Favorite End of the Year Activities

Posted on May 21, 2014 by Squarehead Teachers

EndOfYearActivitiesSTICKER The end of the year can be such a fun time… testing is over and summer is near! Thank heavens! But how to keep your students learning when they’d rather be at the beach? Here are some of my favorite ideas:

Review games. Fun distracts kids from the fact that they’re reviewing! I’ve tried this in a tournament style, where teams compete in a variety of games for a big prize. Try these fun review games!

Field day activities outside. Many teachers don’t have time for lots of physical fitness activities, so use the end of the year to help kids enjoy the outdoors while working on team building and leadership skills. Here’s my post on 21 Dr. Seuss themed ideas and this post about a fun water game I learned.

End of the year awards. Your class can vote anonymously on the awards or you can assign them. Check out my collection of 44 printable awards or my blank star awards.

Book Reports. Each student in my class had the opportunity to share their favorite book from the year. I let kids make come kind of visual project or display, which they seemed to enjoy making and showing their classmates. This is one report template you can give your students if you’re looking for a springboard.

Yearbooks and Year-In-Review projects. I absolutely loved this one. It might be my all time favorite. You can assign each student to write one article, or have each student write each one for themselves. Ask parents to bring in or submit pictures from throughout the year. Students can draw pictures or create artwork to go with the writing. This is also a great review of the parts of a paragraph and the writing process. Here are my two printables for this idea: 10 page printable yearbook or 1 page end of the year round up.

Awesome art projects. All those art projects you’ve been dying to do with your class but you don’t have time? Do them! Here’s a cool mask idea for upper grades.

Click here to view more end of the year ideas I’ve written about!

Dr. Seuss Field Day- Station 21

Posted on May 4, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

I recently learned about an awesome Dr. Seuss-inspired field day planned and organized by Patti, an elementary school PE teacher. Here is the last of her 21 stations:

Station 21

Title: “The Sneeches Frankfurter Roasts”

Skills: relaxation

Description: This is the refreshment and first aid station. Students are to get a cup of water. If they want another please have them reuse and fill up the same cup. Also, each student gets 1 otter pop (no color picking they can trade with a class mate if they like). There will be extra BANDAIDS here if a student needs them.

[Your school could also have a picnic lunch or snack bar at this station.]

Dr. Seuss Field Day- Station 20

Posted on May 4, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

I recently learned about an awesome Dr. Seuss-inspired field day planned and organized by Patti, an elementary school PE teacher. Here is one of her 21 stations:

Station 20

Title: Great Day For Up!

Skills: team work, upper body strength

Description: space students equally around the parachute. Have students in “elevator down” position and roll edges 3 times. Divide the class in half (ex. 28 students #1-14 on 1 team; #15-28 the other team) Give each side a color. Place 2 different sets of color objects in middle of chute. On the cue of “elevator up” students bring chute to waist level and start to shake the chute trying to bump the other team’s items out. The team that gets all the other teams items out. 1st team to succeed scores a point. The game begins again until the rotation horn is heard. (K-2’s hands might get tired after 2 min so elevator down let them wiggle their fingers and start again you can see when they are getting tired.)

Dr. Seuss Field Day- Station 19

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

I recently learned about an awesome Dr. Seuss-inspired field day planned and organized by Patti, an elementary school PE teacher. Here is one of her 21 stations:

Station 19

Title: Hop on Pop

Skills: gross motor, balance

Description: Divide students into 6 equal teams with the first person from each team sitting on a hoppity hop ball. On the signal to begin, these players hop on the balls around the cone and back to the start. The next person in the starting hoop will sit on the ball and wait for the next signal to begin. This is an individual race, not a team relay. These races should continue until time has been called.

Dr. Seuss Field Day- Station 18

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

I recently learned about an awesome Dr. Seuss-inspired field day planned and organized by Patti, an elementary school PE teacher. Here is one of her 21 stations:

Station 18

Title: Star Belly Sneeches’ Tug Of War

Skills: Muscle strength, team work

Description: Class will compete against each other. Divide the group in 2 (MIX the groups equal with both boys and girls on each team). The students will pick up the rope only after the volunteer’s command and then pull only when told to “GO”. The object is to pull the center of the rope past the cone marker. The students are not to let go of the rope, and are to stop pulling once the volunteer declares a winner. Play until time runs out, new teams every few times.

