End of School Year
It is nearing the end of another school year, but unlike other school years in the past this one looks very different. School buildings are empty of teachers and students. We are all in quarantine in our homes trying to figure out this new normal we are living through right now. As a teacher you have been working tirelessly to transition to distance learning. It has been a steep learning curve for you and your students, but you are getting through it together. It is time to close out the school year, but what does that look like for distance learning? Here are five simple end of school year activities you can do with your students during distance learning. We may be apart, but we can still celebrate!
End of Year Memory Book
Start the party off with a digital end of year memory book. I always did a memory book with my students. It was a fun way to reminisce about the year and think of fond memories. Use Google Classroom as a way to assign a digital memory book, and your students will have it as a digital keep sake to remind them of the year that ended in distance learning.
Classroom Awards
Tell your students to grab a snack and have an end of year awards session on Zoom or Google Meet! This is a great way to highlight each of your students in a fun way during this difficult time. Get creative with this, use it as an opportunity to feature your students personalities and strengths!
End of Year Letter
Have your students write a letter to their future self! Like I said before this is an unusual time we are experiencing, and it would be fun for your students to write a letter to their future self. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just use Google Classroom to assign your students a writing prompt where they write a letter to their future self about the end of this school year and what it was like. You can tell your students to check it out in a year, but who is going to remember that?! A fun virtual idea to send it out in a year. Ask your students to email you their letter. Then when you receive the letters simply hit the forward button and schedule it to forward to the students in a year.
Flipgrid Video
Flipgrid is a fun and easy tool all distance learning teachers should checkout. It is free for educators, and the platform allows students to submit responses to a teacher’s prompt with a short video. You class can use Flipgrid to create fun end of school year videos. A few prompt ideas: Say goodbye to the school year with a song, tell us your favorite memory from the year, tell us your favorite activity you did at school this year, etc. Once a student has submitted a Flipgrid video others can see their videos! Your students will have so much fun creating and viewing.
School Spirit Day
The end of the school year is the best time for a school spirit day or spirit week! Create distance learning spirit days by sending out a list of activities or dress up days schedule for everyone in the class to participate in. Then you can either get on Zoom and Google Meet each day to experience the day together. You can also use something like Flipgrid or Padlet for students to share videos and pictures of themselves participating in the spirit day!
Wether you plan to try a digital memory book or a distance learning spirit week, I hope you found these five end of the year activities simple and easy to apply with your students during social distancing!
Want to learn even more? Click here to find out the 5 Best Kept Secrets of Google Classroom!
