#1Have everyone bring their favorite board game from home, Scrabble, Outburst, Life, checkers, etc. The more the merrier.   Set up challenge game areas keeping score as various partners play against each other.  Have high scores posted for each game by the end of the day.  Lots of the kids just want to watch; so make sure everyone signs up somewhere in the mix.

#2 For 5th graders one year, we had a Room 5 Olympics.  Kids thought of the categories (longest hair, fastest recitation of the pledge of allegiance, biggest foot, smallest writing) you get the idea.  Contestants signed up, everyone had to have at least 2 or 3 signups.  The kids did all the measuring and whatever else it took to determine the winner.  Lots of on task pandemonium!

#3  Our school has one of those quiz-o-matic machines where 2 teams of kids play off in a quiz show format.  I had the kids make questions using all the info (textbooks as a resource) that we studied during the year.  Part of the AM could be kids searching for good questions!  5 kids on a team.  10-15 questions per round before switching teams.  There are lots of trivia kinds of games out there for extra questions; the key is to have lots of questions

that haven't been used. 

Hint: If you don't have a quiz-o-matic machine, have 5 chairs lined up on each side facing the audience, score keeper in the middle with a clipboard.  After you read the question, the first person to stand and shout (gently) his/her name is the answerer.  Any one of the 10 people who try to answer before you acknowledge the answerer is disqualified.  It isn't as obvious as

the machine buzzer thingy, but it works in a pinch.  Just be sure that you are the one in control of deciding who stood and yelled their name first.  Don't let them argue with you; they are so excited to play, that if you stick to disqualifying them if they argue, or answer out, it will work!

This site describes a baseball game similar to the one Fred Jones recommends as a PAT activity (Preferred Activity Time).  It would be good for a couple of hours of engaged student time and the kids love it.  You can have them spend the first hour writing questions based on things they've learned this year.  They write them on index cards and write questions ranging from easy to challenging.  A single is the easiest, progressing through double, triple and homerun--the most challenging.  When they write their questions they also have to write the answer and where they found it (great review activity).  Then the entire class plays the baseball game using their questions.  It's a lot of fun and provides a great review for things they have learned during the year. We found it works best if you divide the class into teams first and then when you collect their questions, you use the questions from the other team for the game.  That way a team is not getting the questions they wrote and it makes it more fair.  They can use textbooks, class notes, study guides or worksheets as the source of their questions.  It's worth a try :-)  Good luck with your lockdown!

Playing Baseball in the Classroom -

A Flexible, Adaptable Game to Motivate Your Students

#1.Play a game like Jeopardy and review lessons taught during the year. Place students in groups and take turns.  Pass a paper ball to the next group.  Let the students make up the questions one week and place them in the appropriate Jeopardy category that Class decided upon.  Before game starts, mix 'em up good-the questions, that is. And of course, type up all the questions and share with us---just kidding (ha!)
 

Submitted by Bob Leslie

End of year or anytime game.  Make a 12 x12 grid out of poster board. Fill in the spaces with  red, blue, green, yellow and black sticky dots (or color in your own).  Then make up some coordinate pair cards for the grid. (This takes the most time, but lasts forever).  I use it to play baseball when we are reviewing in Social Studies. Once a question is read and the answer given, the student picks a coordinate pair out of the basket. Then they find that spot on

the grid.  The red is a single, the blue is a double, the yellow is a triple, and the green is a home run.  If you land on a black it is an out, 3 outs and your team is out and the other team is up. We have a lot of fun with it, and it reinforces math as well as SS or whatever else you want to review.  

What about a spelling scramble.... taking the words from your spelling program and scrambling them.... as the teams finish they earn so many points...

How about a *for fun* search in social studies... open book...give them a list of dates or people... and they have to either match them or create a skit about a person on their sheet...

One of the things we are planning to do this year (new) is exchange classes with the kindergarten teachers. I mean really exchange them. The K are coming to my room and we are going to the K room. Kids will get to remember what it was like when. We haven't decided if we are exchanging teachers also, but it's in the back of our mind.

The second to last day of school is FUN DAY for our fifth graders. The parents organize the entire event. Their gift to the teachers is to give us time to do our records. Every hour we go out and check out all the "fun" the kids are having and just smile when the parents tell us what hard work it is to keep the kids entertained for the day. They break for lunch, usually tacos, pizza, and a huge sheet cake for dessert (they are so stuffed the cake is always left over). After lunch we go to the gym where a group of teachers (the specials) always do a lip sync program and the kids watch a video that was made of them. Then back to the cafeteria where the students receive their certificate of recognition (pictures please) and class pictures from the HSA. The students pay 15.00 for a t-shirt and the luncheon and other gifts given

throughout the day.

We consider the time off a fabulous gift to us.

 We do an end of the year trip each year. We used to do it only for the 6th grade, but last year we did it for all of the middle school. We used to have several fundraisers (we sold candy, suckers, jewelry, and strawberries) The students got to sell as much as they wanted and got the money they made taken off their bus cost and ticket cost. Any extra they got the day of the trip for spending money. Now we have a break each morning and students can buy snacks. The money made goes to pay for the trip.

