As students countdown the final days of the 2024 school year (as you are probably doing too), it’s time to think about fun end-of-the-year activities to do with your students. Many teachers have great ideas they’ve already used in prior years, however, newer teachers might be curious to discover tried-and-true activities used by colleagues.
ThinkFives was impressed with the creativity in the activities we reviewed and it was tough to narrow it down to a Top 5 List. But we have! And as an added bonus, we have included Honorable Mentions at the end of the post with an additional 5 activities.
Photo booth
Create and record the best memories for your students! All you need is a big piece of paper, or fabric, as the background. Prepare some props such as hats, scarves, and signs. (You can make the props with students too! Make something that is meaningful to the students – maybe make a sign of the class or something about a funny inside joke of the class?) After that, all you need is a camera!
People of the year
Select the “people of the year” for different topics with the class! They can be students from your class, teachers, school staff, or even the historical figures they learned about in history classes or their favorite celebrities! Ask the students to elect the people of the year, then draw portraits and write a summary about why they’re selected as the people of the year.
Time capsule
Have students write a letter to their future self. You can set up a time with the class when they gather back and open the letters together. Ask students to write about their aspirations and dreams, and write about who they want to become someday. Most importantly, write something to support, encourage, and motivate their future selves!
Make a keepsake
A keepsake is one of the best ways to record memories! It can be a simple craft, such as a friendship bracelet or tie-dye t-shirts that will remind students of their memories in school, with friends when they see the keepsakes. Another option is to make a keepsake for the summer, such as a DIY umbrella or frisbee. Students can also make keepsakes as gifts for their friends and family.
Oscar red carpet
Have students organize an “Oscar” event. Give awards such as “best classroom moments of the year,” “best book of the year,” etc. Make students give Oscar-style speeches where they share anything they learn this year, their favorite classroom moments, and show appreciation to the teachers and the class. You can even let the students dress up! (You can also hold a celebration after this – prepare food, drinks, and snacks to celebrate the end of the year!)
Honorable Mentions
Thank You Notes
Every kid should learn to thank their parents, teachers, school staff, and class for the wonderful school year! Have the students write thank you notes or letters to whoever they want to – writing about how they made their school year special and unforgettable. (Teachers can also write thank you notes to students too! It would be a heartwarming moment for both of you!)
End of year reflections
There are many ways to achieve this “end of year reflections.” Some examples include having an end-of-year graffiti wall, making an end-of-year book as a class, writing end-of-year notes individually and pasting them into a wall, etc. You can have students write about anything – their favorite moments of the year, meaningful lessons they learned this year and more. It’s also great to have pictures or paintings on your end-of-year project!
Plan a vacation
Summer/winter break is coming! Students must be so excited to travel with their family and friends during the break. Have students design their dream vacation with an assigned budget. Ask them to plan out the places they want to visit, and keep track of every fare, including airfare, gas money, food, hotel, etc.
Create a Graffiti Wall
From Minds-in-Bloom
Put up some light-colored butcher paper on the wall and have markers available for students to write about their favorite memories of the year, shout-outs for their classmates, and summer plans. This is a quick and easy way to temporarily decorate walls you have stripped for the last few days of school.
Sidewalk Chalk-O-Rama
From Minds-in-Bloom
Get a large bucket of sidewalk chalk and hit the playground. Students could draw memories from the past year, write shout-outs for friends and staff members, or just draw for the pure joy of creating something.
My students always love making memory books. This year we will be doing the stuffed animal Olympics before the last day, too! 🧸
These are great! 👏👏