Best end-of-the-year activities for middle school ELA

Nothing quite brings me joy like prepping for end-of-the-year activities in middle school ELA. It’s that time of year that you can feel summer getting closer and closer…

As the school year comes to an end, it always feels like the teachers are running out of energy while the students are gaining it. My middle school classroom can feel pretty chaotic, so I always make sure to have engaging end-of-the-year activities to keep them occupied – and not jumping off the walls (mostly metaphorical). 

Here are my favorite activities for my ELA classroom at the end of the year:

Activity #1: End of the Year ELA Game

Have you ever watched the TV show Deal or No Deal? That show inspired me to create these review games! On your board, you will display several “briefcases” with a monetary amount assigned to it. Students will answer several ELA review questions, and if their team answers correctly – they can open a briefcase.

I always assign prizes to the team who wins the most money. Even small things like five minutes of free time gets them hyped up! It’s a unique game that engages them in the review, and I love how simple it is to set up. 

I have several pre-made versions of the game ready to go that I called “Let’s Make a Deal” and I include all of the ELA based questions, instructions for playing, and briefcase images you can use. I have four versions of this game to fit different middle school grade levels. Check out this ELA review game.

Activity #2: Pixar Short Analysis

Okay hear me out on this – literary analysis, but with pixar shorts. I spend a large portion of my year talking with students about literary analysis, so I like to weave this into a fun project at the end of the year.

There are lots of Pixar shorts students can find on YouTube, or you can task them with watching some at home if they have a Disney+ account. Either way, they will want to analyze the same details we would for a typical literary analysis: summarization, theme, author’s craft, symbolism, and more.

Have students dig deep into their Pixar short, and then write an essay analyzing something in particular, such as a theme. Or give them a real big challenge and have them compare it to a text you read during the year.

P.S. I have an entire literary analysis unit, if you are curious what I teach my students throughout the year.

Activity #3: Memory Books

A couple years ago, I wanted to create memory books with my middle school students but everything online felt really elementary – so I created my own! These memory books are a really good last week of school activity because it’s simple and helps students reflect on their school year.

In my students’ memory books, I like to give them space to write about themselves, reflect on their goals, recap their year, note the books they read, and more. You can staple everything or use some type of folder to hold the contents together.

I created a ready-to-go memory book here that you can use with your middle school students. It includes two different pages for students to fill out, and looks “grown up” enough for your middle schoolers to use.

Activity #4: Free Reading

While I always encourage free reading throughout the year, it can be hard to find time to celebrate it. I love incorporating free reading into my end-of-the-year activities. I have done several free reading activities throughout my time teaching, so I’ll share a few that I really enjoy:

• Summer Reading List: Have students do research on Goodreads or other websites to craft a summer reading list. Have students set a reading goal, such as how many books they want to read or to try a new genre.
• Book Tasting: You may think book tastings are only good for the beginning of the year, but they can also be used as one last push to help students find an end-of-the-year book. I always set up a Starbooks theme in my room for tastings.
• Book Recommendations: If you have a classroom library (or even a school library), this is a must for the last week of school! Have students write down book recommendations to future kids (such as incoming 6th graders). You can take these suggestions digitally, or have them simply write on notecards. 

The end is near, and I know you are ready for the summer sun (or maybe I am speaking for myself). I hope you can soak up the last few weeks of school with your students with these end-of-year activities.