20 End-of-School-Year Classroom Activities for Teachers

May 15, 2023

The signs of the year-end — mild weather, classroom cleanups, and assessment tests — can make everyone at school long for summer break. However, there’s still time to reflect on the year, create memories and have fun.

Here are 20 end-of-the-year classroom activities to consider incorporating into your last few days of school.

1. Start a Graffiti Bulletin Board
If you’ve started to remove decorations from the walls, a graffiti board can be a way to brighten your classroom. All you need is bulletin board decorations and permanent markers. Encourage students to sign the wall and add a quote, favorite memory, or their plans for the summer.

2. Take a “Field Trip”
During the last few days of school, take your class on an in-school field trip. Let younger students visit the classroom they’ll be in next year. Or use classroom decorations to turn your room into the beach. Set up beach chairs and have students come in shorts (if they’re allowed). Tell them to bring in beach towels so they can relax on the “sand” and read.

3. Provide a Writing Prompt About Summer Plans

Students looking forward to the summer may enjoy writing about their summer plans. Assign a writing prompt about their vacation activities or bucket lists. This allows students to share the news about camp, getting a puppy, or improving their baseball skills. Allow a few students to share their stories with the class.

4. Hold a Scavenger Hunt
Plan an interactive scavenger hunt in your classroom. Start by printing worksheets with lists of fun activities and give them to your students. In this scavenger hunt, children go around the classroom interviewing each other instead of finding objects. The goal is to figure out who has done which activities.

5. Put Together an End-of-Year Playlist
Compile an end-of-year playlist from songs recommended by students. Include music that represents memories from the school year. Examples include songs played at school games, at band recitals, or from a field trip to a play. Include pop music, too, if the lyrics are appropriate.

6. Plan a Year-End Party
Don’t let a perfectly good playlist go to waste. Plan a year-end party and let your musical memories play in the background. You can also dance, play games, enjoy treats, and sign yearbooks.

7. Compose a Class Video
Make a video from photos taken throughout the year. Interview students about their favorite memories of the year and include that footage. Teens can take part in the production, adding captions and music. If you made a class playlist of favorite songs from the year, you could use it in the class video.

8. Plan Theme Days
If you think your students (and their parents) are up to it, choose a different theme for each day of the last week of school. Some ideas include:

• School colors day. Students wear the colors of their school.
• Inside-out day. Students come to school with their clothes inside out.
• Silly hat day. Students come to school with silly hats.
• Pajama day. Students come to school in their PJs.

9. Create Custom Portfolios
With a little planning, you can create a keepsake that preserves a student’s art and shows their progress throughout the year. Collect samples of a student’s art, writing, and other classwork and save them in a binder for each student.

Parents can see their child’s work and academic growth during the school year. If parents come for a special event, have students present their portfolios.

10. Host an Awards Ceremony
Before you say goodbye to your class, plan an awards ceremony to let them know you think they’re outstanding. Give awards for achievement, character, and effort.

You can give awards for categories such as the “kindness award”, the “math whiz award”, the “rockstar reader award”, and the “spectacular speller” award. You can print the awards on certificate paper to make them look official. Younger students may enjoy getting rewards stickers for every honor.

Consider involving parents in what is likely the last activity they’ll attend this school year.

11. Review Lessons Learned
Most teachers spend time at year-end reflecting on what went well and what needs work. But they don’t always get the student’s perspective on the year. Consider hosting a group activity where students discuss what they learned, what they liked, and where they struggled. Review the feedback and use it to tailor next year’s lessons.

12. Prepare Classroom and Materials
Declutter, clean, and organize your classroom. To avoid a last-minute rush, gather your cleaning products and begin going through cabinets when you return from spring break. Much of this process involves purging or sending extra materials home with students. But you might need to stock up on key school supplies to get through the final weeks.

13. Write Letters
The beauty of this exercise is that it doesn’t require any preparation for you or your students. Have students write a letter. They could write to themselves, looking back at the past year and ahead to the future. A second option is to write a note to the new students coming into class the next year, including encouragement and advice. Or ask your class to write thank-you notes to teacher aides, office staff, parent volunteers, or other students.

14. Compile a Memory Book
Have each student make a page recording their favorite things from the year, such as memories, events, or lessons. Compile a book and make copies for each student. Older students can use a shared file to make the book online using Google Slides or Microsoft PowerPoint.

15. Make a Meme
Here is an activity that teens and tweens will enjoy. Have them choose a photo and create a meme. For an added twist, target the memes to next year’s students. One example from the internet shows a toddler girl crying at the beach with the headline “When you realize summer is over.”

16. Brainstorm Summer Activities
Have your class brainstorm summer activities they might do. Be sensitive to the fact that some families can’t afford camps, vacations, and travel teams. Have your brainstorm focus on free activities — like finding new bike paths or reading five new books — rather than things like going on extravagant trips.

17. Try Student Teaching
For a change of pace, let the students teach the class. When reviewing materials before a test, let a group of students lead the review of one topic. Another option is to have students create a lesson on a topic they’re interested in. It doesn’t have to be an academic area. A talk on housebreaking a puppy or improving your jump shot can appeal to the class.

18. Make a Toast
This fun activity lets students practice public speaking in a low-stakes setting. Provide juice or lemonade and plastic cups. Briefly explain how to propose a toast and recommend topics like goals for next year, a special memory, or well-wishes for their classmates. Have each student make a toast, then raise your glasses and celebrate the end of the school year.

19. Share Resources for the Next School Year
At year-end staff meetings, share templates, best practices, and classroom teaching resources with each other. Make a digital folder and file lesson plans and teaching materials where other teachers from your school can access them.

20. Take Time for Self-Care
Teaching is an intense job, and the crush of year-end activities can make it more stressful. Practice self-care techniques to keep calm and avoid burnout. These include:

• Setting boundaries
• Mindfulness practices, like meditation
• Looking for moments of gratitude and joy
• Regular exercise

Say Goodbye to the School Year
As you head off to a well-deserved break, reflect on what went well during the year and what you’ll change. Consider your lesson plans, classroom setup, teaching tools, and technology. While it’s fresh in your mind, consider the teacher supplies you’d like to help your classroom run smoothly for the next year. Then, say goodbye to the school year and hello to summer.

About the Author
Lauren Jiles-Johnson is a tutor, mentor, and board president of Waukegan to College, a college-readiness organization in Waukegan, Illinois. Waukegan to College helps fifth- to 12th-grade students achieve their dream of being the first in their families to attend college.

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