When summer comes around, students stop worrying about school and go out to do their own thing. This often leads to students forgetting everything that they had learned the year prior. In order to stop this from happening, it is best to give the students an assignment over break. This gives the students something to keep their brains going and get them prepared for their class next year. It is more beneficial for the teachers to make an assignment for the students. They can assign what the students need to specifically learn, use a rubric so it could be easier for the students to do it and the teacher to grade, and set a challenge for the students to accomplish.

There are many concepts that you could learn in a specific subject; giving students the ability to choose any would not be very helpful. The students could pick a concept that do not matter as much as others, or they could pick the one they find the easiest so they would not have to try as hard as they should. The teacher, however, knows what the class is like and what their past students had a hard time on, so they can assign the next students something that would help them understand the concept before they start the class. Since most students do their summer assignments closer to the end of their break, they would most likely remember it when the concept comes later on in the year. They could also keep the assignment so they could use it to study later on. If the teacher knows which concept to use, then they could requirements for the students to reach.

With a concept chosen for the students, teachers can set guidelines and a rubric for them. The rubric can show the specific points that the students need to reach to make sure that they are doing what they are suppose to be doing. It could also help them understand what they have to do so they are not left in the dark. With the rubric, students would know when it is a good time to stop. This would stop them from doing too much unnecessary work. For example, I was given a rubric for an English essay. I was able to use the rubric to understand what I had to exactly do in the essay. If i was not given the rubric, I could have done the assignment completely wrong and not the way the teacher wants it. I could see what the teacher wanted from me, so I did not have to guess what she wanted and stopped before I was doing too much. This also helped her grade other essays since she can just go down the rubric and see if they completed the requirements. The set requirements could also set a difficulty for the students.

The activities that students participate in during the summer often do not require much thought. They had just completed several months of studying, doing homework, and going through tests. They would not be studying for a class that they are not in yet. This leads to them not thinking as much as they should, so the teacher could give them something that could be challenging for them to keep their brains going. The student could easily cut corners so they would not have to try, but the teacher can set a challenge for them to make sure they are well prepared for the class. Since the students will most likely procrastinate right before school begins, it could be used as a warm up for the class. With the set challenge, the students would be able to know what the class is like and if they should switch out or stay in before school begins.

Students can be lazy at times, so the teacher giving them something to do is far more helpful. Since they are still young, the students might not try to push themselves as much as they should. The teacher knows what is in the class and give the students something that would be helpful for them. The requirements that the teachers set would help the students know what they should be doing and wasting time on useless things. A challenge can also help keep their brains going and understand what they are getting themselves into if they do the class. Students often do not know what is best for them, so teachers need to help get them where they need to be and push them more if they believe that the student can handle it. The teachers, most of the time, knows what is best for their students to succeed.