Best End-of-Year Activities for Upper Elementary That Keep Learning Going
The last few days of the year are their own kind of survival mode.
Fun End-of-Year Activities for Grades 3–5
State testing is done. SGOs are due. Your grade book is a mess of missing assignments, and you’ve already mentally checked out twice this week, but your kids are still sitting in front of you, every day, for several more weeks.
And they know summer is coming. You can feel it in the room.
Here’s what I’ve learned after doing this long enough: the teachers who make it to the last day without losing their minds aren’t the ones white-knuckling it through the same routine. They’re the ones who planned a few intentional activities that keep kids actually engaged, not just busy.
These are my 3 go-to end-of-year activities for grades 3–5. Low prep. Meaningful. And your students will actually want to do them.
Grab the End-of-Year Freebie. Download it here →
1- End-of-Year Memory Book :
This one never gets old, and I’ve seen it work every single year.
Students create a memory book that captures their favorite moments from the school year — drawings, written reflections, photos if you have them, inside jokes from the class. It becomes something they actually take home and keep.
What I love most about it is that it naturally covers real ELA skills. Students are writing personal narratives, making choices about what matters to them, and reflecting on their growth as readers and writers — all while thinking it’s just a fun end-of-year project.
One of my students once told me the activity we did in the first week of school was her favorite memory of the whole year. She put it front and center in her book. That’s the kind of thing that reminds you why you do this.
My Snapshots of Joy End-of-Year Writing Packet has everything you need: writing pages, reflection prompts, and bulletin board pieces. Print it, hand it out, done.
Grab the End-of-Year Memory Book Activity on TPT
2- End of Year ABC Countdown to Summer: for Upper Elementary
If you’ve never done an ABC Countdown, this is the one end-of-year activity I’d tell every upper elementary teacher to try.
The idea is simple: the last 26 days of school each get a letter of the alphabet. Each day has a theme or activity that matches that letter. It builds anticipation, gives kids something to look forward to every single morning, and keeps your ELA block running, because every day includes a read-aloud and a writing prompt.
A might be “Author’s Chair” day, students share something they wrote this year. F might be “Favorite Book” — they write a recommendation for next year’s class. S might be “Storytelling” — partners share a memory from the year out loud before writing it down.
It sounds like a lot to plan. It’s not — because I already did it for you.
My ABC Reading and Writing Countdown to Summer includes 26 read-aloud suggestions, writing prompts, and motivational quotes, one for each letter. Print and digital included. Your language arts block is covered for the last month of school.
3- End-of-Year Outdoor Activity
We’re in New Jersey. By May, after a long winter and weeks of testing, my students need to be outside. And honestly? So do I.
Moving your lesson outside doesn’t mean abandoning your curriculum. It means getting creative with how you deliver it.
Last year, I took a fraction review outside with a bowling game. Students used fraction equations to calculate their scores based on which pins they knocked down. They were doing math — real math — while playing. They had no idea they were reviewing. I had no idea the last weeks of school could feel that good.
You can do the same thing with ELA. Take your read-aloud to the school rooftop or courtyard. Do a vocabulary scavenger hunt around the school grounds. Have students write their reflections sitting in the grass.
The learning doesn’t stop just because you walked outside. Sometimes it gets better.
You Made It
The last few weeks have been hard. The energy in the building is chaotic, the to-do list is endless, and you’re running on whatever’s left in the tank.
But you also get to end the year with kids who feel celebrated, seen, and ready for what’s next. That’s worth something.
If you want everything ready to go for the last weeks of school — memory book pages, ABC Countdown, writing prompts, and more — it’s all in one place.
Grab the End-of-Year Resources → and Read about the 3 Things I Stopped Doing as a Teacher to Avoid Teacher Burnout!
Happy Summer
Grab the Back to School Freebie and read
First Week of School: Create a solid beginning with easy-to-use resources and activities: READ HERE!