**Please remind students not to wrap the rope around any body parts and to make sure their hands are dry. (Dryer hands will cause less rope burn.)

Dr. Seuss Field Day- Station 17

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

I recently learned about an awesome Dr. Seuss-inspired field day planned and organized by Patti, an elementary school PE teacher. Here is one of her 21 stations:

Station 17

Title: FOX IN SOX

Skills: THROWING AND CATCHING: EYE/HAND COORDINATION

Description: STUDENTS GET INTO GROUPS OF 2 EACH STANDING ACROSS FROM EACH OTHER THEY TOSS THE FOX TAILS TO EACH OTHER IF CAUGHT THEY TAKE A STEP BACK IF THEY DROP IT THEY MOVE BACK TO THE START AND BEGIN AGAIN. (LIKE A EGG TOSS CONTEST).

Dr. Seuss Field Day- Station 16

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

I recently learned about an awesome Dr. Seuss-inspired field day planned and organized by Patti, an elementary school PE teacher. Here is one of her 21 stations:

Station 16

Title: GO DOG. GO!

Skills: GROSS MOTOR, AGILITY, CARDIO FITNESS

Description: K-1^ST GRADE: TAG AND DROP TAG

2ND-5^TH GRADES: FASTEST TAG IN THE WEST

(IF A 2ND GRADE CLASS SAYS THEY DON’T KNOW HOW TO PLAY FASTEST TAG IN THE WEST YOU CAN HAVE THEM PLAY TAG AND DROP TAG.)

FASTEST TAG IN THE WEST- EVERYONE IS IT

TAG AND DROP TAG- GIVE 4 STUDENTS BEAN BAGS TO TAG WITH.

TAG AND DROP TAG K-2

WHEN A STUDENT WITH A BEAN BAG TAGS ANOTHER STUDENT THEY DROP THE BEAN BAG. THE STUDENT WHO WAS TAGGED PICKS UP THE BEAN BAG AND BECOMES IT.

FASTEST TAG IN THE WEST 2-5 (IF 2 SAYS THEY KNOW HOW TO PLAY THEY CAN. IF NOT HAVE THEM PLAY TAG AND DROP TAG) EVERY ONE IS IT WHEN STUDENTS GET TAGGED THEY GO DOWN ON 1 KNEE AND WATCH THE PERSON WHO TAGGED THEM WHEN THAT PERSON GETS TAGGED THEY CAN GET UP AND THEY ARE BACK IN THE GAME IF BOTH STUDENT TAG AT THE SAME TIME THEY ROCK PAPER SCISSORS TO SEE WHO GOES DOWN. PLAY UNTIL TIME TO GO IF EVERY ONE HAS BEEN DOWN FOR A WHILE AND YOU HAVE 3 OR 4 OF THE SAME STUDENTS STILL UP YOU CAN CALL EVERY ONE UP AND THEY ALL JOIN BACK IN.

Dr. Seuss Field Day- Station 15

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

I recently learned about an awesome Dr. Seuss-inspired field day planned and organized by Patti, an elementary school PE teacher. Here is one of her 21 stations:

Station 15

Title: GERTRUDE MCFUZZ

Skills: EYE/HAND COORDINATION, GROSS MOTOR

Description: DIVIDE CLASS INTO 6 TEAMS EACH TEAM LINES UP BEHIND THE LINE. 1ST PERSON USING A UNDER HAND SWING MUST HIT GERTRUDE MCFUZZ (BIRDIE WITH STREAMERS) WITH THE TENNIS RACKETS AND LAND HER IN A TREE (HULA HOOPS). TEAMS KEEP TRACK OF HOW MANY GERTUDES THEY CAN GET IN THE TREE. KEEP GOING UNTIL TIME IS UP (PLEASE MAKE SURE HITS ARE ONLY DONE UNDER HAND AND THAT STUDENTS ARE BEING SAFE WITH THE RACKETS.