It’s that time of year… and if your seniors are anything like mine, they’re done. (Mine actually wrapped up today—so they’re officially out of their misery for the summer!) I know this moment is coming every year, and depending on the weather, it can hit anytime between February and April. As much as I want to honor their very real feeling of “doneness,” I also want to keep them learning for as long as we’re together.
A few years ago, I started ending the year with a book and film unit in all of my classes. It works SO well for my underclassmen. They finish their novel with a couple weeks to spare, we watch the related film, and then they end the year with a speaking and writing assessment that showcases what they’ve learned throughout the unit.
But seniors? They’re a tougher crowd. Between sports, college visits, field trips, and general burnout, they’re harder to motivate—and their interests are all over the place.
Back in 2017, I introduced literature circles as the final unit for Spanish 4. I give students a survey and match them with a book they might enjoy. They read in groups, filling out a worksheet each day to capture what they’ve learned. It keeps them accountable while giving them space to explore something that speaks to them.
Once the reading is done, students present their book to the class. Over the years, I’ve seen some clever presentations (one group even sang a summary to the tune of a Señor Wooly song), but I’ve also seen a LOT of PowerPoints.
This year, I banned slideshows. Yep—no Google Slides, no PowerPoint, no Canva presentations. Our book lineup this year included El portal by A.C. Quintero, La lucha by Melisa López, La receta secreta by Vanessa Ehlers, Sueño hecho realidad by Jade Greene, my own book La Calaca Alegre, and Dreamer by Linnae Salvati. I told students they could present in any format—just not a slideshow.
And it was AWESOME. I saw a hilarious puppet show, creative skits, posters, a Comprehensible Classroom-style StoryBuilder, and even a short film. (It is based on Vanessa Ehlers’ book La receta secreta and it was the pick of the litter from our projects.) The no-slideshow rule absolutely sparked more creativity. I’ll 100% do it again next year.
So, if you’re still in the trenches and looking for an engaging way to wrap things up, try a choice novel and an anything-but-a-slideshow project. You won’t regret it!
Do you have a rubric for this great idea?
I know this will sound like sacrilege… but I don’t use a rubric on speaking because everyone who completes the task gets a perfect score. Those who overachieve get +1.
There are solid reasons why I do this, but a lot of times people think I’m wrong 🤣
Nationally the average proficiency level of a 4 year student is Int Mid/Low border, so if mine are talking for 2+ min, that’s much more than series of simple sentences! They’re right on where they should be! Or above!
This sounds amazing! How much time do you allocate to this unit for them to read and prepare and then to present?
This year I gave them three weeks because there are so many interruptions I knew they’d all miss time!