1. Plan an engaging project that takes time to work on.
I know how BUSY the end of the year is with paperwork, cleaning out cabinets, organizing for next year, etc… why not get your students working on a project that keeps them out of your hair for a bit?!
Our STEM + Sports is PERFECT for this! Students are entertained (and learning), and you can take some time to get that paperwork done!
What are the challenges?
- Archery: Design a bow that will launch an arrow as far as possible.
- Basketball: Design a launcher to launch a ball into a cup reliably.
- Sailing: Design a sailboat and record how long it takes to travel through the water.
- Diving: Design a “diver” to make the biggest splash.
- Parachuting: Design a parachute that will take the longest to land.
2. Just One Word Activity
🤔 Thinking of a small activity that makes a BIG impact?
Just One Word is my favorite activity to do with my students!
I print out a class list for each student, and they write one (kind or thoughtful) word that makes them think of that person! I collect all of the papers and type them into Wordart to turn them into a special piece of artwork and laminate it for my students to have forever!
💗I had students come to me after several years to tell me they still have their Wordart!
Tech Savvy Teachers: you could turn a class list into a Google Form for a quicker way to go through answers! 👏
Need less prep?: get a large piece of construction paper, draw a huge heart on
it, write a student’s name on it, and they can walk around the room and
handwrite their words!
3. Plan time for printable or digital independent work so you can complete end-of-year paperwork and tasks.
☝️ Teacher Tip: Make sure to plan time for some printables or some digital science fun at the end of the year!
Of course, 🐧 Science Penguin has the perfect one for you!
Easy to make, fun to create: Take a walk down memory lane and create a flipbook over everything your students learned in science this year! 🔬 🌱 ⛰️ ☀️ 🌎
They will be so occupied with their flipbooks that YOU can get that end-of-year
paperwork that has been piling up at the corner of your desk! 👏
Do you need a print-and-go option?
4. Daily Countdown
Be honest, how long have you been counting down til the end of the year?
Why not share the celebration with your students and have a class countdown with them?!
I typed out a 10-day countdown, printed it, cut out each day, stuffed them in balloons, and hung them around my board! Every day, we celebrated the end of another day by popping a balloon!
5. Moving Classrooms? Get the kids to help you pack and move it all!
My favorite teaching hack? Using my students to help me pack and move when I have to move classrooms! 💪 📦
(Make sure to use your organized students to help you pack otherwise you might have chaos in a box 🤯)
Don’t forget to clear it with the teacher whose class you’re moving into first before you start sending your little line of army ants with boxes in 😉
6. Circle Time Memories and Awards
I’ve never known a time when I did not end the year giving personalized awards to my class and then sitting in one big circle on the last day to share our favorite moments of the school year! 🥇 😍
Be ready for all the laughs, giggles, and happy tears when all your students share their favorite memories.
By 👏 Far 👏 My 👏 Favorite 👏
7. Graduation Tips
🎓Do you have a class graduating from elementary school?
I LOVED writing each student in my class a little letter and sending them off to middle school with all the confidence in the world! 💌
I would have students years later telling me how happy they were to see my handwriting on their envelope and that alone kept me going!
BONUS TIP: You can also do this for students you’ve taught in the past who are
graduating high school and write them a letter wishing them well with their future plans!
We all know they will always be OURS once they leave us! 🧑🎓
8. Mystery Trash
🤓 One of the smartest things I’ve ever done with my students is play “Mystery Trash”! 🗑️
It’s almost as if my students “forgot” where the trashcans were located by the end of the year and needed a little reminder about how we take care of OUR classroom!
How to play: You identify a piece of trash in your mind as the “mystery trash,” and the students start cleaning up the room with a 1-minute timer. Whoever happens to be the one who picks up the mystery trash gets a prize! 🏆
9. Board Games
♟️🧩 🎲 Your students already took the STAAR test, and you need something to keep them entertained? … Board Game Day is the BEST! Students bring a board game from home, and they get to just PLAY!
Truly, the benefits of board games are great! They are inclusive, work on their cognitive development, increase critical thinking skills, teach how to work together and communicate, problem-solving, gracefully winning/losing, and so much more!
Can’t do a whole day? Give them an hour! It still will have the same impact. 👍
✅ Pro Tip: Turn this into a reward and have them work for it if the behavior is a little more out of hand than usual!
10. ABCs of Science
Let’s get your scientists moving around the room! 🏃🥼
Post a large piece of paper on the wall for EACH letter of the alphabet, and the class has to try and write a science vocabulary word that starts with that letter. They cannot repeat words! 📜
The class goal is to try and get every paper with a word on it, or as many words as you can without repeating any! You can place them in competition with all of the blocks of science that you teach or with another science teacher’s class!
This is such a fun little competition activity where your students are really collaborating
with each other.
Do you think your students can do the ABCs of Science?! 🎉
Top Teaching Tools
Here is what we love for the end of the year! Click your favorite!
We hope you enjoyed this list. Have a wonderful end to your year!
Written by Julie E.
Our Science Penguin Customer Experience Specialist
(and amazing 4th grade teacher)
