Teaching With Terhune: End of the School Year Activities

A through Z Countdown to Summer

This A through Z Countdown to Summer is a great activity to help me get through the last 26 days of school! This activity consists of 26 fun, low maintenance activities that correlates with each letter of the alphabet. Each daily activity requires little to no prep work for me!! Many of these end of school countdowns that I have found online require a lot of prep work, notes home, reminders, etc. I did not want that! These daily activities are simple activities that provide a fun brain break for the students!

Here is a look into each day's activities:

Here is the poster I display the letter of the day on.

Here is a look into C's activity!

This is what the letter activity cards look like:

I begin this activity 26 school days before the end of the year. I start with the letter A and do a letter each day until the last day of school. Each day I surprise my students on what the letter activity for the day is going to be. They love to guess what activity they will get to do for each letter!

I roll up each activity card and place it in a balloon labeled with that letter.

At the end of the day we pop the balloon and see what fun activity we get to do for the last hour of the day.

I save the activity for the end of the day because the students are usually checked out by then. Plus I use it as a behavior management tool. If I have students that are not behaving during the day I have them miss out on the fun end of the day letter activity.

Click HERE to download my A through Z Countdown to Summer activity from my TpT store!

I pair this activity with this activity.....

End of School Alphabet Countdown Booklet

This activity is a great end of the school year concept review! It's perfect to use for any grade!

I begin this activity 26 school days before the last day of school. Each day I have the students think of the concepts they have learned throughout the school year that begins with the letter of the day. For example, on the first day of the activity the students think of all the things they learned throughout the year that begins with the letter A. Some examples are: addition, antonyms, etc.

I like to have the students work on this activity independently first. Then, after some time I allow the students to work with their group. Finally, we share and discuss what everyone put together as a class. As we share, I use it as a great review opportunity. The students will amaze you on how much they remember and what they can think of for each letter!

Here is an example of how many things we think of for each letter!

If you don't want to make the entire booklet for this activity you could always use the one page A though Z worksheet instead!

Click HERE to download my End of School Alphabet Countdown Booklet from my TpT Store!

Autograph Booklet

At the end of the school year we always have a yearbook signing party. It never fails I have tons of students who do not purchase a yearbook each year. So I put together this autograph booklet for the students to sign during the yearbook signing party. Since it's only one page I make one for each of my students...even if they bought a yearbook. I made it just one page (copied front to back) because let's face it the last thing I want to do at the end of the year is make tons of copies. LOL! Also it never fails we are always running low on paper at the end of the school year. This booklet works out perfect and there is always plenty of room for all the student's signatures. You also can have the students spend some time coloring it! :)

Here is the front of the booklet. There is a spot for the student's name, the school, and year.

I have made this page specific for each grade level.

Plenty of room for autographs!

The back of the booklet is reserved for the teachers to sign and write a message to the students.

Click HERE to download my Autograph Booklet from my TpT Store!

Summer Reading Challenge

I give this Summer Reading Challenge to my students on the last day of school. I have them complete it with their families over the summer to keep their reading skills up. Those students who complete the reading challenge over the summer and return it to me on the first day of the new school year get a reward!

Here is the note I send home to my parents explaining the Summer Reading Challenge and why it's important for their child to read over the summer.

Here is the summer reading challenge. I have the parents initial in each box as their child completes the activity.

Click HERE to download my Summer Reading Challenge from my TpT Store!

Memory Binders/Student Portfolios

I keep a memory binder/portfolio for each of my students throughout the school year. I keep writing activities, special work, assessments, etc. in the binder. I use these monthly dividers to organize all the paperwork inside each binder. I run the dividers on cardstock paper and allow the students to color it how they wish! At the end of the school year the students get to take their binders home as a parent gift! It's a great way to showcase each student's progress throughout the year to their parents!