End of the Year Activities

My class does this activity as a welcome to next year's class. Take a 12x18 sheet of white construction paper and fold it into 6 boxes. Draw a picture in each box:
Side One:
1. Write "Welcome Back to School" in big, fancy letters.
2. Draw a picture of your favorite school lunch.
3. Illustrate a scene from your favorite library book. Include the title and author.
4. Draw a picture of your teacher.
5. Illustrate your favorite "special subject" (art, music, P.E., etc.)
6. Draw all of the school supplies that a student in your class needs.

Side Two:
1. Write one important class rule. Draw a neat border around it.
2. Write the word RESPONSIBILITY in fancy letters. Write a short poem about responsibility.
3. Write the word RESPECT in fancy letters, each letter in a different color. Make a border of words and phrases that describe what respect means to you.
4. Draw a picture of friends working together. Describe a time this year when friends working together had wonderful results.
5.Draw a picture of your school building. Include the school name and write the phrase "Home of _________".
6. Write the name of your favorite holiday. Draw a picture of one way we observed this holiday in class.

This idea is from Mailbox Magazine. We do it every year and the kids have fun with it. Break this into a 2 day assignment doing one side each day.

I'm not sure how involved you want to get, but at my school, all the first grade classes get together for Camp Rio Vista (Rio Vista is the name of our school). This happens the last week or so of school. We get the parents to donate money for Camp t-shirts, even. And each class gets to make a camp banner for their room. Some of us really go all out and pitch tents in our classrooms.

During the morning, we rotate the classes among activities in all the rooms... each teacher gets to choose a fun camp-type activity to do. I like to make bead necklaces. Other teachers do things like make wildlife dioramas, painting rocks, writing scary stories. We have five classes, and so it takes 3 days to get through the rotations, doing 2 classes a morning. This year, we're trying to pick fun social studies or science related things to do.

In the afternoon, we watch a movie and sing camp songs. On one morning of the week, we have a Water Day, where parent volunteers come in and help the kids rotate through 5 water activities, including a large wading pool, sponge and bucket relays, and things of that nature. We also have a barbecue, with parents donating money or food. Since we live on a (mostly dry) river, we also hike down to the river for an hour or so one morning.

Anyway, our camp is pretty involved and has taken years to evolve to its current point, but it's a tradition at our school. We always order large Camp shirts so that the kids can wear them when they get older. Going to Camp Rio Vista has become almost a rite of passage at our school.

You could probably do something along those lines on a smaller scale with your class, or with another class if they are so inclined. It's a lot of work and prep time, but it's so much fun for the kids.

One thing you could try is a brochure. Ask your students to recall some of the things they learned during the year. Explain to them that they are going to leave a memento for the class that will follow them. Each child will write some of the features 2nd grade (my grade) has to offer and put some of their personal tips for survival, as well as a tidbit about themselves. You could also ask them to include the best and worst things about 2nd grade, tools they'll need to succeed...you name it. You could give the students an 81/2" by 11" sheet of paper with the format you've created on it and allow them to fill in their thoughts and ideas. Then, let them decorate it as they choose. It would also be neat if a small snapshot of the writer were put on the cover. Maybe this could be a springboard for penpals the following year.

Hope this helps,

Joy

i do a few things at the end of the year to hang on to my students, but keep them learning (even if i'm not taking grades)

--i teach them "tough" stuff and let them know it's for older kids (i teach 6th). i do a short unit on shakespeare--we look at dress, class of the day, the Globe Theatre, impact of religion on politics. we read a few of his plays written in prose. (i try to pick shows that our local shakespeare theatre will produce this summer.) and in math we did some tough work with integers (positive and negative numbers) and algebra--i was teaching them "secrets" to help in the coming years.

--when i teach math (i didn't this year), i did many hands-on activities to extend where we were with probability.

--i have a spelling bee with all the words from the year (everyone copies them at their desk, even if they're not "up" or they are "out".)

--i have them answer surveys for me explaining--in detail--what their favorite subject was, why, least favorite, why, what they think i should do for/with the next year's class---this is oftentimes very beneficial for me to evaluate the year.

--i have them compete in groups for knowledge bowl:

math--every group has 1 minute to answer a question--questions cover measurement, concepts, vocab, geometry, basic computation, word problems.....and i keep track of points--after a couple hours (have done this for 1 hour for 2 days in a row)--the winning group receives a prize--pencils, giant paperclips, magnet for their locker...

--what about having your students right an essay or letter to the next student going to sit at his/her desk--what is some advice they will need, what will they love about this grade/class?

