1. Reflect on your teaching experience

Whether this has been your first year, the second, or tenth year of teaching, you’ve experienced new things or at least learned something new in this mysterious world called teaching.

This is the truth about teaching! No matter how much experience we’ve gained, we’re always learning because we come across “the unexpected”. So, we need to improvise and act to get what we want.

So, think of it this way: Every year is an opportunity for you to learn and grow from your trials and errors, your students, colleagues, and other educators (on Twitter, authors, teacher trainers, etc.).

Therefore, don’t miss this opportunity. Seize every moment of it, reflect on it, and learn. The end of the school year is the right time to do that. So, reflect on your teaching experience this year, set goals, and make decisions to streamline.

However, you might be wondering about what you need to reflect on, what questions you need to address, and what kind of goals you need to pursue. Here are 40 questions that you can choose from to reflect and make relevant decisions to improve: End of year Questions to help you get ready for next year.

So, what are your questions?

2. Plan for next year

After reflecting on your teaching experience and making a set of decisions on what to do to improve more, think now about your plan or how to get ready for next year.

To do so, prepare those things you know you’ll need next year. HOW?

1) Start with those things you’ve already used. For instance, if you are used to sending your students notes or letters home before the start of the school year, prepare them and put them in a labelled folder.

Also, check the supplies you have and note down those you need to purchase during the summer sales.

2) Look over the things you need to improve more and opt for better tools than the ones you’ve used. In case your planning of lessons or strategy to organize students’ homework has not been effective, look for a better way to do it. You can search on Google, Pinterest, Teacher Pay Teacher Store, etc.)

Still, to decide what works better for you, you should make clear what you need out of that material; what you could not find in the one you’ve used this year. So, ask yourself: What is wrong with my lesson plan? What kind of lesson plan would help more? ( Check out My Lesson Plan below)

3) Third, prepare your “First Time Experienced Tools or Resources”. After figuring out what you need to integrate next year to enhance your students’ learning, it’s time now to make your choices.

For example, if you want to connect effectively with your students’ parents and you have not used any tool or strategy to achieve this, decide upon THE NEW and prepare it for next year. Here are some editable forms which you can use for this purpose.

Preparing your materials and packing them up will make the start of next year a little easier.

3. Determine your focus this summer

The summer break is a great opportunity for us to rejuvenate, self-care, and recharge our batteries.

Summer is about relaxing, but it can be also the appropriate time to take professional development courses, interact with other educators, and learn what is relevant to our growth.

Yet, this might be the busiest season where you have to carry on some household tasks and planned projects besides taking care of your children and family and spending more time with them.

So, how can you do ALL these things during the next months?

If you want to make your summer more productive while relaxing and enjoying your time, you need to start planning and setting your goals now.

Focus on what you need to do and achieve this summer. Prioritize and simplify your goals. Be REALISTIC!

Avoid packing too much and remember that this is your time to relax and take care of yourself.

To learn more about how to make your summer more productive, read my post: How to have the most productive summer: 5 Tips for teachers

Reflect on your teaching experience this year, plan for next year and determine your focus this summer are the 3 things teachers need to do at the end of the school year. So, make time for them. Happy end of the year!