Making the Final School Days Count

It's hard to believe there's only 17 days left in this school year. As always, at this point it feels like the year flew by, even though I know there were moments that felt interminable. Now I come to a yearly ritual: asking myself how to make these final days count.

This year I'm trying to be realistic with myself. I can think of lots of projects that didn't quite make it to fruition the way I originally imagined. Over the years there have been several student-written plays based off of folktales that never materialized as full fledged performances. Last year, I hoped kids would complete (im)migration projects by interviewing immigrants in our community.
end of the year teaching meme
I think all these ideas have been valuable, but they haven't always been realistic for the final month of school. This year will be especially challenging as I'm teaching 5th graders. That means a senior trip and lots of graduation practice.

So, I'm trying to dedicate this time to just one or two projects, and doing them well. And I think I've found a way to merge them together.

Currently we're working on an informational writing unit that will culminate in a Black history museum. I originally hoped to finish by next Friday, June 8th. But now I'm thinking we plan our publishing party/museum opening for Juneteenth. This will give us more time to refine our work, and a meaningful historical/cultural tie-in! I'm really excited for this.

Now, here's where the second project comes in. Since the beginning of the year I've known I wanted to end the year with a science fiction writing unit. I know there's not a lot of time to dig deep into this anymore. But I'm thinking one of the exhibits in our Black history museum can be dedicated to Black futures! I think this will be a fun way to add some student ingenuity to the museum beyond their researched reports. I think it will also be exciting to think about the ways radical imagination can come into our classroom.

I'm not sure exactly how this will look yet. I know I need to control my inclination to go big in my thinking. I want it to be well done and I want to complete it, not rush through it.

Knowing me, I'll still try to overdo it. I'll still be somewhat disappointed by what we can't complete. But I know I'm going to get the most out of these final days, no matter what.

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