End of the Year Activities for Secondary ELA: 3 Activities to Try this Year!

It is almost the end of the school year, and that means it is time to start planning those end of the year activities for your secondary ELA classroom. Before you release your students for summer, it helps add to your classroom community by having a little reflective fun with your students. Here are two easy ideas that will engage your students as they pause and reflect on what they learned this school year.

Here are three end of the year activities for secondary ELA

End of the Year Activities: Letter to Next Year’s Class

After spending an entire year in your classroom, your students know the classroom rules, policies, and procedures like clockwork (even if they fail to show it). Your students also know what they need to do to do well and success in your classroom.

The end of the school year is the perfect time to have your students practice their formal letter writing skills by writing a letter to the students who will fill their seats next year. It is best if they write their message using the proper business letter format (then, you can use these letters next year to introduce the skill).

When I have my students write a letter to the incoming class, there are several suggestions I give to my students, especially if they are struggling.

1.  Students can include advice about how to succeed. This can be anything from achieving behaviorally or academically.
2. Students can explain why the class is essential.
3. Students can write about a favorite novel or unit of study.

End of the Year Activities: Create a Bulletin Board Together

The beginning of the year can be stressful. Between in-service training days, running copies of your syllabus, and getting your room ready, sometimes there just isn’t enough time. That is why I like to have my students help me create a bulletin board at the end of the year for next year’s students.

To create the bulletin board with my students, I first prep the area. I usually have the background and the border in place. Then, I come up with a theme. Finally, I give my students brightly colored paper, markers, craft scissors, and other craft supplies. From there, my students make the majority of the bulletin board by decorating their piece of paper and completing the thematic prompt.

Possible Themes:

1. My favorite thing about this class…
2. One thing I learned…
3. Advice for next year…
4. If I could do it all over again…

When the next school year starts, you will already have a colorful, engaging bulletin board that welcomes and advises your students. Your new students will enjoy reading all of the advice from the classroom vets, you will enjoy completing one less task, and your administrators will think you are a genius!

End of the Year Activities: End of the Year Class Survey

When it comes to end of the year activities, have students complete an end-of-the-year survey. This survey can include questions about what the students liked best, what they didn’t like, and how they think the class can improve. And end of the year class survey is a great way to get students thinking and reflecting.

Here is a list of 10 end-of-the-year survey questions for ELA students:

1. What was your favorite book or reading assignment we covered this year, and why?
2. Which writing assignment challenged you the most, and how did you overcome it?
3. Reflecting on your growth as a reader, what skills or strategies do you feel you’ve improved upon the most this year?
4. In what ways did you find the discussions and group activities beneficial for your understanding of the texts we studied?
5. What aspect of grammar or language mechanics do you feel more confident in now compared to the beginning of the year?
6. How has your perspective on literature or writing changed throughout this course?
7. Which literary genre or style did you enjoy exploring the most, and why?
8. Looking back, what piece of advice or lesson from this class do you think will stick with you beyond this school year?
9. What suggestions do you have for improving future ELA classes or making the learning experience more engaging?
10. Can you share a memorable moment or experience from our ELA class this year that you’ll cherish or remember fondly?

End of the year resources:

• End of the Year Activities
• Growth Mindset End of the Year Activities
• End of the Year Class Survey
• End of the Year Socratic Seminar