7 Fun Activities for the Last Days of School- I think most of us by the end of the school year are just done….simply done. Students are “theoretically” finished with testing, so they are itching to leave for summer break. Teachers look exhausted and are scrambling for something to engage students. Principals seem like they are holding on by a thread. And parents….well, they know that they will have to figure out something for their kids to do for the next two to three months.
Because of this special time of the year, teachers know that introducing something completely new is probably NOT the best idea. We want to keep students learning and growing, but to start a new book or research project just may be too much for the last days of school.
So let’s just take a slow, steady breath and think…How can we help our students the most?
Of course! They can do what we as teachers do at the end of every school year. They can reflect on the past year: what they have learned, how they have grown, and what they can plan to do for the summer! Keep reading about 7 Fun Activities for the Last Days of School!
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7 Fun Activities for the Last Days of School
1. My Summer in Social Media
This Digital End of Year Activities Pack can help your middle and high school students as they close out the year in the physical classroom or in distance learning! They learn to reflect on their summer dreams and real-life scenarios by creating social media posts based on their ideal and/or realistic summer(s)!
Create a SOCIAL MEDIA POST based on your IDEAL SUMMER or REALISTIC SUMMER! Let’s be honest; they can be completely different! Be sure to consider the following in these Fun Activities for the Last Days of School:
- people
- hashtags
- setting
- actions
- headline
- comments
- description
- etc.
Click here for Fun Activities for the Last Days of School >>>> My Summer in Social Media Digital Pack!
Do you want some additional ideas for the end of school? Check out>>>11 Fun End of Year Activities for Middle School and High School Students
2. My Summer Goals
As teachers, we set goals all of the time. And I don’t know about you, but I even make goals for my summer, winter, and spring breaks. Whether it is reading a book, developing lesson plans, or looking to the next state reading test, I am always looking for ways to improve how I teach during those last days of school. One way you could get your students thinking about the summer and making good use of this time is to help them set goals?
PROMPT: During the summer, we tend to relax, kick up our feet, or just plain sleep. After a while, our days can get boring or repetitive. The summer, however, can be more than that. Think about some ways you can grow emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually over the summer. List 1 or more goals in each category and explain how you might achieve each goal. Use specific examples to support your ideas!
*You could help your students brainstorm as a whole group, in pairs, or independently. Definitely show the teacher examples for inspiration as well in the My Summer Goals Worksheet!
My Summer Goals Writing Response:
PROMPT: Think about some ways you can grow emotionally, mentally, physically, and/or spiritually over the summer. How might you achieve at least 2 goals in 2 different areas? Use specific examples to support your ideas in at least 1 fully developed paragraph.
To differentiate, feel free to let students work together or independently, only respond in 1 or 2 paragraphs, or use the example as a template from the My Summer Goals Writing Response Pack!
Need some ideas for teaching research writing as a part of fun activities for the last days of school? Click below for help with teaching students how to write a research paper!
3. My End of the Year Reflections
This End of Year Reflections Activities Pack is a FUN way to engage your middle and high school students as they close out the year or continue in summer learning! They will reflect on how they have grown in various areas of their lives such as reading ability, physicality, education, etc. We all want to grow and mature, and these questions from the End of Year Reflections Activities Pack will help students focus on specific parts of their lives that exhibit growth over the last year!
Want some help with test prep? Read the blog post: Reading Comprehension High School Worksheets: Creating and Teaching With Test Prep In Mind!
4. My Perfect Summer Visualization: Fun Activities for the Last Days of School
I don’t know about you, but I always dreamed of having that absolutely PERFECT summer! You know the one…You go to an amazing summer camp in another state, have a blast, and meet your lifelong friends like in the movies. Well yeah, that never happened to me. But I did have some awesome memories from my elementary summer camp in South Florida, which involved roller skating, water skiing, ice cream trucks, and hot sweaty vans. I think all of our students want that summer moment, experience, or week they will remember.
By teaching Fun Activities for the Last Days of School, you can make the prospect of summer that much better!
- My Perfect Summer Writing Response: To differentiate, feel free to let students work together or independently, only respond in 1 or 2 paragraphs, or use the example as a template from the My Perfect Summer Pack!
- My Perfect Summer Visual: Encourage your students to visualize an ideal summer! You could help your students brainstorm as a whole group, in pairs, or independently. Definitely show the teacher example for inspiration as well from the My Perfect Summer Pack!
Directions: If you could have an absolutely perfect summer, what would that look like? What would you do? Where would you go? Who would you see? Write at least 1 detailed paragraph that depicts your “PERFECT SUMMER!”
5. My Summer in Film
Students love movies…okay, we all love movies! And one of the best ways to engage students is through movie clips or whole movie analyses! We all like the action and adventure of a world outside of ourselves, and who doesn’t the idea of being the hero of one’s own movie?
This Digital Summer School and End of Year Activities Pack is a FUN way to engage your middle and high school students as they reflect on their summer by creating a film scene and movie poster based on their ideal and/or realistic summer(s)!
PROMPT IDEA: Create a FILM SCENE based on your IDEAL SUMMER! Be sure to consider the characters, setting, actions, and dialogue.
You can make this simple and easy by clicking on Digital Summer School and End of Year Activities Pack!
Have you ever thought about teaching film to your students, so you can include fun activities for the last days of school? Click here to read about TEACHING WITH MOVIES IN MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL!
6. “Song of Myself” Poetry Activities
You don’t have to teach the whole poem “Song of Myself” by Walt Whitman, as it is quite long; however, why not take an excerpt from the poem and let your students actually enjoy analyzing poetry and include Fun Activities for the Last Days of School?
This Poetry Writing Distance Learning Google Classroom Activity Pack includes “Song of Myself” Activities that are inspired by Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself.” These fun and easy activities connect students with poetry on a personal level. This pack includes 3 “Song of Myself” Poetry Activities and a Poetry Writing Template Activity (How To Poem).
7. Film Analysis Activities: Fun Activities for the Last Days of School
By the end of the year, your students have read a ton of informational texts and long fictional passages, and honestly, they just need a break. Shocker, huh? By teaching through fun activities for the last days of school, you can encourage your students to stay engaged!
This Distance Learning Film Analysis BUNDLE is an ENTERTAINING and EASY way to incorporate the analysis of movies into your classroom. You and your students will find this bundle of Fun Activities for the Last Days of School helpful as your classroom works to examine how film techniques contribute to the purpose of ANY film!
Students will understand how to use teacher-led examples to pre-write / organize their ideas while they watch the film, use a template to easily create thesis statements, and go sentence-by-sentence as they outline their essays! Let’s incorporate more of these Fun Activities for the Last Days of School!
Why do we need Fun Activities for the Last Days of School?
- They help to occupy students with high energy.
- They allow students to have fun after standardized tests.
- They get students thinking about the summer.
- They encourage students to prepare for the next year.
- Fun Activities for the Last Days of School are simple and easy to teach!
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