Are your students having the end of year jitters?
I know my students ALWAYS have the end of year jitters! With all the excitement of the end of the school year, summer coming and more… It really made those last few weeks and days hard to teach!
Even with my high school students.
On days that my students seem extra jittery, I would incorporate movement into the class. I knew until I got their jitters out, nothing productive was going to happen and focusing on information would be really hard.
So.. I would make them get up and we would do workout videos in French with simple instructions (YouTube is where I would find them, example video: 5-a-day Fitness : Disco en français) or we would play “Jacques à dit…” aka “Simon Says..”!
You would be amazed at how much even my high school students loved to play “Jacques à dit…” and just being able to get up and act goofy! Nothing like a little competition in class! They get so into it and have a fun time.
Or I would pull out a game that I always have on hand that involves movement : Avalanche, Chair Game, or even a Stations Activity where they can be mobile around the room and not just sitting.
Not only were we having fun, but this was a win-win for everyone. They got their jitters out but we were still practicing and using our French at the same time!
The best part of this is that once you get their jitters out, they focus so much better on what they have to do the rest of class! Sometimes just taking a simple movement break, it can be as little as 5 minutes, BUT it makes all the difference for our learners big and small! So the next time it looks like your students need a little break, give this a try!
Do you incorporate movement into your classes?
As always, I hope that you have found this information useful and helpful to you!
Merci,
Amanda