The end of the year is always a great time to reflect on past experiences and reinforce skills you’ve learned along the way. This makes it an ideal time to continue strengthening executive functioning skills like organization, self-control, attention, and perseverance.
Let’s face it: Kids and teens use executive functioning skills every day. From planning and organizing to focusing and persevering through challenges, children and young adults could always use a little bit more practice in this department.
Choose any of the activities below to add more executive functioning skills practice into your end of the year activities. Note that some of the photos are from resources (both free and paid), though the activities are ones you can do on your own too!
Create a Class Memory Book
Skills: Metacognition, Planning, Organization
A class memory book is a booklet that contains the favorite memories of every student in the class. This is a fantastic end of the year activity because it builds on meaningful skills while reliving positive memories as a group.
To get started, first brainstorm a list of favorite memories with your class. You can jot these on the board or just share them aloud. Examples might be field trips, class parties, engaging experiments, meaningful lessons, or anything else.
Encourage students to choose one favorite class memory. They will think organize their thoughts and plan what to write before getting started. Then, give time for writing, editing, and completion. When students complete their writing portion, they can also add a drawing to go along with their memory. Once all learners have completed their memory writing pages, put these together as a class memory book. Then, make copies for every student, giving them something to keep and share at home with families.
Executive Functioning Choice Boards
Skills: Planning, Organization, Self-Control, and more
Choice boards are a great end of the year activity because they provide some extra structure and skill practice in a fun way for kids. The idea of a choice board is that it contains a set of activities. Each day, students can independently choose which activities to complete.
For example, students can choose between drawing a stoplight to remember self-control strategies or organizing their desk. Both of these activities build meaningful executive functioning skills. Giving the choice just helps learners get started and feel more involved in the learning process.
Use executive functioning choice boards to fill up your last few weeks or months in the classroom.
Classroom Clean Up Time
Skills: Organization, Task Initiation, Time Management
The end of the year naturally means that classroom cleanup is even more important than usual. Assign cleanup duties to students, such as:
- Cleaning and organizing desks
- Re-organizing the classroom library
- Re-stocking classroom supplies (paper, pencils)
- Re-organizing art supplies (sharpening colored pencils, discarding overused materials)
- Cleaning and organizing lockers
- Returned any borrowed materials (books, games, etc.)
- Taking down or putting up bulletin boards
- Cleaning whiteboards
If time allows, you can also bring your students to help clean up other areas of the school, such as a library or colleague’s classroom. This is often a fun way to give back to the community too!
Write a Letter to Next Year’s Teacher
Skills: Planning, Organization, Flexibility, Goal-Setting
A letter to next year’s teacher is a helpful way to bridge the gap between this school year and next school year. Even if students do not know which teacher they are going to have next year, learners can write a letter.
In the first paragraph, have students write about themselves by sharing their name, age, and favorite hobbies. Next, have students open up about their strengths and challenges in school, including which subject areas are easier or more difficult for them. In the last paragraph, have learners write about their hopes, goals, and aspirations in the coming year. This might include skills they want to learn or trips they are excited to take.
Once finished, it’s even better if you can pass the letter along to future teachers. It’s a great way for teachers to learn about their future students!
Play Board Games
Skills: Perseverance, Self-Control, Attention
Games are always a great way to practice and review skills, especially at the end of the year! Start by reminding students about which skills board games are targeting. Just a few of these skills include attention, perseverance, teamwork, and self-control. Grab this free games poster and worksheet to make your life even easier!
You can have students play any games in your game cabinet. Games like Scrabble, Pictionary, and Jenga are a few favorite games to build executive functioning skills, but you can truly use anything.
After giving game time, encourage students to reflect about which skills they used.
Executive Functioning Read Alouds
Skills: Self-Control, Perseverance, Attention, and more
Read alouds are a strategy to build executive functioning skills anytime during the school year. Of course, the end of the year becomes a perfect opportunity to incorporate more read aloud time. It’s calming and no-prep on the end of the teacher.
To get started, choose any read aloud and highlight the executive functioning skills as you read through. Come up with your own books or use this free printable list of executive functioning read alouds to get started.
Reflect on Growth and Improvement
Skills: Growth Mindset, Flexibility, Perseverance
Having some positive reflection time is always a great way to end the school year. Encourage students to share one way they have grown and improved over the year. This could be an example of academic growth, such as improving math or reading abilities. This could also be personal growth, such as making new friends or going outside their comfort zone to join a new club.
Have students write and/or draw to show their growth and improvement. Then, give those comfortable a chance to share with the class.
Partner Reflection Interview
Skills: Attention, Planning
Give students the time to reflect by interviewing a partner. During this time, have students ask each other questions about what their favorite part of the year was, the favorite topics they learned about, and more.
Once students finish their partner interview, you can give them the chance to share their findings with the class to build on public speaking too.
Executive Functioning Classroom Conversations
Skills: Self-Control, Attention, Perseverance, and more
Classroom discussions are an evidence-based strategy that help teach, strengthen, and reinforce meaningful skills across all content areas. The end of the year naturally becomes a healthy time to review some of these executive functioning skills through classroom conversations. A few questions to start with include:
- How can keeping an organized notebook help you improve your grades? (organization)
- Do all successful people succeed all of the time? Why or why not? (perseverance)
- What are some strategies for remembering your homework? (planning)
- Describe a time things didn’t go like you planned, but they worked out anyway. (flexibility)
- What does it mean to “stop and think” before making a decision? (self-control)
- When working on a report or project, how do you know it’s finally done? (metacognition)
Get your own set of executive functioning discussion cards to help you and your learners build these skills throughout the whole year. My favorite part of these cards is that you can put them on a ring and discuss them whenever you have time between activities.
Practice Coping Strategies Together
Skills: Self-Control, Flexibility
Given that the end of the year can be such a hectic time, it’s always worthwhile to make time for extra coping skills practice together. You can choose one coping skill a day to practice and discuss.
Use a free coping strategies challenge activity to add coping skills to your last 30 days of school. For every day, try a new strategy, such as listening to music, dancing, journaling, and reading. After each strategy, have students rate how well the skill worked for them from 1-5. At the end of the 30 day challenge, students will have a list of their favorite coping strategies just in time for the summer.
Create a Summer Bucket List
Skills: Planning, Metacognition, Goal-Setting
A bucket list is a set of activities you hope to do. Help students think about summertime by making a group list of all the things you might do in the summer. This alone can help strengthen metacognition, background knowledge, and vocabulary.
After a group list, encourage students to come up with their own personalized bucket list of activities they hope to do this summer. Then, give a chance to share. Students can keep their list and bring it home to help them stay on track this summer.
Need More Ideas for the Summer?
From gardening to planning a trip, there are countless ways to build brain skills over summer break too! Learn more about integrating these important executive functioning skills over the summer months.
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