The end of the school year is finally in sight, but your job as a teacher isn’t done yet. The last days of school can be a challenge—high school students are checked out, attention spans are short, and everyone has summer break on their mind. You need engaging end-of-school-year activities for high school students!
But how do you add new activities without creating a ton of extra prep work for yourself?
This blog post is packed with fun end-of-the-year activities for high school teachers that are low-prep, creative, and meaningful. Whether you’re reflecting on the past year, planning for next year, or just trying to end things on a high note, these activities are the perfect way to celebrate your students’ growth and make the last week of school enjoyable.
End of School Year Activities for High School English #1: Have Students Reflect On All That They’ve Read
Chances are your students have read at least one book at some point this year. Why not use the end of the school year as an opportunity to have students reflect on everything they’ve read?
There are so many ways to do this!
If you have a classroom library and do independent reading, you can have students write a review for their favorite read of the year. These reviews can then be placed in your classroom library. (Imagine the reviews you see around indie bookstores.) Or, they can be saved to share with next year’s students.
You could even turn them into a bulletin board (and check off next year’s back-to-school decorating!).
Book trailers are another fun and short project. These could also be repurposed into teaching content for next year.
The best book trailers can also be added to a class website. Next year, this page can serve as a reference page for students looking for their next read.
One last quick and easy activity I love is to have students make an “Instagram post” about a book. This could be any book they loved or the most recent whole-class novel.
For this, start with a paper template (I have one here). Let students draw and write a “post.” For the image, give students some parameters for what to include. Having them design a book cover, decorate an important quote, or include symbols from the novel are good ones.
The text below the “post” should connect their image to the book with a few key hashtags.
This activity is great for two reasons. First, it requires no prep from you! Second, it lets kids be creative during the part of the year when they’re most checked out. (And these will also make a great bulletin board.)
End of School Year Activities for High School English #2: Goal Research Project
If you need a meaningful end-of-year high school English project, this is the one.
This Personal Legend or Goal Research Essay asks students to identify their dream (be an astronaut, play for the NFL, etc.) and identify the key steps to attaining that goal.
Then, they explain their plan in an essay. Students will need to support their plan with research. Their sources could include interviews from someone who has already achieved that goal, college acceptance statistics, surveys, and more.
The research essay requires students to demonstrate skills they’ve learned throughout your class–research, writing, citing sources, etc.
But it has the added element of being relevant and engaging for your students. They’re not just writing an essay–they’re writing out their lives!
And at the end of the year–especially the end of their senior year–it’s the perfect time for students to really think about how their education fits in with the grand scheme of their lives.
You can create your own spin on this project, or you can save yourself the headache and grab my done-for-you version right here.
End of School Year Activities for High School English #3: Keep Reviewing Grammar Concepts
Just because you’ve almost made it to the finish line doesn’t mean you can stop teaching. But it probably is time to let up on new concepts and make sure the old ones actually stick.
Grammar is one of those concepts that are really hard to get to stick. You need to keep reviewing and reviewing until the very last day.
Review doesn’t have to be boring, though. Now’s the time to play some grammar games, let kids review parts of speech using Mad Labs, or have students compete in a grammar review.
You can also keep things simple and hand out some grammar review worksheets. If you want to make them a little more fun, pass out candy or treats for students who get every problem correct.
Alternatively, extra worksheets can be offered as a way for students to raise their grades. You can let students earn back points on old grammar quizzes or assignments by doing some extra review.
If you need some grammar worksheets, I have a collection of Summer-themed Grammar Review Worksheets here! They cover a variety of topics and each has a summer-y topic throughout. They’re the perfect end-of-the-year review!
End of School Year Activities for High School English #4: Have Students Write a Letter
Writing a letter is an essential skill that not many students actually practice. Teens today just don’t have much reason to write them, but that doesn’t mean they won’t need to know how later in life.
You can use the last few weeks of the year to teach a simple but essential skill like letter writing.
And there are so many kinds of letters students can write at the end of the year!
You can have students write a gratitude letter to a member of staff for Teacher Appreciation Week (the first week in May).
Or you can have them write letters to your next class with tips and advice for the incoming students.
Students could even write cover letters for summer jobs they might be interested in.
I definitely recommend teaching students the different parts of a letter and reviewing formal and informal tones. If they’ll be physically mailing the letters, don’t forget to review how to address an envelope. I know I was surprised by how many of my students couldn’t address an envelope when we wrote letters.
Need a letter-writing lesson? Grab this Letter Writing & Envelope Addressing Lesson right here! It also includes directions for writing that gratitude letter!
End of School Year Activities for High School English #5: Write Some Poetry
Because poetry can be quick to both read and write, it’s the perfect topic for the last few weeks of the year.
Obviously, there is a neverending supply of poetry to read or write. But I think having students write an ode poem works especially well for the end of the year.
Students can write odes to the last day of school, summer vacation, or to their favorite teacher/class/activity/memory from the school year. The structure of odes is rigid enough that it provides the opportunity to review some literary vocabulary but loose enough that students can still have fun with it.
(If you want more information on how to teach odes, I have a whole post here.)
Plus, as the weather gets better and better, you can score some bonus points with your students by taking them outside to write.
Don’t want to prep an ode lesson? I don’t blame you. Get my Ode Writing Lesson right here. It includes a slideshow, student worksheets, and can be done digitally or in person.
End of School Year Activities for High School English #6: Enrichment Project
If you wrap up your last big unit and still have a few weeks left in the year, it might be the perfect time for an enrichment project! An enrichment project can be anything that gets students thinking creatively–even if it’s not quite on the curriculum. If you’ve ever wanted to incorporate project-based learning or genius hours into your classroom, now’s the time.
There are endless possibilities for enrichment projects. I encourage you to think about what you’ve taught this year and your students’ interests. The best projects will take inspiration from both.
Maybe this is the time to have students listen to some podcasts before recording their own. Or maybe they can give speeches or presentations on a topic/hobby/interest that they’re passionate about.
One idea that will keep students learning as they investigate their own interests is an author study. Letting students choose what authors they want to study provides a learning opportunity with differentiation, scaffolding, and high interest.
Students can study the work of their chosen author for a week or two before attempting to replicate that author’s style in an original story or collection of poems.
And you don’t even have to plan this one. Get everything you need for an Author Study Project right here. Included are the directions, student worksheets, tips, and rubric you’ll need.
Conclusion
The end of the school year is a great time to get creative, let loose a little, and reflect on how far your current students have come. These end-of-year activities for high school students are not only a fun way to wrap up, but also a meaningful way to celebrate all of their hard work.
Whether you try creative writing, host a scavenger hunt, or work on vision boards for next year, there’s no wrong way to end the year—as long as you and your students are connecting, reflecting, and having a little summer fun along the way.
And remember—don’t put too much pressure on yourself during this hectic time of year. Between state testing, final grades, and prepping for the end of the next school year, these last few weeks should be more about smiles than stress.
So go ahead—pull out the sticky notes, let students share their summer plans, or make a time capsule for next year’s students. It’s the perfect time to pause, reflect, and close this chapter of the school year on a high note.