It’s been one crazy year, and I’m exhausted. We’ve finally made it to the end, and my instinct is to play a movie for the last week of class next week. BUT, kids have worked hard, and I don’t want to just tap out. I’m sure many of you are in the same boat, so I made a list of activities that are fun and creative while still being moderately standards- related. Some of these require some prep, but others none at all! I hope this list helps your students ( and you!) relax and make memories as the school year.
1. Write a Thank You Note
This activity can work for any age group. I love to set out a bunch of pre- made cards from the dollar store ( or Target’s dollar section!) as well as paper, markers, scissors, glue, and whatever else I can find so that the craftier students can make their own. The instructions are simple: write a thank you note to a teacher or staff member who made a difference to you this year. Students can then hand- deliver the letters or you can place them in the staff members’ mailboxes.
2. Solve a Murder Mystery
If your students love to get into character and work collaboratively to solve a problem, they will love the classic murder mystery party! This activity might require a little prep, but there are oodles of murder mystery boxes available on the internet – this one from Engaging and Effective on Teachers Pay Teachers is versatile, has multiple endings, and RAVE reviews!). I love this activity because students can still work together whether remote or in- person. You could even borrow a few props from the drama department or make your own!
3. Magnetic Poetry
I discovered this activity from the Google Whiz, Kasey Bell from Shake Up Learning! I have created magnetic poetry boards on Google slides tailored to different units that I teach. I have one for Artificial Intelligence ( for when I teach Frankenstein) and one for Hamlet, but you could also create a general game that would work anytime. The limited word choice empowers students who aren’t usually creative writers, and the creative souls always have a blast! Students can send you their creations as a screenshot, or add them to a shared slide deck for everyone to see!
4. A Bob Ross – Style Painting Party
I can’t even remember how I stumbled across this idea from Hawk Hill. I haven’t had a chance to use it, but I think it would be so much fun! It does require some setup – choosing the video, finding the paint and mini- canvasses, etc. Alternatively, you could find a drawing or origami tutorial for everyone to play with. Tony Vincent, creator of Shapegrams, has a wealth of super cool tutorials that teach skills in google drawings for every skill level.
5. The Great Paper Plane Race
Give students one day to research how to build the best paper airplane, then let them go crazy creating them! You could have them record evidence and draw out their design on a graphic organizer and justify their decisions to make it super standards- based. Then, give each student a chance to fly their plane. You could even hand out awards for the longest flight, shortest flight, most creative, craziest flight path, etc. I created a resource for this activity in my Teachers Pay Teachers store!
6. Letter to Their Future Self
This works best for 8th graders or seniors, but have them write a letter for themselves – 5 years in the future! Have them bring in a forever stamp and as they finish writing, seal and address the envelopes to be mailed in exactly 5 years. Some questions students can answer are: Where do they see themselves in 5 years? What are they doing with their life? What is important to them now? What advice do they want their future self to remember? You can have requirements for this assignment, but I prefer to let kids write what matters to them.
7. Toast or Roast
With a really tight knit class, you can host a Toast or Roast! Each student writes an end- of year speech to be given for the class. They can choose a celebratory toast, or a gentle ( and kind!) roasting of their peers, teacher, and class. On the last day of school ( or second to last day) every student gets a chance to share. You can even toast with plastic champagne flutes and cider. I love this activity because it spans across several days as students engage in the writing process, and it makes the last day of class one to remember. Find my activity here!
8. Letter to Upcoming Students
This activity works for ANY grade level. Students write a letter to be shared with next year’s class. I have my seniors write letters to incoming Freshmen. In their letter they can give advice and tips for incoming students to experience a fun and successful year. I love being able to read these out to new students at the beginning of the fall semester.
9. Escape Room
Although I usually use escape rooms for team building and review, student love escape rooms, so why not do one at the end of the year? With some of my classes, I have even had them help me revamp or develop new escape rooms (And I pay them in candy, of course!). Students love to reflect on the year and give their ( very honest) opinions about your class, and I love being able to give them space to do this in a productive way that benefits my next group of students. There are tons of amazing escape room ideas on Teachers Pay Teachers, and while some of them require prep and materials, others can be done without!
10. Virtual (or IRL) Scavenger Hunt
You can theme a scavenger hunt towards content or just fun stuff. I like to have students scour the Internet for images and collect them on a Google Slide. The first group done can win a prize! This one from The Science Teacher Geek on Teachers Pay Teachers has students searching high and low for US Geography items!
Bonus: While students are working on any of these, you can be cleaning out your classroom! I recently shared a post on decluttering to help! What ways are you celebrating with your kiddos this year? If you used one of these ideas, drop a comment and let me know how it worked for you!
