At the conclusion of this school year, I will have taught middle school students for 29 years. And I am here to say that it is not only appropriate but necessary to have end-of-the-year activities for middle school students.
End of Year Activities for Middle School are Appropriate
Why are they appropriate?
If you have ever spent time with a team (even a sports team), there is a sense of belongingness that comes with the territory. To just part ways doesn't feel right when you've been connected to achieve a common purpose or goal.
The same is true for my classes. They have their own private jokes, their own favorite memories, and their own relationships. Those relationships need closure from end-of-year activities. Sure, these students might be in some of the same classes again together next year, but the environment will be different with a new teacher and new classmates.
End of Year Activities for Middle School Are Necessary
I charge that these end-of-year activities are necessary because students need that closure. I have noticed that students who act up the most towards the end of the year are the ones that are anxious about "splitting up the band". Their behavior is a reflection of how they're feeling about separating from school.
So to lessen the stress and help students find a way to close out the year in a healthy way, I believe end-of-year activities are necessary for middle school students.
My Favorite End-of-the-Year Activities For Middle School
1. A Memory Page
Memory pages are great ways for students to have a yearbook signing experience even if they weren't able to purchase one. Plus, they all love signing each other's papers.
The front of the paper asks them to write about some favorite memories. I also ask them to color it. The back is for signatures. They love roaming the room and writing on each other's papers.
2. Friendly Competition
Competitive games are always a hit in middle school. These could be board games, team-building type physical challenge games, or even Uno card tournaments. Make brackets and reward winners with special prizes like a summer reading book! Or it could be something like a popcorn snack. :)
3. Planning a Summer Vacation PBL
Those last couple of weeks in between state testing and other testing can be tricky. You need to keep students engaged but the topic can't be too "heavy", right? So, we plan summer vacations for our "pets".
One year I glued googly eyes on pine cones and gave groups of students a "pine cone pet" kind of taking after the idea of Flat Stanley from years gone by. Then I gave them a budget, some books, and some guidelines for them to create a vacation for their pet!
It kept them busy, engaged, and learning about various parts of the world! Plus it was super fun to see all the presentations on the last days of school!
.png "Keep your Middle Schoolers engaged during the last weeks of school with this fun PBL!")
4. Summer Send Off
Every year, I like to spend the last week doing special things with the students as a kind of Summer Send Off.First, I like asking students to add their best advice to upcoming students on a big piece of that bulletin board paper in a graffiti wall manner. The one caveat is that I tell them that they can only write things that the principal would approve. That doesn't usually take very much time, so at the same time, we make emoji bookmarks as my way of trying to encourage summer reading!
Then on another day of the last week, I like to reminisce about the students' favorite activities from the year. I usually ask them to write them down anonymously and put them in some kind of container and then I read them out loud.
On another day, I like to wrap up my reward system with a big giveaway. I use a ticket system and on this day, it's the biggest drawing ever but all the prizes are in brown lunch bags. Those bags hold things like keychains, candy, pencils, and anything else that was given away throughout the year. If a student's ticket is drawn, they can choose a piece of candy from my jar or one of the brown bags but no peeking! The drama this creates is a perfect way to end the year as the students absolutely love it!
I hope you take some time to have some end of the year activities for your middle school students and that one or more of these ideas work for your class too!
Thanks for stopping by!
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