End of the Year School Ideas

I am not sure about you, but we are absolutely in shock that the end of the school year is already approaching!  It is crazy how slow, but fast the days and weeks seem to go. We were just coming back from Christmas break and now we are in the middle of May!  
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If you are anything like Meg and I, we are working hard at finishing up any content that we would like the students to have access to, but we are also figuring out fun activities and ideas on how we can make the end of the year special for this group of students!  What we thought we would do is compile a list of different end of the year ideas that we have done that you might also be able to use with your students!

Ideas

Review Relays:  It is exactly what it sounds like!  We utilize the playground or school soccer field for this one.  We set up different relay races using any content that we have gone over throughout the year.  We stick to mostly math, science, and social studies content for the races. Even some simple math flash cards or vocabulary terms would be a good start!​

Picnic at the Park:  This one you can get families involved!  We like to celebrate students’ hard work at the end of the year.  One way we do that is by taking them to one of the parks in our local community for a long lunch.  Students pack a sack lunch, or their parents can meet us at the park with lunch. We play, we eat, and we have a great time!  If the weather takes a turn for the worse, we set up our classrooms for a picnic and play board games instead. ​

Movie Premier:  Lights, Camera, Action! Roll out the red carpet!  We have students create a video of different things that they have learned throughout the year.  Their video has to meet certain criteria (rubric/checklist), but it is fun to let them have some creative freedoms!  We then have a big movie premier where we show all students’ videos, complete with movie theater popcorn.  ​

Memory Books:  Every year we like to give students a memory book to work on through the last two weeks of school.  It gives them a chance to reflect on their year and it is fun to see what resonated with the students throughout their year.  Click the link to see what we use from TPT. ​

TPT Memory Book

Summer Bucket Lists:  These are always fun to do with students to see what they have planned for the summer and what crazy things that they’d like to do.  As the teacher, fill one out too!  Students love reading about what you will be up to during the summer as well.  Click the button for a free activity. ​

Summer Bucket List

Meet the Teacher:  For this activity, you would need to collaborate with the grade level above/below you, or you could propose to do it school wide.  With this, students get 30 min on one of the last days of school to meet their upcoming teacher for the next school year. Teachers have a little activity for the students to participate in, getting them excited for the next year.  ​

Escape Room: Escape rooms are so much fun!  It definitely gives students a challenge.  You can do escape rooms either digitally or in the actual classroom.  Escape rooms are another great way for students to review skills and content that were taught throughout the year. If you are looking for more specific escape room ideas, go check out Matt Miller’s website!  He has a ton of digital escape room ideas for any classroom. ​

Digital Escape Room Blog

Themed Days: (Beach Day, Camping, etc.) Turn your classroom into a summer getaway!  Students can bring in beach towels, sleeping bags, flashlights, sunglasses, etc. to go with whatever theme you choose.  Students can spend time reading in the sun or under the stars.  ​

Minute to Win it Games (just for fun):  Is there much academic content happening with this…no. Probably not. But it sure is fun!  What a fun way to send your kids into the summer!   

Dear New __ Graders: (students writing/creating video for next year’s class) Students create either a writing or technology piece for the upcoming class. Your current students give the upcoming class advice on how to make their year successful, fun things that they will get to do, challenges that they had to overcome, and some of their favorite memories from the year. ​

Letter to Upcoming Students

What are some of your favorite EOY activities?

As you head into the summer and start looking into the next school year, don’t hesitate to get a hold of us at [email protected] or follow us on any of our social media platforms; Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, @IntegratEDk12 for any questions, PD opportunities, or coaching.

Also, for more individualized and in depth learning on multi-subject integration in the classroom, check out the upcoming IntegratED Cohort starting August 2022! LIMITED spots are available and beginning to fill up!  Don’t miss out on AMAZING guest speakers and innovative learning that will help you jump start your next school year!  ​

IntegratED Cohort

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Two teachers for teachers,
​                             Kara and Meg