How To Plan A Student Showcase

Does your school do a student/academic showcase in the spring? We have always done one and we called it Open House. Each year our grade level picks a theme and we do projects to represent most content areas. Want an easy plan to follow while you prepare for your student showcase?

Pick a theme

• Past themes we have done: Safari, Rainforest, Fairy Tales, and Space. (We try to keep the same theme for a few years, so all of our hard work and planning can be used more than once.) This year I am doing Space.

Make your plan

• Here is a FREE plan you can use to plan your student showcase.

• In the plan you have all of your subject areas and I try to find an activity for each. (I find most of these ideas from Pinterest.)
• Here is what mine looks like for the space theme.
• I like to map out my room to see where these projects are going to go. I use blank paper and draw my boards and a big desk. As I find the projects, I write them on the board that I am putting them on.
• Okay 2 ways you can get ready.
  • 1 week before the student showcase you can put everything up and have a WOW factor.
  • The second way, and the one I do, is to put them up as they are done. If it is something that they are going to have on their desk I put it in a big tote and keep it in the closet/office area. This way student can see their art and projects throughout the month and will be able to find and explain it to their parents immediately.

Try to do one project a week for about 2 months then you can take your time and they can do a good job. If you don’t have that kind of time, you can do 2 a week. I do not like to cut out skills I need to teach to do projects. Find projects that go with the skills we are teaching, so it is a true representation of what we are doing in class.

I also have their reading book that we read that week to put on their desk. One thing they must do is sit down and read it to their parents.

• If you have special teachers you might want to see if they would like to do some projects for it. Our art teachers were excited to be included!

Teach

• Put a date or week next to each project while you are looking at your curriculum map to see where the projects/activities fit in best.
• TEACH them and have fun! You will need to explain to them about the student showcase and how they need to do their best work! I do not want a bunch of projects that they don’t know a lot about or they can’t read. BE PATIENT. This is easier to do when you don’t feel rushed, that’s why I shoot for 2 months.
• As they turn in projects, I check off their name on a checklist. If a student is absent, I DO NOT have them make it up. If they are here then, I know they need to finish it.

Getting Ready (the week of)

• Start getting the projects up on the wall if you haven’t already.
• Make a checklist (Here is mine)- This allows students and parents to have a guide on what to do.
• Estimation jars and snacks are always fun! For the space theme, I am doing guess how many Starbursts are in the jar and the winner gets to take home the jar of Starbursts! They put their guess at the bottom of their checklist and turn it in when they are done. Get a $ Tree jar and some extra Starbursts. You will need a box or basket for them to turn in their checklist. I make a tag, so they know.
• For snacks I am doing Sun Chips, Moon pies, and Starburst on the sign-in table. This is not necessary, but so fun!
• Clean the clutter out of your room! There will be a lot of people in your room, and if you can move your clutter somewhere else until it is over.
• Make a welcome sign for your sign-in table.
• Fun thing for kids to wear saying they are the tour guide. (For the space theme they will wear NASA name tags on yarn with their picture on it.)

The Day Of The Showcase!!!

• Sometime during the day explain what will happen that night when they come with their parents. I go over the rules and expectations of them and their siblings! I ask them to play teacher and help their family with the rules of our classroom, they LOVE this!
• Take out the activities in the tub that are going on their desk. I sit at the front of the room and call their names out and they put everything on their desk. I show them an example of a neat and tidy way to do it, but it is their showcase and I want it to reflect THEM. You can also put these in a folder and have them decorate the cover.
• Do a couple of run-throughs! The parents will be with them and will prompt them through the checklist, but it’s still good to have them practice so they can find their activities around the room. DO NOT have them write down a guess from the estimation jar.
  • If they can’t find their project, I have them put an AB (absent) next to it or you can them cross it off. This helps during the showcase and parents are asking about where something is.
• PUMP it up! Tell them how excited and proud you are and that they will have a great time tonight showing their parents what they can do!

Student Showcase Night!

I tend to wear the theme of the night! For our theme this year, I will wear a moon phases t-shirt! This is not about YOU it is about the kids!

Have fun and be welcoming to the families. I do not talk about how they are doing or if there are any problems. Just say this is their night, I’d be happy to have a meeting with you next week to discuss their progress. Walk around and make small talk and smile A LOT!

The next day we reveal how many Starbursts were in the estimation jar and read through the guesses!!  They are so excited to see who won.

Welp, there you have it! This is how the student showcase every year. Each year I find something new on Pinterest or something that my class was particularly interested in that year and add it in. This plan will get you started TODAY on planning your student’s special night!