14 Excellent Ways to End the School Year

Rethinking Zeros in the Grade Book

What’s your take on eliminating zeros from the grade book? Does your school have a no-zeros grading policy? Even if it doesn’t, you probably have opinions about it.  Setting 50% as the minimum grading threshold is a well-meaning effort to more accurately assess student learning, but it can also create new—and frustrating—challenges for teachers and students. In this episode of School of Practice, teacher and instructional coach Tyler Rablin explores the tradeoffs of eliminating zeros from the grade book. We’ll hear from teachers in our community with firsthand experience navigating the policy, and discuss exceptional strategies for building motivation and accountability without relying on numerical penalties. Related resources: * Learn more about this episode [https://www.edutopia.org/podcast/rethinking-zeros-in-the-grade-book] * Getting Rid of Zeros Won’t Fix the Grade Book [https://www.edutopia.org/article/problem-50-percent-minimum-grade] * Template: Tyler Rablin’s Late Work Contract [https://wpvip.edutopia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Late-Work-Contract.pdf] * Do No-Zero Policies Help or Hurt Students? [https://www.edutopia.org/article/do-no-zero-policies-help-or-hurt-students/] * Why the 100-Point Grading Scale is a Stacked Deck [https://www.edutopia.org/article/why-the-100-point-grading-scale-is-a-stacked-deck] * The Case Against Zeros in Grading [https://www.edutopia.org/article/case-against-zeros-grading] * How to Help Students Focus on What They’re Learning, Not the Grade [https://www.edutopia.org/article/how-help-students-focus-what-theyre-learning-not-grade] * Why Teachers Should Grade Less Frequently [https://www.edutopia.org/article/why-teachers-should-grade-less-frequently] * Research: “Equitable” Grading Through the Eyes of Teachers [https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/research/equitable-grading-through-eyes-teachers] * Research: Can We Trust the Transcript? Recognizing Student Potential Through More Accurate Grading [https://crescendoedgroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/White-Paper-Can-We-Trust-The-Transcript.pdf]

14 Excellent Ways to End the School Year

The end of the school year can feel like the best––and worst––of times.  On the one hand, it’s a great stretch because “the routines and procedures are set,” and the kids have their sights set on summer vacation, says Kansas City-based middle school ELA teacher Jeremiah Kim. But the workload for teachers closing out the year can be intense. “We all just want to be done, but we still have these boxes to check,” he says. In this episode of School of Practice, Kim joins host Kristin Leong to explore a toolkit of low-lift, delightful,  teacher-tested activities that inject celebration, meaningful reflection, and even some review into the last few weeks of class.  Hang in there, teachers, summer break is just around the corner!  Related resources: * Learn more about this episode [https://www.edutopia.org/podcast/14-excellent-ways-to-end-the-school-year] * 19 Highly Engaging End-of-Year Activities [https://www.edutopia.org/article/19-highly-engaging-end-of-year-activities/] * Wrapping Up the School Year in English Language Arts [https://www.edutopia.org/article/ending-school-year-ela-student-interests/] * Meaningful Learning to End the Year Strong [https://www.edutopia.org/article/end-year-activities-k-8/] * Finishing Strong in Elementary School [https://www.edutopia.org/article/keeping-students-engaged-end-school/] * 4 Meaningful Activities to Mark the End of School [https://www.edutopia.org/article/4-meaningful-activities-mark-end-school/] * How to Celebrate the End of the Year in Elementary School [https://www.edutopia.org/article/how-celebrate-end-year-elementary-school/] * 8 Epic Ideas for Ending the School Year [https://www.edutopia.org/blog/celebrating-end-of-school-year-vicki-davis] * Research: Reappraising Academic and Social Adversity Improves Middle School Students’ Academic Achievement, Behavior, and Well-Being [https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1820317116]

One Task, Many Doors: A More Effective Way to Differentiate

It’s a mistake to assume that good differentiation always means splitting students up into small groups, says Michael McDowell, an author, coach, and former teacher.  A more effective approach, he says, is to design rigorous learning routines that unite the whole class—from fast finishers to kids who need extra support—with shared strategies, structures, and thinking moves.  Think: Same surface, different deep problems, much more time in the “we do” space, and a big emphasis on high-quality classroom discussion. In this episode of School of Practice, McDowell breaks down three low-prep differentiation strategies, explains how and when small groups fit into the picture, and makes the case for basketball over ping-pong question protocols.  Related resources: * Learn more about this episode [https://www.edutopia.org/podcast/one-task-many-doors-a-more-effective-way-to-differentiate] * How to Differentiate Without Splitting Students Up [https://www.edutopia.org/article/how-differentiate-without-separating-students] * Teaching a Class With Big Ability Differences [https://www.edutopia.org/article/teaching-class-big-ability-differences-todd-finley] * AI Tool Demo: Differentiating Class Materials With Diffit (video) [https://www.edutopia.org/video/ai-tool-demo-differentiating-class-materials-with-diffit] * A Starter Kit for Differentiated Instruction [https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/starter-kit-differentiated-instruction/] * 4 Research-Backed Ways to Differentiate Instruction [https://www.nwea.org/blog/2024/4-research-backed-ways-to-differentiate-instruction/] * Actionable Assessment: A Step-by-Step Guide to Responsive Teaching and Student Growth [https://www.amazon.com/Actionable-Assessment-Step-Step-Responsive/dp/1032993995]

