The last week of school is a unique beast. Kids are wired, routines have gone out the window, and you’re trying to hold it together while also packing up your classroom, writing reports, and mentally checking out for summer. Been there.
The good news? It doesn’t have to be chaos. With the right activities up your sleeve, the last week of school can be genuinely fun for your students AND for you. Here are some of the best ideas to get you through, from quick low-prep fillers to bigger projects that keep learning going right up until the final bell.
20 Last Week of School Activities Students Will Actually Get Excited About
1. Create a Board Game Project Designing a board game is always a classroom favorite. Students create the game board, write the rules, and design challenges for players. Once the games are finished, the class can rotate around the room and play each other’s creations. It keeps students genuinely busy across several days and works great as a partner or small group activity. Grab the Create a Board Game Project here.
2. Class superlatives vote Let students nominate each other for fun, positive superlatives like “Most Likely to Become a Chef” or “Most Likely to Win a Game Show.” Keep it lighthearted and inclusive.
3. STEM Building Challenges Hands-on STEM challenges are a great way to keep students engaged during the last week of school. Simple challenges like building the tallest paper tower, designing a bridge from classroom materials, or creating a marble run encourage teamwork and problem solving while keeping the energy positive. Low prep, high payoff.
4. Design a Theme Park Math Activity Students become the head designer of their very own theme park, choosing rides, mapping out their park on a grid, and calculating area, perimeter, and build costs. Four leveled versions are included so you can run it across a mixed-ability class with zero extra prep. The bonus brochure writing extension keeps early finishers busy too. Perfect for keeping math skills sharp in a genuinely fun context. Grab it here.
5. Letter to next year’s class Students write a letter of advice to the incoming class. What do they wish they’d known? What should the new students look forward to? It’s a meaningful writing activity that doubles as a great reflection. You can grab a free letter-to-future-students writing prompt here to make it even easier.
6. Escape the School Escape Room Theme your end of year escape room around escaping the school for summer break. Students solve clues to unlock the doors and head off on their holidays. It’s engaging, it gets every student working, and the theme writes itself. A great one to run on one of the last few days when you need something with structure but maximum fun.
7. Design a Sneaker Project Students design, brand, and pitch their very own sneaker. This one hits the sweet spot of creative, cross-curricular, and genuinely exciting. Kids are obsessed with it and it works perfectly as a multi-day project across the last week. Grab it here.
8. Memory vision board Students create a visual memory board using photos from the year, drawings, and words that represent their time in your class. Once they’re finished, have students sign the back of each other’s boards. It becomes a keepsake they’ll actually keep.
9. Memory chain Go around the room and have each student share one memory from the year. It takes maybe 15 minutes and it’s always a hit. Students love hearing what stuck with their classmates and it’s a beautiful way to close out a year together.
10. How Well Do You Know Your Teacher Game A fun, low-prep game where students test how well they really know their teacher. It always gets a great reaction and takes almost zero setup. Save this one for the final day. Grab it here.
11. Classroom compliment circle Each student gets a slip of paper with a classmate’s name and writes something kind about them. Read them aloud or deliver them as a little end-of-year gift. Simple, meaningful, and costs nothing.
12. Report card for the teacher Flip the script and let students give you a report card. What grade do you get for your read-alouds? Your explanations? Your dance moves? Give them a fun template with silly categories and let them be the judge. You’ll get some gold and some very entertaining feedback.
13. Countdown theme days Pick a theme for each of the last five days. Favorite color day, hat day, pajama day, bring your favorite book day. Low effort, big payoff in terms of class excitement.
14. Teach the class Let students sign up to teach the class something they know. A card trick, a dance move, how to say something in another language, how to draw a cartoon character. Five minutes each, endlessly entertaining.
15. Meme Writing Activity If you want students actually engaged in writing during the last week of school, memes are the answer. This lesson uses something students already love to teach structure, tone, and audience. The results are hilarious and it works brilliantly for reluctant writers. Grab it here.
16. Class time capsule Students fill out a page about themselves right now, their favorite things, predictions for the future, what they think they’ll be doing in ten years. Seal it up and send it home.
17. Draw your summer Give students a blank page and let them illustrate their summer plans or their dream summer. Display them on the board for the last few days.
18. Class playlist Let each student submit one song for a class playlist. Play it during work time or while you pack up the classroom. Students can take the playlist home as a little keepsake from the year.
19. Bucket list brainstorm Students write a personal summer bucket list. Keep it as a quick five-minute task or extend it into a full writing activity with illustrations.
20. End of Year Four Corners Game Playing Four Corners is such a great game for the last week of school and it’s also perfect if you’re throwing a class party. Students move to the corner that reflects their answer and it’s always a hit. Adding in summer-themed questions is a great way to learn about each other’s plans and interests for the break. If you want a ready-to-go version, check out the End of Year Four Corners Game here.
A Few Tips for Surviving the Last Week
Front-load the hard stuff. If you have any assessments or wrap-up tasks left, do them Monday and Tuesday. By Wednesday, everyone (including you) is done.
Keep a “yes day” jar. Write a few fun low-stakes activities on slips of paper and let students draw from the jar when you have a spare ten minutes. It gives them ownership without giving up control.
Don’t try to fit in new content. The last week is for celebrating, reflecting, and landing the plane. Let it be that.
You’ve Got This
The last week of school is genuinely one of the best weeks of the year if you lean into it. Build in some structure, choose activities students will actually enjoy, and give yourself room to celebrate right along with them. You’ve done a whole year of hard work. These last few days are yours too.
If you want the whole week sorted in one go, the Last Week of School Bundle has everything you need for Grades 3, 4, and 5. A board game project, theme park math, a detective case, awards, meme writing, a teacher game, and a bonus letter to next year’s class. Six activities, zero stress, and every kind of day covered.
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