The night before the end of a break from school can be scary as the reality sets in that you need plans ready to go— TOMORROW! The fear and the panic can start to set in as you try to scramble for an activity that will ease you and your students back into the school routine.
But all that stops right now because Bespoke ELA has you covered!
Here are six NO PREP activities for after break!
My Life Store Creative Writing Activity
This activity is a type of brainstorming activity for a personal narrative or college essay. It is a creative way for students to brainstorm traits about themselves to find “seeds” of ideas for writing the essay. Essentially, students envision their lives as a store that represents who they are. This is a great way to build a classroom community while helping students find essay ideas.
Find this activity for FREE in the Bespoke ELA Freebie Library. If you haven’t already subscribed, click here. If you are already a subscriber, log in here.
DEAR DAY + WRITING EXTENSION
There is nothing nicer than a hands-off activity that does not require direct teaching after a break. This keeps your students quiet and also gives you time to plan for the rest of the week… or catch up on all that grading you were supposed to do over break but didn’t— oops!
Enter DEAR DAY! Drop. Everything. And. Read.
A super easy activity to have students do is READ! They can read anything— something assigned for class or a personal choice. It’s up to you. At the end of class (or for homework), you can have students complete any of the following writing tasks:
Select the most important word from your reading and explain why it is important.
Select the most important quote from your reading and explain why it is important.
Write down a question that was answered for you by your reading today and explain the answer to the question.
List your top five takeaways from your reading today.
Make a connection from what you’ve read today. Connect the text to your life, another text, or a current / historical event. Then, explain the connection.
Vocabulary Pages
The day after a break is a great time to work on vocabulary! You can find the vocabulary page guide that I give my students in the Bespoke ELA Freebie Library here. At the beginning of the year, I assign students a set number of vocab "entries" (or “pages”) to make in their Writer's Notebooks across each marking period, but I allow them to choose the words they want to study.
I approach vocabulary from the philosophy that everyone knows different words; therefore, I do not like to assign "vocab lists" because students might already know the words on them. By allowing students to select their own words, vocabulary study becomes more organic and tailored to each specific student-- not to mention that it makes students responsible for their own learning. Students can work on vocabulary entries the day after a break and turn them in at the end of the class period. This will keep them busy doing something productive while you get prepped for the rest of the week.
REFLECT ON PREVIOUS ASSIGNMENTS
The day after a break is also a great time to have students reflect on past assignments. The reflection process enables students to take charge of their own learning and assess their own work. It also helps students identify what they need to work on as well as what they have mastered.
To implement this activity the day after a break, simply have your students find a previous assignment from the semester that has already been graded by you. Then, have them answer the following reflection questions about the assignment:
Explain your grade. Why do you think you received the grade you did? Explain.
What did you do well? What do you need to continue to work on?
What new skills did you learn from this assignment?
What would you have done differently?
Students can repeat this reflection process for as many assignments as time permits. Consider allowing students to redo past work after the reflection process for points back. This reinforces the growth aspect of learning.
Semester Reflection
Another type of useful reflection to do after a break is to have students reflect on the semester thus far. There is a free Semester Reflection Guide in the Freebie Library here that can be used at any time during the semester— not just at the end.
This handout guides students to reflect back on what they've learned as well as the new skills they've acquired during the semester.
It contains 20 questions that guide students through reviewing their work from the semester and setting goals for the future. This is a great tool to use after a break, and it will help students take ownership of their learning.
PASSION PROJECT RESEARCH
Oftentimes, we do not have time in class to allow students the opportunity to explore their own passions. But the day after a break is a great time to give students to do just that! An easy way to implement this is to have students pick any topic of their choice that interests them. That’s right— ANY topic! Then, have students do some research and compile their findings into an infographic or Google Slideshow. Students can finish for homework, or you can allot a second day for finishing and / or sharing their passion projects.
In the past, I’ve had students turn in their work to Google Classroom, and then I’ve clicked through them on the projector while the student shared some interesting facts about his / her selected topic. I find that I learn so much MORE about my students when I give them the time to explore their own interests— while still targeting essential skills. It’s a WIN-WIN!
What activities do you like to have your students after a break? Please leave us a comment below! We’d love to hear from you!
If you’re looking for some easy-to-implement activities that are ready-to-go, check out these options from Bespoke ELA:
Reader Response
Google Slideshow Journal
Peer Revision
Comment Cards
Exit Tickets
For the Whole School Year
About the Author
Meredith is the founder and creator of TeachWriting.org and Bespoke ELA. She has taught high school English for 10+ years in Dallas, Chicago, and New York City and holds a M.A. in Literature from Northwestern University. She has always had a connection to the written word-- through songwriting, screenplay writing, and essay writing-- and she enjoys the process of teaching students how to express their ideas. Meredith enjoys life with her sweet daughter and Yorkie.