End of the Year Fun Activities

The end of the school year is always filled with fun activities from things in the classroom to activities outside of the classroom such as field day. One thing I enjoy doing with my students is making an End of the Year Memory Book. This is a great way for my students to reflect on things we have learned throughout the year that may have included field trips, STEM labs, or more. It also is a great way to have students share some of their fun friend memories from the year as they have made new friendships, developed deeper friendships, or maybe someone is moving away they will have this book as a way to remember their friends. Then after the students complete them we have time as a class to come together to listen and laugh as students share their memories. 
The set I use with my students includes 12 great activity sheets to pick and choose from:

                                         

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/End-of-the-Year-Memory-Book-Print-Google-Classroom-Distance-Learning-4530219

The 12 Activities included are:

1. Teacher acrostic- students use the teachers last name to create an acronym with words or phrases about their teacher.

2. Student's name acrostic- they write their own name and then find a classmate to write positive and encouraging things about them using their name.

3. Favorite field trip or class activity- writing and illustration activity

4. 4 Friends favorite memory- they find 4 different classmates who will write down a favorite memory about them from the year.

5. 
Favorite memory about the teacher- writing activity

6. You are teacher for the day- You switched places with the teacher and now you write a short story about the day you were teacher for a day.

7. Name of School Word Work- students will write the name of their school then use those letters to create as many 2, 3, 4, and 5 or more letter words.

8. Tell about someone who has inspired you this year- writing activity

9. Classmate Scavenger Hunt- students will try to find as many different classmates who match a description on the page and get their signature as possible.

10. 
"Figure Me Out" Math activity- students will create math problems to solve For Example: My Age 14 + 2 - 6 = 10 (you would be 10 years old.)

11. Favorite scene from a book you read this year- writing and illustration activity

12. Top 10 things that have made this year SUPER!!!- writing/list activity

Celebrate Fun in April- Part 2

April is National Poetry Month. I don't know about you but when I first mention to my class that we are going to learn about poetry this month many of them (especially the boys) let out groans! It seems many times that kids have a misconception about poetry, that it always has to rhyme, or that its too hard. Then once I begin to explain an overview about some of the fun types of poetry that we will be learning about and trying their attitudes hit a 180 and their faces actually have smiles on them. 

One great way that I give my students a visual of the different types of poetry is by using this Types of Poetry bulletin board set in my classroom.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Types-of-Poetry-Bulletin-BoardPoster-Set-4479245
With this up on the wall in the back of the room, students are reminded of the different types we are studying and the patterns each style follows. They can even use these anchor charts to write their own extra poems on their free time. Which I find many students trying and then giving to me as gifts for my wall or desk. :)

A great resource that I have found that pairs well with my bulletin board/ anchor chart posters is this set by Rachel Lynette.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Poetry-Writing-21-Poem-Patterns-plus-Poetry-Unit-Tips-and-Ideas-137308
I don't use all 21 of the patterns with my 4th graders but we use about half of them. The examples are great and the students really love the simplicity of these different types of poems. I even find my boys who in the beginning let out groans now loving to write poems.

Celebrate Fun in April- Part 1

April can be a super busy month for teachers. We are coming close to the end of the school year. Some are excited to have spring break, while others may be coming back from spring break. Many of us are even starting to count down the number of days until the end of the school year! :)

The month of April itself has many fun and exciting things for teachers to enjoy celebrating and to come up with creative activities for their classroom that can give students that much needed enjoyment break from the dreaded state testing!

So over the next couple weeks I want to share just a few fun ideas that I do with my kiddos and hopefully you will feel free to comment below to share some of your ideas as well.

Idea # 1: Beverly Clear Author Study for D.E.A.R. day and Author Study Posters:

The kids in my class absolutely LOVE to read. In fact this year I have many students who also really enjoy writing their own stories and mini books. So with this in mind I know this year especially my students will enjoy D.E.A.R. day where we stop everything and just relax in a special spot around the room and read.
In my class we read novels and one in particular we read is Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary. Its a great discussion book and one that many students can relate on a personal level with or know someone who can. One way for students to enjoy reading even more is for them to learn about the authors themselves. So many authors actually developed their love for reading and writing as children but Beverly Cleary is one that can inspire that child who is not your average student. She struggled with reading and actually dreaded it, refusing to read except at school because she had a teacher in first grade who did not encourage her. However, the school librarian took her under her wing and introduced her to some great books and really encouraged her. This helped changed Cleary's life because it made reading fun and she developed an interest in writing as well. Her story is one that can encourage those struggling students. Cleary promoted S.S.R. (sustained silent reading) in her book Ramona Quimby, Age 8 and the national rise of the D.E.A.R. program took off. It is now celebrated on Cleary's birthday, April 12th. So if you are looking for something good to add to your day check out the following author study on Cleary. You can also check out this fun set of Children's Author Posters which make great reading area anchor charts with fun facts about some of the student's favorite authors. Like this fun fact: Jan and Stan Berenstain were inspired by Dr. Seuss and began writing their own books later to have some of them actually edited by Seuss himself.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Beverly-Cleary-Author-Study-4472715
                           

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Childrens-Author-Anchor-Chart-Posters-Set-4461659