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By the first day of school, teachers have already spent the summer preparing for their students and everyone’s energized for a fresh start. The first few weeks of instruction are planned out, expectations are set and the focus is on building a strong classroom community.
But when starting the second semester stretch, the vibes are definitely different.
Most teachers are already familiar with their students, but learning gaps are starting to widen.
A lot of hard work goes into establishing classroom routines and expectations in the first half of the school year, so the second half can understandably lead teachers to stay the course and not think about changing things up to address those issues, according to Catlin Tucker, a former high school teacher and author of “Elevating Educational Design with AI.” That familiarity can also decenter the earlier focus on relationship and community building in the second semester, even though it’s still essential, she said.
A Good Time to ‘Start, Keep, Stop,’ and Reflect
For Marcus Luther, a high school English teacher, the start of the second semester is an opportunity to reset as a classroom community. This process includes a “start, keep, stop” survey for students, which asks them to identify classroom and instructional practices that they would like to make adjustments to. The survey is given at the end of the first semester and the recommendations are applied in the second semester.
Like Luther, many teachers might have new students in their classrooms in the spring semester. Luther kick-starts these classes with value setting activities and check-ins, much like he would do at the beginning of the year, “to make sure that we are building community intentionally in the second semester in the same way we did in the first semester,” he said.
The second semester brings a lot of potential challenges to teachers’ regularly scheduled programming because of standardized testing, graduation events and student burnout. To get ahead, Luther relies on data sheets containing information about student performance and skills which helps him anticipate their strengths and growth areas. His students keep tabs on their own progress too by having an ongoing log of reflections which they write down after every assessment.
Students answer questions like: How do I feel about my process? How do I feel about my results?
This metacognitive practice offers students an opportunity to take ownership of their own learning and buys back time for teachers; student self-reflection means they are meeting Luther halfway so not all of the observations and strategies fall on the teacher.
“Not only am I aware of how students see themselves as learners going into second semester, they’re also aware and they can track their progress,” said Luther.
Dealing with Interruptions
“With lots of interruptions for [assessments], SAT/PSAT testing and breaks, it’s much more difficult to get into ‘a flow’,” according to Erin Connors, a high school U.S. history and social studies teacher.
Preparing students for standardized testing eats up a lot of valuable instructional time. Less time means narrowed flexibility to address varying student needs and widening learning gaps, said Luther. And although differentiated teaching practices are becoming the gold standard across K-12 education, actually following through on an effective personalized learning approach can seem more and more out of reach as the school year comes to a close.
According to Luther, it’s tempting to want to run out the clock during those last weeks and months of school.
“You’ve got so much going on…it can feel almost like you’re trying to keep the train on the tracks in the classroom, and there are all these tracks missing,” he said.
To combat a downward spiral, Luther prioritizes meeting his students where they are through built-in check-ins that take a few moments to set up and saves time when making sure that student needs are met.
On days when students are given extended time to work on a project or assessment, he throws a one-through-six scale on the board, and asks students to write down a number for him to see at their desks. A one indicates that they are 100 percent ready to work. A three might mean that they have a couple of questions and would like a check-in soon. A five or six means that they don’t know how to move forward and need immediate support. While students work independently Luther is able to meet one-on-one with each student prioritizing the fives and sixes first, and working his way down the scale.
Carving out the time and practices to support each student can feel like a heavy lift, but asking students to self-evaluate, and responding to them is a good starting point, said Luther.
Middle school teacher Sean Walsh also cites the importance of perspective-taking in the second semester.
“You stress their accomplishments and show them where they were at the beginning of the year and where they are now,” according to Walsh, which helps students work on their self-improvement and development with teacher guidance. “Each student needs to reflect on their accomplishments and to continue developing their growth mindset.”
Instructional Practices That Buy Back Time
“If teachers haven’t already started to experiment with more student-led strategies, [the second semester] is a wonderful time to be doing that,” said Tucker. A good old station rotation is useful for all K-12 classrooms in order to deliver meaningful differentiated instruction, Tucker continued. Making only one of the stations teacher-led, while having both an online and an offline station, carves out built-in time for personalized instruction.
Leaning into the social interactions that students crave can be a useful tool. Student-led instruction like station rotations allows “students to do the heavy cognitive lift and engage socially with each other and make meaning together in ways that should keep them more engaged,” Tucker said. And this saves teachers time and energy during the second semester.
“Believe it or not, now is the time to slow things down, embed review of the first semester in all new material, and remember to have some fun,” according to high school Spanish teacher Julie Hawkes.
Focus on You and What You’re Excited About
The second half is when the content gets harder, but more hands-on, according to Oliver Yang, who teaches high school chemistry.
“It’s also where we start to do more lab experiments and I am very excited to do actual chemical reactions with my students,” according to Yang. “The first half of the school year can be a bit boring with all the nomenclature and vocabulary students are learning.”
Like most teachers, Luther is very intentional with instructional planning during the second half of the school year. He focuses on the units that he’s most excited about and plans for them to take place during key moments of the semester. For example, one class is kicking off the second semester with a graphic novel unit, one of Luther’s favorites, and in another class they are starting off with a Shakespeare performance unit. Some of his favorite projects are intentionally done at the end of the semester to stir excitement and maintain focused learning during a time of the year when retaining student interest is historically difficult.
Channeling your own excitement as a teacher into authentic enthusiasm for subject matter can rub off on students, said Luther. “Planning intentionally, knowing that exhaustion is going to come, and I think also just trying to stay present,” is key to a successful second semester, he continued.
High school teacher Erin Connors focuses on fun assignments and SEL check-ins with students, and Yang relies on journal reflections and meditations year-round.
Even when going through difficult moments, like the forced reduction in his district last year that left his future as a teacher uncertain, Luther makes space for daily gratitude. Writing down one thing that he is grateful for at the end of every day keeps him grounded. “Finding what’s good and emphasizing that in the classroom,” pays off when the second semester gets tough, said Luther.
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Teachers have summer to rest and prepare for the first day of school. The second half of the school year doesn’t get as much preparation time and the year can be a slog. MindShift
