As the school year comes to a close, you might be looking for some fun and engaging end of the year activities to keep your students motivated and excited about music class. Here are a few ideas for music activities to end the school year on a high note:
End of the Year Activity #1: Music Write the Room
Write the Room activities are one of my favorites for any time of the year. The end of the school year is no exception. Take your pick of write the room activities – rhythm, composer facts, staff pitches.
Or you could create something even more unique, with musical challenges at each poster that need to be solved (translate the notes on the staff to see what word they spell, etc).
Get more details about how to use Write the Room in this blog post.
End of the Year Activity #2: Game Show Review Game
Game shows are a fun way to keep your students engaged for every second of their last days of school. I love a good old-fashioned Jeopardy style game, with review questions on concepts they have learned throughout the year. But you could also consider games in the style of: Minute to Win It, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader, Charades. Heck, maybe you can even style something the fashion of Legends of the Hidden Temple. (If you do, please send me pictures. That would be amazing!)
End of the Year Activity #3: Carnival of the Animals
I love doing Carnival of the Animals for my younger students towards the end of the year. It is a way that we can harness that silly energy while still learning and doing music.
I do lots of movement activities – which are detailed in one of my most popular blog posts: 10 Fun Carnival of the Animals Movement and Listening Activities.
But in addition to moving around, we also do listening glyphs, where students color as they listen to songs from Carnival of the Animals. Because sometimes you just need a chill activity to bring the energy level down a couple notches. With Carnival of the Animals, you get a great balance of both.
End of the Year Activity #4: Parachute Activities
I bought a large parachute for my classroom and it has been one of my best investments – EVER. I just keep coming up with more routines to do with songs for my students. If you need a little inspiration, I recommend Artie Almedia’s Parachutes and Ribbons and Scarves, Oh My! Pretty much everything she creates is pure gold.
And keep tuning in to my blog! Now that I have a parachute in my classroom, I will continue to make more parachute activities and post them here and on my YouTube channel.
You can join my mailing list here (and get a free mini-lesson as a bonus!)
End of the Year Activity #5: Boomwhacker Play Alongs
If you are not yet familiar, allow me to introduce you to Musication. Musication is a YouTube channel with boomwhacker play-alongs, as well as some percussion play-alongs. My kids absolutely love playing along to these. Then we switch boomwhacker colors with other students in the class and play them again.
Another good play-along channel is Ready Go Music, which has lots of rhythm play-alongs.
These are just a few ideas for music activities to end the school year on a high note. Remember to have fun and be creative in your approach. Your students will appreciate the effort and will look back on their music experiences fondly. Happy music-making!
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