Meaningful Finals

 Meaningful Finals

When given two hours of time for a final, how do you want to spend it?  What are you hoping students will achieve?  What do you want to be the last impression/memories students have of your class?  After 17 years of teaching, my answer is that I do not want to spend those last two hours in a silent room never hearing my students speak and reflect. Instead, I give any kind of test, writing, or other assessment 1-2 weeks before finals.  This gives me time to grade it and give feedback and then during finals, I have my students give presentations with invited guests/panelists/interviewers.  

Here's how I spent my 2 hours of finals:

I have 27 9th graders in each of my English 9 classes.  They were in 6 groups. I organized my tables where two groups were in my classroom and one was in the open hallway just outside.  When students arrived they had 30 minutes to do a final practice and then guests arrived. I had greeters waiting to welcome them and then I gave an overview of the project.  Then guests and students moved to their presentation areas.  This left me with about 35-40 minutes for each round.  Half the class presented in round 1 and got feedback from the student group watching and the guests.  Then, they switched and the process happened all over again.  In addition, students brought food that connected to their people of inspiration and after they finished presenting, we all got to eat and celebrate their hard work, usually the last 10-15 minutes.

This day is always a mix of emotions and as soon as it begins, I remember why I love it so much. It exemplifies why I love teaching in the LEAD@LG (Learn, Explore, Act, Design) pathway: A collaborative, interdisciplinary pathway at Los Gatos High School. This day always feels meaningful and I am always struck by how willing students are to be open, vulnerable, and share. EVERY STUDENT PARTICIPATED and EVERY STUDENT DEMONSTRATED UNDERSTANDING, CONNECTIONS, and GROWTH.
Here are my favorite comments from today:

1. A student began to cry when speaking about their grandmother and all the students watching gave them encouraging words. "You can do it!" "We're proud of you!"
2. One student openly shared about how they have dealt with Child Protective Services over the last 10 years and the impact on their childhood. 
3. Student who interviewed father who has been sober 30 years. "What I have learned being in Al-Anon is that when someone can become sober it is taking away what blocks them from being their true self. It takes such strength." The father reflected that he was in high school that he was not sober and he got sober at 22 and the beauty of coming back to high school and seeing his child here now. 
4. Student shared about losing family to cancer and how this makes them think about life. 
5. A student who has had struggles every year in school presented, was professional, and showed gratitude to their family. The family was visibly moved. 
6. Students modeling feedback for their families and families continually saying how impressed they are that students can present as 9th graders. 
7. Mom who works at a Tech company offering to have the person who coaches public speaking there come do a lesson.

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PROJECT OVERVIEW

Driving Question: How can we use Journalism to honor those who inspire us to be better people?

Project Tasks



1.  Create a newspaper (in teams) connecting historical moments leading up to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with current events. 

2.  Presentation from AP Journalist Janie McCauley on the power of Journalism to really tell someone's story.

3.  Read To Kill A Mockingbird (Discussions throughout the reading)

4.  Write an essay about the honorable qualities of Atticus Finch

5.  Pick a person in your life who exemplifies these traits (Person of Inspiration) 

7.  Interview them using the StoryCorps App and transcribe the three most important stories from the interview. (I try to align this with The Great Thanksgiving Listen.)

8.  Organize groups based on common themes for honor used by StoryCorps: Home and Family, Work and Dedication, Overcoming Obstacles, Mentorship, Military/Veteran

9.  FINAL: Students present about how they and others have grown because of their People of Inspiration. They weave in stories from the interview and connect to one another and to Atticus Finch from To Kill A Mockingbird.  Their People of Inspiration and their families are invited to be guests and students and the guests give feedback after the presentation.