Helping Students Overcome the Forgetting Curve

Have you ever delivered a lesson and felt your students were acing it, only to revisit the same information a week later and realize hardly any of the new content stuck? You just came up against the forgetting curve—and lost. Our brains are hardwired to forget things unless we take active steps to remember. According to research, nearly half of new information—if not used right away—is forgotten within an hour of exposure. And if you wait a week, up to 90 percent fades into the mist. But that’s not inevitable. In this critical episode of School of Practice, high school teacher Cathleen Beachboard shares her top three strategies to help students remember what she’s just taught them. We’ll ask her how she weaves these strategies directly into the learning process as she works to “flatten the forgetting curve.” Related resources: * Learn more about this episode [https://www.edutopia.org/podcast/helping-students-overcome-the-forgetting-curve] * 3 Ways to Help Students Overcome the Forgetting Curve [https://www.edutopia.org/article/helping-students-overcome-forgetting-curve] * How to Engage Elementary and Middle School Students’ Memory Processes to Improve Learning [https://www.edutopia.org/article/how-engage-students-memory-processes-improve-learning] * Why Students Forget—and What You Can Do About It [https://www.edutopia.org/article/why-students-forget-and-what-you-can-do-about-it] * Making Retrieval Practice a Classroom Routine [https://www.edutopia.org/video/making-retrieval-practice-a-classroom-routine] (video) * Connecting Science to Problem-Solving in the Real World [https://www.edutopia.org/video/connecting-science-to-problem-solving-in-the-real-world] (video) * Finding the Retrieval ‘Sweet Spot’ for Students [https://www.edutopia.org/article/student-retrieval-sweet-spot] * Research: A New Look at Memory Retention and Forgetting [https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fxlm0001110]

How to Teach Students to Spot What’s Real, Fake—or Deepfake

Can your students spot what’s real and what’s AI-generated on TikTok and Instagram?  How about when they’re researching topics for humanities classes, gathering sources in social studies, and preparing for math assessments?  In this super-engaging lesson developed by science teacher Katie Coppens and researcher and former STEM teacher Andy Zucker, students become digital detectives, analyzing a set of videos and websites to determine what’s real, what’s been altered, and what’s just pure misinformation. ⁠ The catch? They can’t just guess. They have to be able to defend their conclusions with evidence. ⁠ Join us for this unmissable episode of School of Practice, we’ll walk through detailed lesson instructions, explore the best strategies for zeroing in on digital misinformation, and share all the resources you’ll need to teach this 60-minute lesson in your own classroom.  Related resources: * Learn more about this episode [https://www.edutopia.org/podcast/how-to-teach-students-to-spot-whats-real-fake-or-deepfake] * Real, Fake, or Deepfake? This Lesson Helps Students Decide [https://www.edutopia.org/article/teaching-students-identify-fake-videos/] * 5 Ways to Build Critical Literacy in the Age of AI [https://www.edutopia.org/article/teaching-media-literacy-age-ai] * What Fact-Checkers Know About Media Literacy—and Students Should, Too [https://www.edutopia.org/article/what-fact-checkers-know-about-media-literacy-and-students-should-too/] * Teaching Students to Evaluate Websites [https://www.edutopia.org/article/teaching-students-evaluate-websites/] * Helping Students Find the Truth in Social Media [https://www.edutopia.org/article/helping-students-find-truth-social-media] * Teaching Students to Analyze Fake News [https://www.edutopia.org/article/teaching-rhetorical-analysis-news] * Giving Students the Skills to Spot Fake News (video) [https://www.edutopia.org/video/giving-students-the-skills-to-spot-fake-news] * Evaluating Primary Sources Through a See, Think, Wonder (video) [https://www.edutopia.org/video/evaluating-primary-sources-see-think-wonder] * New Perspectives on Combating Misinformation [https://humanjourney.us/development/our-digital-world/new-perspectives-on-combating-misinformation/] * Research: People are More Susceptible to Misinformation with Realistic AI-Synthesized Images that Provide Strong Evidence to Headlines (2025) [https://misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/article/people-are-more-susceptible-to-misinformation-with-realistic-ai-synthesized-images-that-provide-strong-evidence-to-headlines/] * Research: Lateral Reading on the Open Internet: A District-Wide Field Study in High School Government Classes (2022) [https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fedu0000740] * Research: Students’ Civic Online Reasoning: A National Portrait (2021) [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/0013189X211017495] * www.katiecoppens.com [http://www.katiecoppens.com]  * Improvethengss.org [http://improvethengss.org]  * Video clip: Bobsled and Snowboarder [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PtF6qmY1OvVbqFZUFMsMYBoxsqDHl2EE/view?usp=drive_link] * Video clip: Deepfake Newscasters [https://drive.google.com/file/d/13QU61WtU5iZMocDv7fqRL8QN_ZhW53gJ/view?usp=drive_link] * Video clip: Waterskiing Squirrel [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gHdexDs0gOS8LEQi3w649on2kjB__fQU/view?usp=drive_link]