The end is near .........

  It's May 1st!!  There are 6-7 weeks left in the school year and you're in one of two positions.  Either your testing is almost over or you're gearing up for the end of the year testing.  It can be a tough time in either situation - students checking out (cognitively) or freaking out with test anxiety.  And you may be a little crispy around the edges from a pressure packed school year - principals, press, parents ( the triple P).  You have more 2nd winds left in you because you are a professional and you know how to do your job.  Ok - strategies!
   The students may be as sick of the triple P's as you are so how do you keep that "forge ahead" spirit going?  One suggestion might be to take a little breather from the academic pressure and schedule in some, dare I say it, "fun" time.  I'm not sure if the "prescribed" educational curriculum  allows for any of that stuff, but maybe you can slip it in somehow.  
   For Elementary classes, having fun with words is great.  You could institute "Fabulous Phonics Friday" and play with decoding at the end of the week.  You could review the rules, make up non-sense words and assign meanings to them.  Then put them into a text and guess what the meaning is.  You could take some words, maybe Memorial Day, and see how many words you could make out of it.  You would be amazed at how many words you can make having word families add to the learning experience.  This is fun for Secondary class, as well.
   There are also a lot of Science topics that can be explored this time of year.  One day a week could be "Experiment Day" and do a web search for some interesting experiments.  Then there's always raising butterflies or prying mantis.  It is truly amazing to see the development of these animals and then to release them into the environment.  So cool!  
   As for the Secondary teachers, you know what your students are into.  Maybe make up a Jeopardy game using content vocabulary or, popular musical groups.  You could also do this with Hangman.  There isn't a kid alive who doesn't love Hangman.  It's important to have a diversion every so often which can also be fun, for you and your students.  If you're not having fun, they're not having fun!
    For the rest of the school year, I will be having fewer blog entries.  Much of what I have been talking about has to do with techniques or ideas for the beginning or mid-year of the school calendar.  Just know that you are doing a good job in a time when teaching and education is the political scapegoat.  Take deep breathes and know that you make an impact with your students.  You may not see it now but you'd be surprised to know how much your students will remember you.