As the school year wanes, how do you get—and keep—students’ attention? One tactic many teachers use to great success is independent learning. In last week’s slowchat hosted by teachers Lyndsay Nottingham and Sarah Thomas, we asked for the ways in which you give your students independence during the last weeks of the school year. Read on for 10 of the Teacher2Teacher community’s responses and share your own in the comments below.

1. 1. “We created a student design competition and completely let students run the show! They’ll amaze you if you let them!”—@1to1Brian
   2. “Let students write and present a literary critique on THEIR favorite book.”—@hwallace29
   3. “I added a weekly #makerspace hour & the energy in my class changed. Students began seeking answers to questions of their own!”—@elena_SF_CA
   4. “How? Integrate social media with PBL [project-based learning]—it not only places students in center but enhances collaboration, engagement, shared knowledge.”—@HJBrent
   5. “Build-a-chapter units that allow them to pick the activity of their choice to reinforce in-class learning.”—@OHSHistory101
   6. “1. Use their experiences to exemplify content. 2. Ask them to personalize what they are learning.”—@stephwurking
   7. “I think the key lies in working WITH students. Give students choice, & read/think/create beside them.”—@_readreadwrite
   8. “‘See three before me.’ Promote a growth mindset as often as possible. Build a spirit of collaboration and celebration.”—@RockwellVicki
   9. “Allow the students to lesson plan and teach an objective. Use a rubric to grade #studentcenteredlearning.”—@sciencedtechwiz
   10. “Provide students with a voice in decisions, allow for choice in ‘how’ they produce, be willing to negotiate.”—@MrsDevora

Don’t miss this week’s slow chat on #whyiteach—use #T2TChat to join in the conversation with hosts Lyndsay Nottingham and Sarah Thomas. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter if you don’t already!