3 Ways To Keep Students Engaged As School Winds Down

For many schools, June means we’re nearing the end of the school year. That means sweltering classrooms, mountains of paperwork, and restless students. Everyone is excited for summer break to begin, but what do you do with your students during those last few days/weeks of school? The classrooms are packed up, the curriculum is finished, and sometimes the technology is shut down (which means no movies). Here are some fun ideas to keep your students engaged.

• Rip it or Take It:

During the year I make tons of new anchor charts with my students. Instead of just recycling them at the end of the year, I play a game. I chose three students at random to pick any anchor chart they want. They can either rip it up in front of the class or take it home as a second-grade keepsake. Surprisingly, most kids want to keep the poster hanging in their bedroom! It’s a fun way to reflect on everything we’ve learned together while also packing up the room.




• Google Slides Presentation:

If you still have access to Chromebooks, this is a fun way to reflect on the year. Students will make a Google Slides presentation all about the past school year. After the presentations are done, they get to share their work with next year’s second graders. I usually give students suggestions on what to put on each slide. For example, one slide needs to be about a field trip, another slide needs to be about a writing project we did, and so on. The kids love using Chromebooks and getting to be role models to the first graders.




• Teacher for the Day:

Students will now get to be the teacher for a day. They plan a lesson (15 minutes only) and teach the class anything they would like. I always have students send in a form explaining what their project is beforehand and explain that the students are responsible for providing materials not in the classroom. Students also have to come up with a multiple-choice question to ask the class at the end. I’ve had students teach us how to make lemonade, write our names in Chinese characters, and make slime!

Hope you have a great end of the school year with your class!

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