Last year we went to Islands of Adventure.  This year we will go to Universal Studios in Orlando.

Teachers' tickets are paid for with the snack money, and last year we were given some spending money for our lunch and supper.

Our 5th grade class have a field day on the next to last day of school.  The kids play all the old favorites such as pass the eraser, peanut in a spoon race, and a hula hoop obstacle course (we lay the hula hoops down in 2 rows close to each other and they have to race down the course).  We have freeze pops for a break and then head to the high school track (next door).  They have running races, standing long jump, and running long jump contests.  After lunch, we get together and go to the fields nearby and have wheel barrow races, a shoe toss for boys and girls (they take off their shoes and put them in a pile, the boys throw the girls shoes and vice versa--they have to run and find them and put them on and then race back to the finish line).  Everyone is usually exhausted by the end of the day and we have a fun time.  We keep track

of the winners and either that afternoon or the next day we pass out the ribbons and enjoy the memories. A couple of times we have had them bring in white t-shirts and we tie dye them a couple of days before the field day. Haven't done it in a couple of years,  cause it usually rained when we did it. The 6th graders really remember the fun they had as fifth graders! 

Joanie and I have a talent show.  Everyone must perform.  They can do ANYTHING that displays their talents.  they can work alone or together.  It takes no planning on our part and we are all rewarded in the final production.  It is also a nice memory and stage for good-byes.

Have a math field day with stations run by parent volunteers

Read Oh the Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss. Then all the kids write a few sentences about what they'd like to be doing when they grow up, and I type them up and put them together in a little book that can be autographed.

 

Submitted by Ruth Petsel 

These are our Sixth Grade End of The Year events:

Major Fieldtrip ..this year to Franklin Science Museum in Phili. ( 3 hours away) (We chuckle that they are most excited about riding in charter buses with cushy seats and that we really only have to hire the buses and drive around the block all day to make them happy)

This is planned down to the minute detail ­ one chaperone for every five kids, each chaperone is given an itinerary  of where to start in the museum so all start in different places and rotate through in a specific order and parents have a pre-field trip meeting to discuss objectives and expectations. Really debated whether to go this year due to 9/11 (we are located about 15-20 minutes from the Pentagon and travel up and down the Eastern corridor was restricted by our school district for awhile...had to postpone the planning and reservations.)

Civil War Day: A day of history related activities with a guest speaker who reenacts events in character.

Medical Convention; Like a science fair but focused on health and human body research that the students share with other younger students. They will have their centers set up throughout the school from 9:30-11:30 in the morning and will answer questions for visiting children.

Parent Appreciation Tea: Students write essays of appreciation and share poems that thank their parents for all they do, guest speakers (school board members, teacher of the year etc) give a talk and a slide show ( use to involve two programmed slide machines and a dissolve unit, but now uses computer) that includes baby pictures, pictures from past year and this year’s

events, and a student time capsule is distributed ( gift wrapped shoe box with “artifacts” of students work that I have kept and a letter that the students have written to themselves about future goals) This year also preparing CD of slide show for each family.

Sixth Grade Party:

Lunch, DJ, and games and dancing…various themes throughout the past 12 years…this year Tropical beach theme, Kids receive favors, large class picture, a Banner pennant, and wear t-shirt that they have designed ( this is actually given to them in February so it can be worn on fieldtrips etc) . All student/teacher signatures have been printed on the back and a theme

design done by one of the students (they vote on which design they want)  is on the front. They also vote on the color…helps that they have hand in all this so they will wear it. Amazing decorations done by parents ( although this year we have asked that students help and that we put them up early in the week so ALL the students in the school can enjoy them)

Award Assembly ­ a big deal , parents are invited...almost all departments (PE, music, band, strings, drama, science, history, math) give awards...some are in memory of deceased staff members and some are national or PTA awards.

SCA Installation: This years officers run an installation ceremony for new officers

Traditions- dress up, music, and carry candles ... old officers use their candles to light candles of new officers and then put theirs out. Small gavel presented to past president of SCA.

Also have a fieldtrip to the middle school to visit and have lunch. And have public librarian visit to explain using the library for research next year and to share new young adult books that they might enjoy reading over the summer.

   Our last student day is June 14th and we finish up the 17th. In May we start theme days on Fridays. Participation is voluntary. We do a Sports Day, a Backwards Day, a Disney Day, a Twin/Triplet Day etc. and the kids dress according to the theme.  I can't remember the rest now, but you get the picture. These days are only for the 5th graders since they are the oldest in our school. They go the local middle school for grades 6-8.

We don't have a graduation ceremony per say-we have an end of the year celebration and invite the parents. We only give out a few awards-each child does not get an award. We do one award from each 5th grade classroom for citizenship, most improved     . WE also give out perfect attendance, straight As and As and Bs all year for all the students that achieve that.