End of Year Projects and Activities

End of Year Projects and Activities

With the end of the school year upon us, students and teachers alike are getting ready for summer. Students are ready for months without homework or assignments, and are usually checked out by the end of the school year. Teachers are often just as tired of school as students are. Here are some ideas for end of year projects and assignments that are fun and can allow students to reflect on what they’ve learned and accomplished. 

Book Hall of Fame

Have students pick their favorite book that they’ve read during the school year and write a reflection about it. They can also draw a picture to accompany it. Hang the reflections on a bulletin board for next year’s students. 

Switch Places

If you want students to review what they learned this year, have them switch places with you. You can assign lessons individually or put students in pairs or groups. Assign each child or group a topic from the past year, and have them teach you and the rest of the class. It will help them remember what they’ve learned and give you a break.

Put On a Play

For a more creative project, students can write, direct, and perform a play about the school year. Ask them to incorporate things they learned this year in English, science, and history, as well as things that happened to the class outside the classroom.

People of the Year

Create your own awards show for your class. Students can pick their favorite president, historical figure, scientist, author, fictional character and more. Let them nominate people they learned about this year for awards. You can also have them nominate other people in school, like the principal or the lunch monitors. 

How do you keep your students (and yourself) motivated at the end of the school year?

Getting Students Interested In Reading

Reading is one of the most important things young children can learn to love. Good reading and comprehension skills start early, so it’s important to lay the foundations and get children interested in reading from an early age. Here are some tips for getting students interested in reading. 

Give Options

Not all kids are going to like the same books. While you may have some that are a necessary part of the curriculum, you should try to introduce your class to a wide variety of books. There is a book out there for every child. You just have to help them find it. Once kids discover a book they love, they’re often excited to find even more. 

Make It Come to Life

For many students, reading can seem dull, especially when books are difficult or take them a long time to read. Try to find ways to make a story come to life. Have students draw pictures of what’s happening in the story, or make a play about it. Even simply reading aloud in class with different voices for the characters can make it more fun. 

Offer Rewards

When kids are just starting to read, you may want to offer rewards or incentives to get them to read as much as possible. Stickers and small prizes can be enough of a motivator to get kids to open a few books. Chart their progress and the number of books they’ve read to encourage them to read just for the sake of reading. 

Send Reading Home

Students should be reading at home as well as at school. The more practice they get each day the better. You can even send slightly more advanced books home with students to read alongside their parents. For young children, even hearing adults read more advanced material can help improve their vocabulary and comprehension skills. 

What are some other ways you’ve gotten your students interested in reading? Leave your ideas in the comment section below.