THE IMPORTANT THING IS TO KEEP THEM BUSY--KEEPING THE DAY IS CONSISTENT IS IMPORTANT TOO. GOOD LUCK.

I am new to fourth grade, too. One idea I saw last year was "Compliment Day." Have students write their names at the top of a piece of paper. Pass the paper to the student next to them. That student starts at the bottom and writes a one line compliment. Then they fold up the bottom of the paper, covering their words, and pass the paper to the next student. Each student can take home a page full of compliments at the end of the day.

Hi Jenny,
We too have an end of year open house. I collect extra staple pullers, and the parents stroll the room and take down their child's work from the walls! All their writing, notebooks and logs go home that night as well.
I do a tribute to each child, by collecting compliments and special little stories from the class on each child and share bits and pieces with the group. In addition, the families each bring in a dessert to share.
As for packets, I put together a small handout which consists of: suggested summer reading & a book list to record their titles, ideas for authentic mathematics problem solving, possibilities for writing & a mini notebook, and the high frequency words we've been working on in spelling.
We usually do a memories book, or a class tee shirt (parents pay for these and we make them in class, to be handed out that evening).
These activities are great ways to wrap up the year! Best of luck. ;-D

Writing-- I usually do a lot of writing in these days. We do reflection pieces adn a poem called "How I've Grown in Fourth Grade". I do this in couplets. We also write about our most memorable moments in paragraph form. These go into their folders for next year. They can do autobiographies and I compare them to the ones they wrote in the first week of school. Huge improvements!

Social Studies- I have them color maps. There are many little projects you can do. Have them color the state flag of a state and write all facts about that state (flower, motto, bird,, etc) I also do region postcards. They choose a state to write from and they have to tell info about that region/state and draw a picture on back. This assesses their knowledge of regions/states. Play state and capital games and puzzles.

Math- you can do a ton of games, centers and fun coloring sheets.

Reading- Book commercials. Have them choose their favorite book form the year and write a commercial for it. Kids have a blast doing htis and they can practice their presenting skills.
Choose a quick novel or stories from basal and do skill building activities, story maps or comprehension questions. Summarizing is always a good thing too.

here are some things that I am doing- hope they help!
1. a little yearbook-
a.I ran off "memories" page- funniest thing that happened this year, saddest, most embarrassing, etc.
b. We sat down together, me at the computer and had each child stand up one at a time, and the kids described that person and what they were like, and what they wished for them in the future.
c. had kids write their name at the top of a page of lined paper. they would pass it to the next student, that kid put their name in margin, and wrote down something nice about the paper's owner. Then pass to the next kid. When it returned to the owner, it has comments from everyone in the class.
d. I ran off on the copier a class picture, with arrows pointing to each kid with my little silly comments on it.
e. an empty page for autographs and another empty page for addresses and phone numbers.
f. ran all of this off and bind it for each kid.

2. On the last day, I fill water balloons with hot water before class in the morning. At the end of the day, we go outside, and every child gets before me, and we yell "have a great life" and I prick the balloon with a pin, and dump it over their heads. (I warn them before, so they bring towels and an extra t shirt, if they wish.) We then get on the buses, and it's a great final ritual, which they look forward to every year.
GOOD LUCK@!

Game Day: Think I got that here... kids bring in a game board, and you pack while they play. I couldn't believe how calm and nicely they played (and for how looooong!).

Summer Cleaning Day: OK- so it doesn't sound fun for us, but the kids love it. The key is in really putting a little time ahead of time to type a list for yourself of every job they could possibly help you with. You won't get to do too much, but a lot will get done.

Book Beach/Camp Learned-a-Lot/ Summer Sleepover: Those are all different themes we've brainstormed for the same basic idea that each teacher makes a review or memories activity for their room and the kids rotate through. Either all in one day or one each day for a week.

Tye Dying-- bandanas are fun and smaller than T-shirts!

Choice Awards: Hold a book awards ceremony with different categories of books throughout the year

Here are some of the things I am doing with my class:

1) Create a poster & written review for their favorite story from our reading curriculum. (You could also do this with field trips, special projects, etc.)

2) "Bubble Day" - we will spend a morning doing bubble related activities like building 3D shapes with toothpicks and gum drops and dipping them in bubble solution, "bubble art" where they blow bubbles into paint and press them on to paper, and some others.

3) 3rd Grade Jeopardy - I do this after every quarter as a review, and they love it - so this one is from the whole year. I have categories based on school subjects, but also fun ones like "People in the Class" or "Remember When".

4) We also do an "All About Me" book that is similar to the booklet the others are talking about.

