oklaed – Page 4 – Katie Kinder

Don’t phone it in; it is hard. Testing is in progress or over; the kids are fried. The teachers are definitely fried; the principals have a constant walkie talkie attached to their ears while they run from fire to fire, figurative, sometimes literal. Spring has sprung, so if you are a teacher of kids between 11-18 years old, then the romances are in full bloom, and the drama has ensued. Some kids are ecstatic that summer is upon them; some kids are terrified that summer is upon them. Some kids are devastated that summer is upon them.

Teachers have a countdown going in their heads, on their calendars, and with their teacher besties when they exhaustedly mumble to each other in the hall, “32 ½ more days.” Hair askew, two different shoes on, workout pants disguised as dress pants, “These are yoga slacks, okay. There is a seam and that signifies dress pants.”

“No one asked; we are just glad you showed up today,” says any principal on any given day in the 4th quarter to any teacher on their staff.

THE POINT IS… This is hard; don’t phone it in. Here are some ideas to end the year that are engaging, fun, and full of awesome life lessons. Email me if you want the lesson with more details or the entire lesson plan from start to finish!

1. Hack School- Have students create their dream school in pairs! It has to be serious. Architecture, floor plans, what kinds of classes do they need/want? Use AI and Chat GPT as resources!

2. Student Job Fair- wrap curriculum around this one. Done in pairs, create a company, design logos, do research, make posters, write interview questions, and then have an actual job fair in your room, and invite other classes in to interview. So Fun!

3.Design a Brochure to give to the upcoming grade: I.E. “How to survive 7th grade” Trifold, design, color, information. Give the kids choice on their brochure. Have them create a PSA on bullying or a charity or a cause near and dear to their hearts. To present to each other, do a jigsaw!

4.End of Year Stations: Move every fifteen minutes, and each station has a small project to complete. Thank you letter to a teacher/principal, blackout poetry, legos, play dough, the ideas are limitless.

5.Teach them to Debate. Have a true FishBowl discussion or a speed discussion. Socratic Seminars are awesome. Secure a different place to have a debate and invite other adults to come judge the debate. Library, Gym, Empty classroom.

6.Have the kids work in pairs to create a podcast!

7.Write letters to congress about an environmental issue or social issue that is near to their hearts.

8.Have them mindmap their futures!

9.Have them make a movie trailer about their lives. Who would play them? Or create a screenplay for a movie they’d like to see come to fruition. Have them mesh genres: Think, Abraham Lincoln The Vampire Hunter!

10.Gamify EVERYTHING! What non tech games can you play? Trashketball, Jeopardy, Family Feud, Whack A Mole, Pictionary, 100,000 Pyramid?

Teachers, we can do hard things! Don’t take your decorations down even if you are moving schools or rooms. Don’t succumb to saying the words: “Free Time!” Don’t do it! Don’t succumb to watching Disney + every day while you sleep with your eyes open at the back of the room! Finish Strong while you wear your yoga slacks with mismatched shoes while you mumble the countdown to your teacher besties!

TEACHERS, what other ideas do you incorporate into your end-of-year curriculum? Share! That is why we are here, to help each other through. What lessons have been powerful for the end? Tell me everything!

Teach On, Beautiful Warriors!

-Katie

P.S. (I’ve been busy booking summer dates for keynotes, end of year workshops, and I’ve started to book August dates and school contracts for 23-24! Reach out with your PD needs!). I’d love to help train your baby teachers, kick off your convocation, and better yet, get a contract for multiple professional development dates! I promise fun, and practical strategies, innovation, and inspiration! Let’s work together.

Normalize apologizing to kids; you aren’t too big for it!

As much as you should laugh and have fun with your students, it is also important to apologize. You are fully human, and humans make mistakes. Your students are adults-in-training, and they should be able to see adults they love apologize. Listen to them. Sometimes in this job, we misunderstand kids. We are trying to teach a lesson to 30 children in the same room. There is a reason education research shows that teachers make more second by second decisions than an emergency room doctor. Sometimes, we make poor decisions or mistakes.

A colleague of mine corrected a girl’s behavior in his class, and she became furious. He asked her to step outside of his classroom. When he got out there, the student explained what she was doing. The teacher completely misinterpreted her behavior. He apologized; they went back into class. She was grateful, and the lesson went smoothly the rest of the class period.

You will have those kids that LOVE to correct a misspelled word or grammar mistake on your board or assignment or quiz. I always laugh and respond with, “Wow, I must be a human being that makes mistakes. Let me show you my college diploma!” We laugh, we move on, and it is good for rapport with the class. Don’t get caught up in the “I’m the adult…blah, blah, blah. They shouldn’t correct me!” That is just an insecurity in your teaching. Kids should see that adults can have a growth mindset just like we ask them to.

I have reacted out of anger with a child before. I always regret it. It eats me up that night when I try to sleep, but again, I’m human as are you. When I have those types of situations when I know I need to ask a student for forgiveness, that is exactly what I do. I find the student before first hour, and I tell them how sorry I am. “I shouldn’t have reacted with such anger. I just know how awesome you are, and when you did _________(fill in the blank with whatever a middle schooler without a fully developed frontal cortex would try and say or do), I expect more from you.” 99 times out of 100, I get an apology back. “Why you losin’ sleep over that, Ms. Kinder; that’s just silly; we good now!” It strengthens the relationship, and in class that day, we can both focus on the task at hand which is learning.

Showing our students vulnerability allows them to see us as fully human and gives them the opportunity to drop their own school mask in order to also be vulnerable at school, and in giving them this, you are giving them so much more than mastery on a certain standard you must teach that day. Apologize when you should.

There are still seats in our one-day institute on March 30th! Sign up here: https://katie-kinder.com/the-spring-shift/

Check out these amazing people that will be with us for the day! We will have a great day of learning, laughing, and rejuvenation!

Meet Our Speakers