The end of the school year is near! Do you have your last day/week activities all planned out for your class?! If not, we’re here to help.
Whether you want to stick to schoolwork and reviewing or you want to plan something a little more exciting for your kids, you’ll love these 10 fun and easy activities and ideas to end the school year with your class.
Make a Countdown Bulletin Board
Help your students countdown to the end of the year with a fun bulletin board like this one! Each day a different student will get their chance to pop a balloon and reveal how many days are left until Summer Break. This is a fun activity that will help that they can look forward to at the end of the day and an easy way for you to remind them to get their work in and keep on task.
Fill Up End of the Year Memory Bags
Have students reflect on their year by having them make memory bags. Here’s how it works. Give students a brown paper bag to decorate. You can choose to put your own reflects on the sides and back or have them decorate it with their own reflections from the year. Then, have them place 10 different items in the bag to represent the school year. Have them fill out a notecard for each item explaining the role it plays, and then each child will present their bag on the last day of school.
Host an Interactive Themed Day or Week
Make your reviews interactive and fun by turning them into a whole day or week of activities! Like camping week, market week, movie day, beach day, popcorn day, or surgery day! Use these themed days to incorporate and review skills that you have learned all year before you go into testing (or just as a general year-end overview). Your students will have so much fun they won’t even realize that they are practicing their new skills!
Write to Next Year’s Class
During the last week of school have your students get together to write letters or a “Survival Guide” for next year’s class. Have them write what the incoming class will learn, their favorite class activities, and everything they’ll get to do in your classroom. And then save all of the letters, or the guide, and give them to your class next year.
Make an End of the Year Backpack Book
These Backpack Books are the perfect End of Year activity to end your school year with a bang! This memory book fosters reflection and goal setting for your kids in science, reading, writing, math, social studies, and more. They can be displayed on a bulletin board in your classroom or door and sent home as a keepsake of their year.
Incorporate a Sweet Treat
Nothing beats an end-of-year lesson that includes some fun summer-inspired food or drinks! In this lemonade activity, your students will get to compare pink and yellow lemonade and make a graph chart on everyone’s favorite lemonade. After graphing, the students will brainstorm words to describe their favorite lemonade and then write opinion pieces about which lemonade they like best!
Host an Awards Ceremony
Celebrate each student in your classroom on the last day of school by hosting your own class awards ceremony (you could even decorate your classroom like a stage) and giving them their own special award. You have your students vote on who gets these awards or pass them out! The best part about these is they don’t have to be serious, you could make silly awards and pass them out and the students will still love them. Use these award certificates or make your own!
Play Friend BINGO
Have kids grab something to write with and then pass out an End of the Year Bingo sheet to each student. Make sure everyone knows the rules: children will find a classmate matching each description and write his/her name in the box. Kids can go ahead and fill in blanks they already know or they can wander around asking friends if they fit one of the characteristics. The first person to fill 5 in a row wins. Easy peasy and a great way for kids to get their last interactions in with their classmates!
Host a Minute To Win It Game Day!
Who doesn’t love playing games in class? Here’s a super fun and cheap way to host a game day in your classroom on the last day of school. Have your students compete against each other by playing these Minute To Win It games. You could even get prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. Host a tournament or just do games that students can move around the room and compete in one at a time.
Give Students a Year-End Surprise
Surprise your students on the last day of class with a “thank you for being in my class” gift. Some easy gift ideas include bubbles, goodbye stars, or slap bracelets. There no doubt that students also love snacks! Giving your students a little keepsake or treat at the end of the year will let them know that you care about them.
Need some more ideas for your hybrid or remote students? Try these fun Zoom games!
Congratulations on completing another school year. Enjoy your summer!
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