We are fast approaching the end of the year and many of us are not going to be gathering with our kiddos again. I bet you’re like me and are looking for some fun end of year activities to honour the community that you worked so hard to create over the course of your time together.
Here are 5 end of year activities & ideas that you can do online during distance learning.
Online Talent Show
Every year, our school puts on a school wide talent show. Some of my students start planning for it in SEPTEMBER. I wanted a way to keep this tradition alive so… we are moving it ONLINE!
I’ve created Google Slides where students can add their videos to create a virtual talent show. Once videos have been uploaded, we will have a watch party over Google Meet.
To grab your virtual talent show freebie fill in your deets below!
End of Year Gift – Memory Books
I’ll admit that one of my first considerations when realizing that we would be doing our end of year activities online was, what will I do for student gifts?
Last year, we created beautiful memory books that I gave to students for the end of the year.
So … my memory book resource went digital!
This memory book “project” in Google Slides allows you to share an editable version with your students. They each create a page about each of their classmates. The memory book can then be printed to give a hardcopy to students or it can be shared with them digitally.
Within the resource, I include a video tutorial showing you how to use it.
Letter Writing Activities
Two super engaging end of year activities for writing are: dear future teacher letters & dear future student letters. I’ve also switched these resources over so they can be used digitally, on Google Slides.
The first, dear future teacher letters involve having students write letters to their next year’s teacher. I encourage students to share about themselves and ask their new teacher any questions they have about their new classroom & grade. I share these letters with teachers once next year’s classes are formed.
The second letter writing assignment involves having students write letters to your future students. These letters are for next year’s students to open on the first day of school. I encourage them to write uplifting letters, reminding them that these students will probably be nervous on the first day. I also tell them to write any advice they have and any things they can look forward to from our class.
Virtual Awards Ceremony
Our school is going digital with our end of year awards ceremony. As a school we will be putting together an “intro” video that each teacher will share with their families. The intro video will have everything we would have if we were gathering in the gym: some pump up music, introductions, a prayer…
Then, each teacher will be putting together an awards video for their own class. We are a Leader in Me school so we give awards based on the 7 habits. I will be naming the student, the award they received and to make it a bit more personal, I’ll also add a short blurb for each student as to why that received that award.
Virtual End of Year Celebration
Gina, at Teaching With Heart, wrote a blog post all about virtual end of year activities. She outlines how to host a virtual end of year celebration. Go check it out!
Further Reading
Are you looking for more on distance learning? Check out the following blog posts…
