The end is NEAR… ish. It’s time to dive into some lessons for the end of the year that will keep you sane and your kids entertained! I also share more about each of the lessons below on my YouTube channel. Let’s go!
First up is one of my favorites: Mad Lib Karaoke! I think I borrowed this from a teacher on Instagram last year, but I made a Mad Lib to “Happier” by Marshmello and then let the students decide if they wanted to work on their own or in a small group. After they work for a few minutes, I put on the “Happier” karaoke track and let students share their creations for the class! If they don’t want to perform in front of the whole class, you could just have them share with another small group instead.
Of course if you want to keep things super casual and fun, there’s nothing better than a good old-fashioned GAME DAY! I like to get six different ideas and put them in the “Wheel of Names” generator. The students get excited to see which game will be randomly chosen! Typically, we get to 3-4 different games during my 30 minute classes. It’s the perfect way to end the year because we get to remember back to our favorite games from the school year.
For my third lesson idea, I’ve got the “Guess the Song by the Emoji” worksheet! I’ve downloaded a few of these from Pitch Publications, and she has multiple themes you can choose from. These are so easy to use and the students have a blast! I usually let my students work on the answers for about 15 minutes and then we share the answers together as a class.
The fourth lesson I have is singing campfire songs! You can do these on guitar or ukulele and if you’re feeling super creative, you could even have a fake campfire that you all sit around or put a video of a campfire on your projector or Smart Board. This is a perfect activity to do if you need something more chill and low-key. I like to pull these out when students are extra crazy and need something to bring down their energy.
Next up are boomwhacker playalongs! Oh my goodness, if you’ve never done these then you’re missing out! If you have enough, I like to let my students each have two boomwhackers instead of just one. It makes it more interesting for them!
I make a Google Slides presentation with tons of boomwhacker playalong videos and then just let the kids go to town. My favorite playalongs are from Swick’s Classroom and Musication.
Finally, I like to do Musical May in my classroom at this time of the year. This is where I highlight a musical during the last month of school.You could do this as one focused lesson, OR spend about 5 minutes of each lesson talking about a popular Broadway musical. If it’s possible, I like to show short clips from the musical.
We’ve talked about Mary Poppins, Sound of Music, The Lion King, and Annie. I think the older students would even love seeing parts of Wicked! This is a super simple activity that also gives you the teacher a break in the day. Plus, the students always love watching videos!
Well, that’s a wrap! On this blog AND on the school year! I hope you’ve found some new and exciting lessons that your students will enjoy, and if you’re interested in more details check out my YouTube channel. We are SO close to the end and summer will be here soon!
I’d love to hear in the comments about your favorite end-of-the year lessons! I’m always looking for new ideas myself, so tell me all about yours! I wish you a smooth end of the year, and a Happy Summer!
