Doesn’t it seem like just yesterday that your students walked into your classroom for the first time? But it’s almost been 180 days! And while most of us are excited for the summer, some of our students may be anxious to leave your classroom. Transitioning to a new classroom and grade can be hard – they may be worried about the unknown, new academic challenges, and panicked about making new friends.
Related: Last Day of First Grade Ideas & Activities
Read on for some of my favorite ways to get my students ready to move on from my classroom and excited about their next adventure!
Tour the Classroom Day
Just before the year ends, partner with your colleagues to create a Classroom Tour Day. This visit to the next grade will give your students a chance to get excited about what’s to come.
In a perfect world, this tour might be the day right after your Spring Open House! You’ll be tired from the evening before but your classroom will be dolled up with student work. So your students can take a peek at what’s to come and you have an activity already in your lesson plan for the day. This day is a win-win!
Depending on how long you have, you might even be able to spend some time in the classroom checking out class books or playing a math game. {Grab some free math games to play here!}
Share Excitement
The final days of school can be tricky – we’ve covered the subject matter BUT we still have days left and we’re contending with kids who can smell summer 😂
So if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em! Use their energy to get them excited for next year’s class and looking back over the year to build excitement for your upcoming students at the same time.
These activities can all be found inside of my Last Days Survival Kit.
Create a Persuasive Poster
Students can create a poster about his/her favorite activity from the last year. Hang these up outside your classroom so passing students get a peek at what what most fun throughout the year.
Write Letters to Incoming Students
These letters will give your current students a chance to reflect on what they’ve loved about the year in your classroom. You’re not only slipping in some writing practice, but you’re also creating your very first class book for next year!
Related: Get to Know You Activity for Elementary
Look Ahead Towards Next Year
After touring the classrooms, ask your students to brainstorm a list of what they’re most excited about learning in the next grade.
These activities are all no prep {hello, we’re exhausted at this point in the year – we don’t need one more thing to prep, right?!}
Read Books
Books make everything better, right? There are fabulous books to read aloud that will help your students get ready for the transition.
Get ready for summer by reading The Night Before Summer.
And add the next grade to your classroom library, too!
The Night Before First Grade
The Night Before Second Grade
My amazing friend Vera wrote Getting Ready for Kindergarten. Go order it!
This is a lovely end-of-the-year book that is perfect for the final days of the year.
Need something to keep your kids learning over the summer? Make sure to check out the Summer B.A.T. Book! This 40 page activity book is filled with Math and Language Arts activities that will prevent summer slide. You can read more here!
Do you have any ideas to help make the transition any easier? Let me know in the comments!
