7 Ways to Keep Students Focused During the Final Days of School

April 27, 2023 byEmily Ewen

4 min to read

An elementary student wearing headphones and studying with a notepad and laptop on a desk

When a long summer break is approaching, it’s easy for kids to feel distracted from their last few lessons and school projects. But this is no reason to give into the summer slide early. There’s so much potential learning left! Sometimes all it takes is a slight shift in students’ learning environment. Here are a few classroom management strategies for end of year:

7 End-of-School-Year Activities

1. Implement interactive presentations.

Interactive learning helps kids improve their retention and keep their attention throughout the day. Storytelling, games, quizzes, role playing, or acting out are all examples of interactive ways to present a lesson. Adding these ideas to your end-of-the-school-year activities will help students feel more involved and make learning more exciting.

2. Take a field trip.

A field trip is the ultimate change of scenery for kids at the end of the year. Field trips are also a great way to get your students to apply what they’ve learned in school to the outside “real world.” Meet up with others in your online learning community and head to a museum, art gallery, zoo, or other local attraction. Make the field trip feel special—like an end-of-the-year celebration for all your student has accomplished.

3. Take learning outside.

Stepping outdoors, especially when the weather is warming up, can be refreshing when burnout is starting to set in—for both students and Learning Coaches. Outdoor air provides a real change of pace from sitting inside and looking at device screens. Consider teaching a lesson outdoors, taking your end-of-year activities to the park, or adding free outdoor reading time to your child’s learning schedule.

4. Switch up your learning environment or classroom layout.

An easy way to bring about some novelty during potentially monotonous days at the end of the year is to move the furniture around in your classroom or learning environment. Let your students help by giving their input on where their desks or other furniture should go. Even a new seating arrangement is enough to make things more exciting.

5. Get up and move.

Students, teachers, and learning coaches can all get a little antsy as the school year is winding down. Make sure your end-of-year activities include active fun. Even just five minutes of exercise can help pump more blood to the brain and improve kids’ mood and energy levels. Try these “5 Minute Exercises for Kids in Virtual School” for a quick brain break during the school day.

6. Try a new hands-on project.

End-of-year-science activities are a great way to get kids excited about learning when summer is near. After all, kids learn best when they are actively engaged in a project. Try these “5 Science Activities Where Children Use Their Senses to Observe.”

7. Let your students do the teaching.

Let your students control the lesson plan for a day. You could assign a particular topic and have them do research or let them choose their own. Even if the topic is a little unusual, practicing research and presentation skills as well as learning fun facts is always beneficial.

Still looking for more ideas to revamp your end-of-year activities and dodge fatigue at the end of the year? Check out our tips on how to avoid burnout when learning at home.