Those weeks between Spring and Summer break are crucial times in the school year. It’s when all the major revision and review happens before the final exams, and there’s a lot of great material to cover during those weeks, too. However, it’s often the point in the school year when your kids will be the least motivated. Here are 39 activities to keep your classes of all ages focused and motivated after Spring break so that they can finish the school year strong!
1. Keep it Lively with Music
One way to keep your kids motivated is to incorporate music into your lesson plans. The novelty of these tunes is sure to grab their attention, and using songs that relate to your coursework is guaranteed to increase your learners’ recall ability just in time for end-of-term exams.
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2. Offer Brain Breaks Throughout the Day
To keep your class focused throughout the day, it’s important to offer brain break activities to keep them on their toes. With these activities, you’ll break up the monotony of any class as each of these brain break cards offers your pupils a way to rest their brains, stretch their bodies, and prepare themselves for the next task before their summer vacation.
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3. Keep it Relevant
The time after Spring break is the perfect point in your kiddos’ semester to offer them relevant, real-world examples of their curriculum in action. Help them see beyond the classroom by encouraging them to fill a class poster with examples of situations where they used the content they learned in your classroom in a real-world context.
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4. Post-Spring Break Writing Prompt Freebies
If you’re interested in finding out what your children got up to during spring break, this pack of writing prompts is sure to help. Invite them to fill these templates with stories and doodles that describe what they did on various days during their vacation.
Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers
5. Spring Break News Report Sharing
Treat your pupils to a journalistic writing experience with this creative activity. This captivating writing template will allow them to relive their vacation as you have them prepare a news copy to explain what they got up to over Spring break. Once complete, you could even set up a “news desk” in your classroom where you’ll encourage them to share their stories with their classmates.
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6. Use Interactive Review Quizzes
Interactive quizzes are a great option if you need your students to remember and retain all that they learned before they set off for Spring break. Invite them to complete a few age-appropriate quizzes on a variety of topics that you can find on this awesome website or with a simple web search.
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7. Let Students Lead the Class
Keep your class entertained and motivated by allowing them to take over your classroom for a day! You’ll flip the script on learning as you challenge them to present lessons to their fellow peers that are devoted to reviewing work that you’ve previously covered.
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8. Classmate Scavenger Hunt
Get your kiddos back in the classroom groove with this interactive icebreaker. Using these printable scavenger hunt worksheets, you’ll invite them to re-familiarize themselves with their classmates and give them a chance to share their Spring break experiences with each other.
Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers
9. Write Haikus About Spring Break
Have your children reflect on their Spring break experiences with this poetry activity. After introducing them to the basic techniques that turn a regular poem into a haiku, you’ll task them with creating their very own haikus by having them write about spring and their time spent away from school over the break.
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10. Make Memes Together
In this activity, you’ll use memes as a motivational tool to get your whole class laughing! Memes have become increasingly popular, but they can also provide the perfect medium to encourage your learners to share their feelings and moods.
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11. Make Space More Effectively
As exam season approaches after Spring break, you might be inclined to rearrange your class setup. What better way to involve your pupils in personalizing their classroom space than including them in the process? On their first day back from spring break, allow them to contribute ideas toward livening up their learning space before delegating tasks to each of them.
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12. Practice Classroom Yoga
Springtime is the perfect season to treat your kids to yoga sessions and breathing exercises. This guided yoga video will help them re-center and re-focus as you encourage them to carry out each movement. It’s a fantastic way to calm the chaos, even during the most difficult and demanding weeks of the academic year.
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13. Reflecting and Looking Ahead
These exercises are a wonderful way to provide your kiddos with the opportunity to reflect on the whole semester so far and to look ahead and set goals for the remainder of the semester. Have them fill out these reflection worksheets that will motivate them to look at their output so far and help them focus on their studies in the weeks leading up to the Summer break.
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14. Review Your Classroom Routines
As the school year zooms to a close, Spring break is the perfect time to take a hard look at your classroom routines to see what needs to be tweaked in order to end the semester on a good note. This fantastic guide is here to help you realign your expectations and assist you in clearly communicating these end-of-year expectations to your class.
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15. Write a Letter About Spring Break
Here’s another reflection activity that will provide your young minds with an alternative method of analyzing their time away from the classroom. Simply provide them with these printable letter templates before tasking them to write a letter to whomever they like to tell them the stories of all they’ve seen and heard over their Spring break.
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16. Reassess the Semester’s Goals
Turn the week after Spring break into a productive period! Using these adorable worksheets, you’ll invite your little learners to take a long hard look at their goals for the semester to see how far they’ve come and to realign any goals they want to reach by the end of the semester.
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17. Take Things Outside
Make the most of springtime weather by treating your middle and high schoolers to captivating outdoor lessons. With so many fun-filled activities to choose from, you’ll engage them in free reading time, epic scavenger hunts, and printable worksheets that they can complete under the sun!
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18. Stay Engaged with Short Films
Using movies in your classroom is a sure way to keep your kiddos engaged and interested in your teaching resources. Start by having them watch a short film before challenging them to analyze key moments and draw inferences or interpretations of what they think these specific scenes are trying to convey.
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19. Math Activities for After the Break
Lock in all the math concepts your students have learned throughout the year with these engaging activity sheets. Have them complete review exercises as well as classroom activities that will aid them in making sure those math concepts really stick, so that they can carry them through Summer break and into the coming school year.
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20. Top Ways to Engage Students After the Break
If you’re looking to combat classroom management or motivation issues after Spring break, this resource is a go-to! Using these techniques, you’ll immerse your kids in activities and mindset exercises that will make all the difference in their last few weeks of school.
