The last day of school is quickly approaching, and that means it’s time to plan for the last few days of the school year. You’ve finished the curriculum, handed in your students’ devices, and everyone is ready to start summer break. How will you fill those last few days? Don’t worry because I’ve got you covered. Check out these 7 fun and engaging end of the school year activities! Get everything you need to do all 7 activities in this bundle!
7 Fun and Engaging End of the School Year Activities
The last few days of school can be chaotic. Your students are full of energy and are counting down the hours to summer break. You’re trying to clean up your classroom and get everything on your to-do list done so you can head out the door on the last day of school and not look back until school is starting again.
These 7 activities will keep your students engaged as they reflect on the school year. They’ll even help you tackle some of the tasks on your to-do list!
#1 – Letters to Next Year’s Class
Your students will love giving advice to the students who will be in your class next year. Have them brainstorm their favorite things they did this school year to help the new student get excited on the first day of school.
They should also include some advice about what to do and what not to do in your class. You’ll love reading the tips they give your future students!
Put the letters in a safe place, and when you’re getting ready for the new school year, put one on each student’s desk. (If you will have more students next year, you can either have a few students write two letters or photocopy a few of them so you have one for each student.)
A fill-in-the blank letter template and publishing paper are included in the End of the Year Activities Pack.
#2 – Memory Book
Have your students think about their favorite parts of the school year. Over the last few days of school, have them answer questions about things they want to remember about this year.
Put one prompt on each page. They could write about their best friends, their favorite units, their biggest accomplishments, or anything else they don’t want to forget.
I also like to include a page for autographs in the memory book. That way, the students can remember who was in their class. You can write each of your students a special note on this page, too.
Get a ready-to-use memory book in the End of the Year Activities Pack.
#3 – Math Review Scoot
Allow your students to become the teachers as they plan a math review scoot game to practice everything they’ve learned in math this year.
Here’s how to play:
- Start by having each student write some math problems their classmates should be able to solve. Then, choose one or two questions from each student’s paper.
- Use them to create a scoot game by putting each question on a different piece of paper. Put the question cards around the classroom or on the students’ desks.
- Have your students move from one card to the next and solve the problems using what they remember from math class.
- Once your students have finished the scoot, check their answers by having the student who wrote the question become the teacher and explain how to solve it.
Get everything you need to set up the scoot game in the End of the Year Activities Pack.
#4 – Summer Book Recommendations
How many times have you had parents ask you to recommend some books their children could read over the summer? If it hasn’t happened to you yet, I’m sure you’ll get that question soon.
Rather than trying to come up with a list of books, why not have your students recommend their favorite books they read this school year?
Have each student choose a book they really enjoyed reading this year during independent reading time. They should complete a book recommendation form by telling the characters, setting, problem, and a few sentences that would make someone else want to read it (without giving away the ending).
Then, have your students give book talks to share the information with their classmates. This will get them excited about reading over the summer. You can do a book talk for one of your favorite books, too.
Finally, everyone should add their recommendations to a page that you can send home with the students. Just make enough copies of it so each student has one. That way, parents will have a list of books they can buy or check out at the library, and their children will have plenty of reading for the summer.
Get the book recommendation form and the page to send home with your students in the End of the Year Activities Pack.
#5 – Classroom Clean-Up Scavenger Hunt
Ready to tackle some of those things on your to-do list? Why not have your students help?
Create a classroom clean-up scavenger hunt. Make a list of all the things your students can do to help you clean up your classroom.
Here are some ideas:
- Empty their desks
- Clean up supplies
- Organize supplies
- Organize the classroom library
- Wipe down their desks
- Take things off the walls
Give your students a paper with different tasks on it. You can also add in some other activities to break up the work. For example, they could tell a friend why they’re glad they were in the same class this year.
Have the students complete the activities in any order they would like, and when they finish the scavenger hunt, give them a small treat.
Get a ready-to-use scavenger hunt in the End of the School Year Activities Pack. (It’s editable so you can add things from your to-do list.)
#6 – MINGO
End the school year with a fun game of MINGO. Your students will mingle with each other and try to fill in the boxes on the MINGO board.
Give each student a copy of the MINGO board. Have them walk around the classroom and ask their classmates the questions. They should see how many people they can talk to, and they should have a different classmate sign each box on the MINGO board.
Get the MINGO board in the End of the School Year Activities Pack.
#7 – End of the School Year Unlock the Box Mystery
This end of the year escape room is a fun way to wrap up the school year. (And it’s easy to set up!)
- Start by putting a surprise for each of your students inside a locked box.
- Put your students into groups, and give them the first clue.
- Use the included answer key to check each group’s answer, and give them the next clue when it’s correct.
- After the groups solve all four clues, they will get the code to unlock the box and get their surprise.
You can read more about how to set up an Unlock the Box Mystery in this post.
This is such a fun way to send your students off for summer break! Get the escape room by itself or buy the bundle and get all the activities you’ve read about in this post.
What Do You Think?
What are your favorite end of the year activities to do with your students?
Let me know in the comments below.
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