As the end of the school year is upon us, you may be needing to think out of the box a little bit. The kids have loved learning music this year, but are now inching closer to summer and are a lot more wiggly. You may already be thinking about how to plan for the next school year, and what has worked and hasn’t worked this year. But before you do that, you need to get through May. I want to share with you my favorite end of the year elementary music activities that both the teacher and students alike will enjoy.
1. Instrument 4 Squares
Instrument 4 Squares is one of my all time favorite activities to teach. Basically, you call out an instrument and students head to the corner of what family that instrument falls into. If you can head outside, do it! If not, use your classroom and make a lot of extra space.
2. Classroom Talent Show
You may have been asked to coordinate the school wide talent show, but did you know a classroom talent show can be just as fun? Keep it simple, let students perform for each other, or do a showcase of what student’s have learned that year with different acts.
3. Freeze dance
The simplest version of this activity is to play some music, and when you pause it, the student’s have to freeze in place. Other fun versions of this activity is to call out different ways for the students to freeze. For example, you could call out “circle”, “tree”, “lion” or whatever else comes to mind.
In the 20 Fun Music Filler Activities, you’ll find many other fun filler ideas to do with your students.
4. Centers
Centers work so well, especially towards the end of the school year. There are so many centers ideas you can do with students. Splitting the students into small groups and letting them be creative breaks up the monotony and helps everyone get to the end of the school year in one piece.
5. Rhythm Relay Races
This is one of the absolute funnest musical activities to do outside. You’ll split the students into two lines. As you play a rhythm on a drum, the first person in each line when you say go has to walk that rhythm to the line and then come back and tag the next person. If they don’t walk the rhythm correctly, they have to come back to the starting point. The first team to get everyone to the finish line wins.
What are your favorite end of the year activities? I’d love to hear all about it in the comments below or share your thoughts on social media as you share this post.
Also, I’d love for you to share this post or any of the resources on my website with a friend or colleague who you know NEEDS to see it.
P.S. Are you feeling frustrated or stuck as an elementary music teacher? Check out these free resources to help you teach elementary music with confidence!
