Year End Activities

 Here in Ontario, we're in school until the very end of June. We have a report card writing day on June 7 (varies by school board) and students know that soon after that, basically nothing matters (we can go back and edit up to a few days before the very end, but students need to pull off a miracle to really change their mark significantly). It can be hard to get engagement with older students because of that, though younger students are often still unaware. 

One of the Overall Expectations in the Ontario Music Curriculum is:

This can be performances by others, but should ideally also include reflection on their own performances. It doesn't have to be a "big" performance, it can be as simple as participating in class when doing Boomwhacker play alongs. 

At this time in the year, you probably just want something, you don't want to re-invent the wheel. Check out my 3-2-1 Reflection page available on TPT! 

If you did an introduction page at the start of the year with students, doing one at the end of the year is also a great idea! How are they going to stay musical over the summer? We want to encourage students to think consciously about the music they consume. Sometimes it's passive involvement, and sometimes it's a more active engagement. This double sided graphic survey will get kids thinking and sharing.

This resource is available on TPT. As well, to save you a little, both these resources are available as a bundle! 

I understand end-of-year fatigue, both from the students and as a teacher. These activities can use up a couple classes. 

• Make it more meaningful and put on some music to listen to--maybe the students have earned a reward and can choose their own music. 
• Students could do the summer activity and then you shuffle them, and pass them around. Have students try to figure out who's paper they got. 
• Pick a decade and have students do some quick research on the music of that decade, and then complete the summer activity
• Create a summer playlist with your students (and then actually listen to the songs over the summer and impress them when you come back)
• Create a practice plan or hand out to encourage students to practice an instrument

Most of all, enjoy these last few weeks. If you're not returning, let the students know how they impressed you, your favourite moments and that you enjoyed your time.  If you're coming back in the fall, start making plans with them now so that you can hit the ground running. This is a great time for bonding with the students! 

Want a free resource to help with planning for next year? Join my newsletter and you'll receive a graphic organizer that details the concepts for each element covered in each grade, and what should be a review. I don't plan to send out newsletters too frequently, so don't worry! I'm focusing on creating resources.