on behalf of http://www.tfanet.org/wps/myportal/teachinglearningcenter/resour
ceexchange/resourceprofile?resource_id=4ffa44dae06433a9:60aae490:123769a3d52:38ac

-Use some type of motto:

10 skills- 10 days
Ss arent
connecting daily
work to their
grades.
Ss are anxious
about upcoming
CSTs,
Summative
Assessments,
etc.

Ss not paying
attention/talking
during review

Have them calculate their

grade bi-weekly/each week.

Example of self-grading document:

http://www.tfanet.org/wps/myportal/teachinglearningcenter/resour
ceexchange/resourceprofile?
resource_id=4ffa44dae06433a9:2d6c5954:123b0088403:-2256

-Find ways to show how

prepared they are (see selftracking below, highlight
performance on past tests).
-Teach and infuse test-taking
skills (in every problem you do
(dont assume they know it)
-Consistently give them praise
before/during/after tests about
how they are doing
-post it notes with good job
-celebrate past/recent
progress
1st- determine whats causing
this their disengagement
1. Procedures or
expectations are not
clear
2. Ss dont find the
material relevant
3. Ss dont know why they
are learning or doing
this (purpose)
4. Ss arent engaged in
lesson as much (Class is
teacher centered).

Tips for students on test anxiety:

http://kidshealth.org/teen/school_jobs/school/test_anxiety.html

2nd- Find the appropriate

strategy to align to the cause
(see next column for ideas).

Strong/Engaging Intro to New Material:

http://www.tfanet.org/wps/myportal/teachinglearningcenter/resour
ceexchange/resourceprofile?
resource_id=4ffa44dae06433a9:4e4cd1fe:12705a5c837:4a8f

Tips for teachers to help students with test anxiety:

http://www.inspiringteachers.com/classroom_resources/tips/assess
ment/overcoming_test_anxiety.html

Revisit your Expectations:

-Ensure expectations are clear at all points of lesson (each part)
-Stay consistent in managing class- consequences (+/-) need to be
given all throughout class
Write them in your lessonhttp://www.tfanet.org/wps/myportal/teachinglearningcenter/resour
ceexchange/resourceprofile?
resource_id=4ffa44dae06433a9:7a64201a:1245ad08697:1ae4
Ensure your lessons are engaging and provide real world
applications
Make Review Fun! (and aligned) games/ideas on blogs:
http://www.tfanet.org/net/myportal/tfanet/teachinglearnin
gcenter/dearmolly#games
http://www.tfanet.org/net/myportal/tfanet/teachinglearnin
gcenter/secscience - with the tag review_games

Build Inquiry in your Lessons- Using the 5 E Model

(Explore, Engage... note this is a hefty resource):

http://www.tfanet.org/wps/myportal/teachinglearningcenter/resour
ceexchange/resourceprofile?
resource_id=4ffa44dae06433a9:a0dcff:12796506b5e:-45fe
Real World Applications of Math:
http://www.tfanet.org/wps/myportal/teachinglearningcenter/resour
ceexchange/resourceprofile?
resource_id=4ffa44dae06433a9:19c75692:1259e7ca247:44e

Ss are bored and

need something
engaging that
will reinforce
what theyve
learned (other Ts
are just showing
movies)

-Reinforce hard work and

efforts towards goal.
-Have them take a survey on
what they want to do (they
can pick from different
activities).
-Have them work on
enrichment projects.
-Choose activities that are
directly focused on real-world
application of experiences.

For Math- Check out Jess Eastmans End of Year project

ideas:
http://www.tfanet.org/net/myportal/tfanet/teachinglearningcenter/s
ecmath with tag end_of_year
Science Check out Andreas performance assessment and
project ideas:
http://www.tfanet.org/net/myportal/tfanet/teachinglearningcenter/s
ecscience - See April 27, 2010 /blog