The Last Fifteen

The last fifteen minutes can be stressful time. How do you quickly and quietly get everyone packed up without losing your mind? Every year I must adjust this for the class I have. Here are some of the things I use and have used in the past.

How To Start It

The most important thing is to teach the expectations slowly. At least 2 weeks of you having them pack up the way you want them to step by step. Every time someone does the wrong step or it’s too loud. You have them redo it. I know this seems like a bit much and time-consuming, but it makes it a routine and allows them to practice the right way, so the rest of the year can run smoothly.

You will have to plan out how you want them to pack up. In my classroom, I want them to grab their mailbox first and then put it at their desk. Then they organize their papers and put them in the right pocket in their folder. After that, they grab their backpack and put their things away. Finally, they stack their chairs, clean up their table, and come to the carpet.

Freeze Pack Up

There are thousands of freeze dance songs on YouTube that you can play, and they can pack up. My kids love this, but sometimes the kids that take the longest to pack up get distracted by this, so I have to watch and redirect them. During this game, the students start on the carpet, and I call tables one by one to pack up. This keeps the other students engaged until it is their turn. Danny Go is a great option.

Music

Same as above, but it is just a song. I love to play popular kids’ movie songs that most of them know.

Quickest and Quietist

We have one group go at a time and I time how fast they can pack up quietly. I write down the times and if they pack up in the wrong order or forget something the whole class will chime in. The group with the fastest time wins! This could be a candy, sticker, dojo, group trophy, or whatever you want.

Mystery Science Mini Videos

My kids love these! I used to have Mystery Science, but the school I am at doesn’t have it anymore. You can still find a ton of the mini videos for free on YouTube. I have the students sit on the carpet and watch the video. Every few minutes I will call groups to pack up. The trick is to start calling them to pack up after about 3 minutes. If they are invested, they will quickly pack up.

Brain Break

Some of my kid’s favorites are the runs from netflexkids.com. They also love Danny Go, and desk drumming.

Boys vs. Girls

Just like it sounds! You can also do class vs. class. If you have a teacher bestie you can vs. her class. We will both pack up and time our class. We call each other and see which class did it the fastest.

Mystery Trash

This is more of a teacher hack for cleaning. After they are packed up, I will walk around and pick something out that is trash on the floor. I will set a timer for 1 minute and they will pick up as much trash as they can. When the timer goes off, I tell them what the mystery trash is and if they have it, they come to me for a prize!

Find out what your class loves and try that at the end of the day. If you have anything to share then comment below! Need more?

The first 30 minutes of the day

Transitions