5) I have been collecting food labels/containers/etc. for a project where the kids will read the labels to find out where their 5-10 items were made, then they will make a poster with a USA map in the middle and the labels glued around it with lines or string connecting where the items were made. It's just an interesting little project for them to do.

My favorite end of the year activity is Shaving Cream Spelling. I start by telling the students that we're just going to practice writing our spelling words on lined paper & that today's lesson is a little boring. They groan & I tell them to hang in there! After a few words I tell them to forget about the paper, let's just write the words on our desks with pencil. I'm make them swear not to tell the principal on me or I'd be in big trouble!! They are schocked that I'm actually allowing them to write on their desks! After a few more words I change my mind & tell them that maybe we're making too big of a mess. Then I take out a few cans of shaving cream & begin squirting it onto their desks. You'd think they'd dive right in, but they're hesitant to even touch it!! I quickly explain the rules (don't put it in your mouth, hair, etc...) and then we practice spelling our words into the shaving cream with our fingers. It's a fun lesson & the students love it. A few tips- if you rub the shaving cream too much into the desk it dissapears. I have 30 students and two cans is plenty. It easily wipes off with a wet sponge, leaves the desk tops clean, and your room won't smell like hot, stinky bodies!! HAVE FUN & take lots of pictures too!

I teach fifth grade, and my students are going on to middle school. One thing I had my students do, and I told them it would receive a language arts grade, was to write their memoirs of elementary school. We took their completed and typed memoirs and placed them into a memory book, along with photocopies of pictures of them that I was able to get of them during their elementary school years. We also took a class picture and made photocopies of it.

Another activity I do is have a math olympics. We have flash cards, estimation activities, competitions (how far they can jump in a standing broad jump, for instance), etc. I give out awards and prizes for these events. I would imagine that you could even give out gold medals (made of gold foil or paper) to the kids. I am giving out certificates for my student winners.

Another thing I do is have a spelling bee to determine who is the winning speller. I bring maybe five kids to the front of the room, then declare a finalist from that group. The next group comes up, then another group comes up until I have a group of finalists. The finalists compete against each other, and I declare a winner.

We are also going to make up our own wacky awards, following the academic awards that we have on Monday. The students can illustrate these and then "award" them to others.

Another thing we did, and this also went into our memory books, was write something that each student in the class typically said or did all year long. I wrote my examples down on the sheet, then I had them guess: "This student was known to say, 'Do we have to write that?' The kids had fun guessing who I was talking about, and they set out to write, then share their own.

I know another teacher who has her kids write complimentary things about each student in the class.

Another thing I do is have kids work for reading points. Although I have collected the reading books, and it's too late to begin a novel, I have the kids read short books and give them points for book reports and passing tests on them. On the last day, I'll probably award some candy for each ten points earned.

I like the idea of reading with the younger kids during those last days of school. This helps the older kids see how much they have learned, and they love helping the little kids.

Depending on your grade level you might be able to use or modify some of these ideas

- make a year end newspaper - highlighting events from the past year, etc.,
- have 5 theme days, beach, jungle, camping, popcorn, bubbles, science madness, backwards day, etc., Plan your day around these days with special foods, dressing up, music, etc., Even jr/sr high students can enjoy these types of days if you do the theme with them in mind. Instead of beach days, do a Caribbean theme.
- Field trips - if budgets are hard to come by, what about anything within walking distance.
- plant a garden for the school - flower beds, etc.,
- have a kite making day - there are some great sites on the web with instructions on how to make kites.
- have a paper airplane contest
- write a letter to the student who will be sitting in their desk next year. Have them tell about some of the things they enjoyed the most.
- For older students - have them research via newspaper, phone calls, the internet, a number of local attractions, summer events, day camps, etc., in your area that they can share with their classmates to give them ideas on things they might be able to do this summer. They could even make up a summer vacation brochure for the students to take home.

I have quite a few websites bookmarked on back to school ideas, if you are interested in them, just send me an email. I have some of those kite ones as well.

Hey! Hope some of these work for you:

1) Have the students write one good thing about all the others and type a list for each student. I'm sure you've heard that story before.

2) Make class T-shirts with the handprints of all students (teacher too if you like). We have a first grade teacher who does this every year.

3) There's a post on here somewhere that talks about making a DVD for the class. If you can find that, you might get some good ideas there.

4) You could make some kind of picture frame and put a class picture in it. If there was a mat, everyone could sign it too.

5) I still have a glass my 4th grade teacher gave us at the end of the year. It was a clear, tall glass and she painted a small picture, our name and the year on it.

Enjoy the rest of your year! :)
GG