3 Types of End of the Year Activities to Keep Your Students Engaged

 

 

As the end of the year gets closer and closer, it can be hard to keep up with your students’ energy, your lesson plans, and cleaning up your classroom. Today, I have 3 types of end of the year music activities that your elementary students will love and that require very little prepwork. Let’s dive in!

End of the Year Instrument Playing Activities

First, if your students are anything like mine, they just love playing instruments. At the end of the school year, I love adding some rhythmic or Orff arrangements into my lessons. I teach the students a song and have everyone practice each of the instrument parts. Then, once each student has an instrument, we’re ready to practice each specific part and finally, put it all together.

 

The kids love it! You can really use any type of song you want – folk, pop, school, etc. For some of my end of the year music lessons, I use a theme or book for the whole lesson. For example, last week with my 2nd grade classes, I read the book “Muncha, Muncha, Muncha” by Candace Fleming. I taught my students a little garden song, Orff arrangement, and also how to improve pentatonic melodies. It took most of the class time, and they absolutely loved it! Thanks to Bow Tie Music and Michelle Brinkman for the ideas and inspiration.

 

Here’s a few more instrument activities that I use for my end of the year music lessons:

• Firefly, Firefly
• Summer
• Here Comes the Sun (The Beatles)
• Summertime, Summertime (The Jamies)
• Can’t Stop the Feeling (Justin Timberlake)
• In Summer (from Frozen)
• Happy (Pharrell Williams)

 

Dancing to the End of the Year!

Secondly, let’s look at some end of the year activities for getting students up and moving. They have so much energy in these last few weeks of school, so why not use it in your music class! With movement activities, there are lots of possibilities. Check out this list, and see which ones work for your students, space, and your available supplies.

• Folk Dancing
• Freestyle Dancing
• Freeze Dancing Games
• Body Percussion Activities
• Scarf Activities
• Parachute Activities

 

Honestly, your students are going to love moving of any type. Just be sure to give specific guidelines for the activity before beginning to help them enjoy it even more.

 

For my end of the year music lessons, I like to add a folk dance activity from New England Dance Masters. They have great books and recordings and are definitely worth looking into adding to your music library. My students love “Bo Diddley,” “Alabama Gal,” “Sasha,” and “The Sweets of May.”

 

You could even create your own dance to your students’ favorite pop song. Ask your students what their favorite songs are. Several years ago, I was asked to have my after-school folk dancing club perform for our Police Appreciation Luncheon. So, using a flash mob entrance and some folk dance moves, I created a dance to “Fight Song” by Rachel Platten. 

 

For parachute activities, you could also use some favorite pop songs and add different movements to create a perfect music activity for end of the year lessons. If you’re interested in more parachute activities, click here to check out this post on tips, tricks, and a freebie.

 

Music Class Favorite Songs

Finally, for those last days of school before summer break, just sing with your students. Have fun thinking back on all the songs they learned that year.

 

At my school, I have a different song for each month that we sing at the beginning of the class. Well, even though we sing the same ones every year, my students just love going back and singing them all again in our end of the year music classes. 

 

You could even ask your students for their favorites, have a vote to see the top 3 favorite songs from the school year. You could also find some great summer and end of the year songs in Music K-8, Essential Elements, or any curriculum you may use. Have fun with your students and celebrate the end of the year!

 

Well, I hope you found these music activities helpful! Do you have another end of the year music activity that you love? Leave a comment below or email me at beth@bethsmusicclassroom.com. I’d love to hear from you!

Also, you can find more end of the year songs and music activities in this post – click here!