It happens every year.
It’s the first week of August. You’re sitting down with your
curriculum map, your coffee, and so much optimism… and you know
you had a brilliant idea back in May.
A better way to teach factoring.
A fix for that one lesson that always falls flat.
A system that was finally working.
And now?
Gone.
I used to think this was just me, but I’ve come to realize
it’s something I call “Summer Brain.” By the time August rolls around,
the details of what worked (and what didn’t) fade fast.
But here’s the ironic part:
Right now—May—is when your teaching instincts are the sharpest. The pain
points are fresh. The wins are clear. You know exactly what needs to
change.
So before you close your laptop for the summer, I want you
to take 15 minutes to do something your August self will be incredibly grateful
for.
1. Do a Quick “Ditch or Switch” Lesson Audit
Think about the lessons that just didn’t land this year.
You know the ones:
- The
lesson that felt like pulling teeth
- The
topic that got a sea of “Wait… I don’t get it” faces
- The
activity that created more grading than learning
Maybe it was factoring trinomials.
Maybe transformations.
Maybe piecewise functions.
Instead of just thinking, “Ugh, that lesson was rough,”
take it one step further.
👉 Write down why
it didn’t work.
Was it:
- Too
many steps at once?
- Too
much grading?
- Too
many loose papers?
- Not
enough engagement?
That “why” is everything.
Because once you know the problem, the fix becomes obvious.
Sometimes it’s as simple as shifting the format—something more interactive,
more structured, or something that gives students immediate feedback instead of
waiting on you to grade everything.
2. Capture the “Magic Moments”
Now for the fun part—what worked.
Think about the days when your classroom felt different:
- A
little louder (in a good way)
- Students
actually leaning in
- Conversations
happening without you forcing them
What were students doing?
Were they:
- Working
together?
- Competing?
- Moving
around the room?
- Getting
instant feedback?
Most of the time, those “magic moments” have a few things in
common:
- Clear
goals
- Built-in
accountability
- Some
level of gamification or challenge
But here’s the key—don’t just write down the activity.
👉 Write down the vibe.
Because in August—during those first-week nerves—you’re not
just trying to remember what you did.
You’re trying to recreate how it felt.
3. Fix One Tech or Organization Headache
Every teacher has those little logistical annoyances that
slowly build up over the year.
Not big enough to fix in the moment…
But annoying enough that they definitely should be fixed.
Maybe:
- Your
Google Classroom got messy
- Students
couldn’t find links
- You
had no easy way to track who finished what
- Digital
activities felt scattered
Instead of overhauling everything, just pick one system
to improve.
Something small, like:
- Creating
a consistent folder structure from Day 1
- Organizing
digital activities into weekly routines
- Setting
up a simple way to track completion
For me, one of the biggest shifts was deciding:
“Next year, everything goes in a clearly labeled weekly
folder from the very beginning.”
It sounds simple—but those small systems make a huge
difference over time.
A Note to Your “Future You”
Before you move on to summer mode, do this:
Grab a sticky note.
Open a Google Doc.
Start a note in your phone.
And jot down:
- One
lesson to ditch or fix
- One
moment to recreate
- One
system to improve
That’s it.
You don’t need a full plan.
You just need a starting point.
Because when August comes (and it will, quickly), you won’t
be starting from scratch—you’ll be picking up right where your best thinking
left off.
And if one of your “ditch” moments involved a lesson that
was a grading nightmare or hard to manage, it might be worth exploring ways to
make that part of your day a little lighter next year—something that keeps
students engaged and gives you your time back.
You’re almost at the finish line.
Let’s make sure next year’s starting line is a whole lot
easier to find.