I love to kick off the new school year by creating a class time capsule. The end of school year is exactly the time to unseal them and let my students discover which predictions and goals they had made actually came true! It is amazing how things change in less than a year especially with their height, weight or even penmanship.
It is always a delight for me to see their varied reactions. If you want to make a class time capsule for the coming year, you may check out this post. Put on some great music oh I love to play melodramatic ones for this activity! When the time is over, they can remove the papers from their backs and enjoy reading what was written by their classmates. This self-esteem booster is by far one of my favorite fun things to do on the last day of school to let students say goodbye to each other!
Students just seem happier after this activity. I named this activity this way because I ask my students to write down the following on a piece of paper:. After spending an entire school year together, classmates become good friends if not best of friends. One great way for students to make memorable gifts for their classmates is by making personalized friendship bracelets using cheap cords and alphabet beads.
Another option is a simple breezy friendship bracelet made with two very simple knots which has also become a fad in my classroom. Furthermore, you can ask your students to write a poem to be given to their friends or teachers. If you have more advanced students, you can let them compose a song instead. Songs can be very memorable and enjoyable for students, especially those with good singing voices who love to sing along!
They can record the songs or better yet perform in front of their peers, teachers or the entire school. My advanced students work in groups and create a handbook containing helpful tips, information and advice for the incoming groups.
The following year, I have the new students read them on the first day of school and we talk about what the letters or the handbooks said about my class, and how that makes them feel. It is a great way to set classroom rules and expectations. My favorite part of the job is getting to know my students because I believe that understanding students is essential to teaching.
During my first year of teaching, a colleague of mine was so kind to show me my students previous works including some information about them. Because of that, I was able to know more about their interests and what motivated them to learn English. Now, I try to do the same for the incoming teachers of my classes. At the end of the year, I have the students write letters introducing themselves to their next teachers.
Even students at the beginning stages of learning English can share information about their families, hobbies, interests and experiences. This way, their future teachers can start the new school year knowing a little something about them. Giving certificates and prizes should be done all year round, but the end of the year also calls for a special kind of awarding ceremony! I love to find something unique about my students and make up some fun awards for that unique quality. You can be creative and add silly awards to add laughter.
Fun topics include "Convince us to buy the shirt you are wearing now" or "How would the school be different if you were principal? The audience loves to watch and the speakers will love getting creative in front of the class.
Dust off that outdoor games book that you never had time to use this year and pick a few activities for the last day of school. The kids will be antsy anyways so you might as well put their energy and excitement to good use. The children won't even realize they're learning. Pool together all of the educational games in your classroom. Split the class into small groups and designate centers in the room for each game.
Set the timer and give each group a certain amount of time with each game. Give the signal and then the groups rotate around the room so everyone gets a chance to play all of the games. Give the kids time to write, draw, or discuss how things will be different in the next grade level.
For example, third graders will love to imagine what they will learn, look like, act like, and feel like when they are finally in the world of fourth grade. It's only a year but to them, it seems a universe away. Hold a traditional Spelling Bee using all of the spelling words from the whole school year. This one can take quite a while, but it's certainly educational. Use a safety pin to attach a large index card or thicker piece of paper to each child's back.
Then, the kids go around and write nice comments and memories on each other's backs. When you're all done, each child gets to keep his or her note with compliments and fun times written on it. Teachers, you can jump in, too. You just might have to bend down so that they can reach your back.
Teach your children to recognize and appreciate those individuals who helped make them successful this school year - the principal, secretary, food service workers, librarian, parent volunteers, even the teacher next door. This may be a good project to start a few days before the last day of school so that you can really do it right.
Edited By: Janelle Cox. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Get the Entire BusyTeacher Library:. Dramatically Improve the Way You Teach. Save hours of lesson preparation time with the Entire BusyTeacher Library. That's 4, pages filled with thousands of practical activities and tips that you can start using today. Popular articles like this. Using Traditional Games with Language Learners 0 31, 0. Telling Time.
Teaching Ideas. Warmers and Fillers. Please wait Feel free to be inventive and take into account the opinions of your students, but some basic categories are: 1 Memory Games Memory Games, which tend to focus on the recall of a string of nouns, the details of a story or an important sequence of events.
Try One of the Recommended Activities These are all classic ESL activities which are set up, carried out and finished inside ten minutes. Examples of a category would include: A five or six syllable word which they can explain to the class A word with more than three or more meanings A word from medicine, astronomy, chemistry, etc.
A foreign word or expression which has been imported verbatim Schadenfreude , coup de grace , wigwam, igloo. I recommend these treats after successful classes, and hope that you find them useful.
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