We’re back at school after the holidays and your students might have come back a little less fresh than you hoped. Many of them have already forgotten what they learnt about last term and they’re not focused enough just yet to jump straight into new content. However, there are a few simple things you can do to get Term 3 off to a good start.
Recap on the holidays
Your cherubs are probably still in full holiday mode when they came back this week and probably won’t engage fully in their learning. However, we can give them a little push to help them get Term 3 off to a good start. Try having your students participate in a holiday-related reflection writing task. The first lesson back is a great time to do this. Here are some options.
– Describe your favourite holiday experience.
– Recount your favourite day of the holidays.
– Give an account of your favourite event from the holidays.
If your students spent the holidays in lockdown, you could also present them with these writing options.
– Outline what you would have done in the holidays had you not been in lockdown.
– Recall the most exciting thing you did during lockdown these holidays.
– Compare your plans for the holidays with what you actually did.
These writing tasks will give your students an opportunity to get back into their learning frame of mind while allowing them to practise responding to NESA key words. Double win!
Recap on last term
The start of term is a good time for you to refresh your students’ memories about the content you covered last term, which they may have already forgotten about. Ask them a series of questions to trigger their memory including:
– What was your favourite thing you learnt last term?
– What is the most interesting thing you learnt last term?
– Is there anything you still need clarification on from last term?
Hopefully once your cherubs get talking about last term, all of the new things they learnt will start rushing back to them.
Look ahead
A new term generally means a new unit or topic for your class to work through. The first couple of lessons in a new term present a good opportunity to prepare your students for what is to come. Let them know what the new unit of work is, what they will be learning about and your expectations of them. It’s also a good time to get them thinking about their own learning by asking them what new knowledge they are excited about gaining.
Check in with your HSC students
This is an important term for your Year 12 cherubs. They may be celebrating their last ever term at school, but you know it’s a vital term in their preparations for exams. The start of term 3 is a good opportunity for you to check in on them and how their studies are going. Ask them if they have any worries or concerns about the exams or their progress, because for some students, their stress levels increase once they realise they are in their final term of school. If they do raise any worries, remind them they still have a whole term to prepare for their exams.
A number of subjects such as drama, music and languages have their practical exams during this term as well. The start of term 3 is a good opportunity for you to check in with these students and make sure they as prepared as possible for these exams. See where they are at with their performances or give them ample opportunity to test their speaking with you in the lead up to these exams.
We hope that implementing these four tips will help you get Term 3 off to a good start!