Learn More: Teach Create Motivate
21. Color-By-Number Computer Science Vocabulary
This free no-prep exercise offers an engaging way to help your kids review their vocabulary for computer science. You’ll add a splash of color to their day as you engage them in this absorbing STEM activity where they’ll answer computer science questions to help them color-code these stunning mandalas.
Learn More: STEM in the Middle
22. Do A Mother’s Day Activity
Many countries celebrate Mother’s Day in May, making it a delightful holiday to incorporate into your classroom activities after returning from Spring break. Set some time aside and invite your kiddos to complete various Mother’s Day-themed projects like having them create a letter to their moms or a heartwarming craft.
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23. Implement Reader’s Theater
If you’ve never used a Reader’s Theater in your classroom, it’ll fit splendidly into the stretch between Spring break and summer. Simply, start by assigning characters to your children before inviting them to complete a read-aloud as a class. It’s a fantastic way to engage their literacy skills by allowing them to form part of your teaching process.
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24. Celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week
Teacher Appreciation Week usually falls right in the middle of May, and if it does for you, it may be the perfect opportunity to incorporate this celebration into your classroom activities. With so many wonderful ideas to choose from, you’ll have your learners design inspirational stickers or spur on their gratitude by encouraging them to make thoughtful thank-you notes for their teachers.
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25. Practice Skills with Color by Code
This versatile exercise offers a new and exciting way to mix up the process of reviewing concepts that your pupils are learning in your class. Challenge them to complete these colorful worksheets by having them solve problems to unravel a hidden code that they’ll then use to fill in the corresponding areas on their worksheet.
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26. National Pet Month Activity
Your animal lovers of all ages are sure to love these captivating lesson plans that will make a great addition if you’re looking to celebrate National Pet Month in your lessons after Spring break. Take a scroll through this diverse list of lesson plans that you can use to educate your students on different types of pets and their natural habitats.
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27. Shift Decor with a New Bulletin Board
Sometimes a change of scenery is needed after Spring break to keep your class motivated and to usher in a fresh perspective for the coming semester. Consider involving them in the process of updating your classroom by allowing them to assist you in livening up your bulletin boards with this list of spring-related ideas.
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28. Host a Classroom Carnival
Transform your classroom into a bustling hub of festivities with a carnival-themed lesson! With minimal preparation needed, you’ll challenge your class to participate in various themed activities like tasking them to research different carnival rides or involving them in experimental games like a water coin drop.
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29. Plan Engaging Read-Alouds
One simple way to maximize engagement toward the end of the year is by treating your little ones to a variety of read-alouds. Gather them around as you invite them to sit back and relax while you entertain them with captivating tales to end off their year and to keep them attentive during reading time.
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30. Shift to “Must Do May Do” for the Month of May
While this resource is tailored to 3rd-grade level, it can be easily customized to suit your students of all ages. During Must Do May, you’ll provide them with lists of tasks that they need to complete by the end of the week to provide them with an opportunity to exercise agency over their own learning process.
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31. Consider Using A Flipped Classroom
This instructional method of teaching can be incredibly beneficial for your kids as it switches up the traditional order of classroom instruction and homework. Begin by providing them with a pre-recorded lecture that they can watch at home before returning to school and encouraging them to complete various tasks on the content that they covered in their online lesson.
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32. Practice Sustainability for Earth Day
Celebrating Earth Day with your little eco-warriors is a fantastic way to teach them about sustainability in a way that’s guaranteed to grab their attention. Dazzle them with an adventurous Earth Day scavenger hunt or introduce them to different ways to help their community by allowing them to recycle, grow plants, or even upcycle discarded resources into creative crafts and gifts.
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33. Invite a Guest Speaker
There’s nothing like inviting an expert to come speak to your class to prompt their enthusiasm for the day. Start by considering what topics you’d like to cover before researching professionals who would be willing to educate your pupils on a field or profession that they’re passionate about.
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34. Use Task Cards
Escape the monotony of worksheets and assignments with these thought-provoking task cards! You’ll encourage your children to talk and work together as you have them complete various activity prompts that call for group discussions or introspective thinking.
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35. Create a Makerspace
A makerspace can help build a classroom community that inspires creativity and curiosity in your children. It’s a fun and accessible way to challenge them with STEM concepts and activities. Allow them to assist you in creating this engaging space by involving them in planning, organizing, and decorating their space which will soon turn into a wonderland of educational resources.
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36. Use Role Playing in the Classroom
This imaginative exercise can be used across varying levels of content and grades and is an awesome way to facilitate your students’ social-emotional development. When role-playing, you’ll assign different real-life scenarios to your class and then challenge them to act out these specific situations with their peers.
Learn More: Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning
37. Utilize Classroom Debates
These classroom debates can be used at any grade level and are an awesome way to develop your students’ critical thinking skills. No matter their age, you’ll engage them in discussions of various topics and while doing so, they’ll foster vital communication skills and tolerance for the differing opinions of others.
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38. Consider Positive Reinforcement
Managing your young minds at the end of the school year can be a tricky task. However, using positive reinforcement might be the key to finishing their year on a brighter note. Instead of focusing on the negatives, you’ll look at the positives in your kids’ behavior and use this as a guide to refocus their energy as you near the end of the school year.
Learn More: Jen Lium
39. Plan Fun End-Of-Year Activities
If the thought of coming up with exciting end-of-the-year activities and games seems daunting, we’ve got just the resource for you! You’re sure to appreciate these low-prep activities where you’ll invite your pupils to craft summer keepsakes or host a silly class awards ceremony that’s guaranteed to keep your kiddos smiling.
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