Engaging Activities for the Last Weeks of School

The days of summer vacation are growing ever closer! If you're like me, you are trying to finalize lesson plans for the year and create engaging, fun and educational activities for the last weeks of school in your classroom! Here are five ideas I think your students will love.

Idea #1: Trivia Competition

It's time to review some key facts your students have learned throughout the year. Hosting trivia games is easy and fun! I love using the free Trivia Game for Secondary Students activity in my classroom. All you'll have to do is create questions, print the game board and open the included Excel spreadsheet (for super easy scoring)...and voila! Your kids will love the competition while they review the information they've learned all year long.

Idea #2: Debate Day

My middle school students love to debate pretty much anything! Hosting a debate in your classroom is another fun way to review important topics from the school year or focus on issues that are important to your students. Along the way they'll be collaborating to organize their ideas, using critical thinking skills and practicing their public speaking skills, too!

Idea #3: Create a Class Documentary

Your students will have a blast creating their own documentary at the end of the school year! Plan to set aside 4-5 days for this project and watch your students collaborate in small groups and engage their creative thinking skills to write a script and create a video to show to the class. This activity is one of the most memorable ones I do all year! Everything you need to host this project in your own classroom is ready for you in the Create a Class Documentary resource on TPT.

Idea #4: Leave a Legacy Letter

Your students have grown so much over the course of the school year and are now experts on how to succeed in your classroom. At the end of the year, ask students to write a letter to a future student. Encourage them to give meaningful advice on how to be successful, share their best memory from the school year and write words of encouragement to the students who will follow in their footsteps next year. Keep the letters safe and share them with your classes at the beginning of the next school year for a fun and sweet surprise. 

Idea #5: Historical Board Game Day

Ask your students to work in groups to develop a fun board game to play in class! Students can use popular board games and develop their own questions based on the year's curriculum or design a completely original game with their own rules, game board design and questions. On Historical Board Game Day, students can take turns playing games created by their classmates as they review information they learned throughout the year!

I'd love to know if you used any of these ideas with your students! Leave a comment below and share which one your students liked best. :)

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