Are you ready for the end of the year? Believe it or not, there are only a dozen or so weeks left of school left (depending on where you live, of course!). If you haven’t started thinking about end of the year activities yet, the ideas below will certainly jump start your creativity. These ideas are classroom tested by some of our Really Good Teachers!
End of the Year Ideas
Memory T-Shirts
“As the school year comes to a close, all the second-grade teachers ask each of their students to bring in a white T-shirt,” explains Heather, a 2nd Grade Teacher from Marlborough, MA. “We invite parent volunteers to help paint students’ hands with fabric paints and make handprints on each T-shirt. This print process takes two days: one day for the shirt fronts and one for the shirt backs. On Field Day, we have the kids wear their memory T-shirts to school so we can take a class picture for all to enjoy and remember.”
Picture Perfect Postcard
The summer mail never stops for Mary, a 3rd Grade Teacher from St. Louis, MO! “On the last day of school I give my students a stamped postcard with my name and address on it,” she says. “I tell them to mail the postcard back to me to let me know what they are doing throughout the summer. I love getting the postcards and learning what my students are up to. I write each student back, sometimes from a special destination such as a vacation spot. I enjoy the fact that my postcard activity keeps my kids – and me – writing when we’re on vacation from school.”
Friend-ly Yearbooks
“At the end of the year we make friend books for each student,” explains Kerri, a 1st Grade Teacher from Long Lake, MN. “We use blank hardcover books and title them “My First-Grade Friends.” We meet with each child and ask them to dictate a few lines about each classmate. We title each page “This is my friend” and have the child dictate about four or five sentences about each classmate. The children draw and color an illustration of each classmate. I glue a picture of the class in the back of each book and leave a few pages blank at the end for autographs.”
Teacher Trivia Scavenger Hunt
“Here’s a great writing activity designed to let students get to know you better,” says Deborah, a 5th Grade Teacher from Frankfort, IL. “Begin by preparing a list of clues to knowing you, such as, Where did I attend college? How many family members do I live with? What is my favorite flower? What is my favorite book? What warm-weather vacation spot did my family and I visit last summer?, etc. Tell children to hunt around the room for physical clues you provided (e.g., photos, post cards, artifacts, etc.) to answer each question. Once students have completed their investigation, invite them to use their answers to write descriptive paragraphs introducing you to next year’s class.”
What do you do to celebrate the end of the school year with your students? Share with us!
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Julie says
Celebrate the end of the year with conferencing with each child about how much they have grown. Help them build their portfolios with Where I started…Where I ended…