Are you on the hunt for bilingual end of year activities for your class? As the end of the year approaches, you it’s important to keep students engaged and motivated. But as always, it’s an extra challenge when you are looking for Spanish bilingual activities for your dual immersion class. Here are five fun, creative, and bilingual end of year activities that will help your dual language classroom celebrate the end of the school year and reflect on what they’ve learned.
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Memory Book/ Libro de recuerdos
Give students the opportunity to reflect on their learning throughout the school year with a bilingual end of year memory book! One of my favorite of the bilingual end of year activities, this book allows your students to reflect on what they’ve learned and how they’ve grown. This activity will help students practice their language skills while also reflecting on their personal growth. I also like to leave space for drawings and for students to sign each other’s books.
I have a memory book/ libro de recuerdos template that’s ready to go. You can find that on TPT in English, Spanish, and a bilingual bundle with both.
Letter to next year’s class
As the end of the school year approaches, it’s a great opportunity to have your students reflect on their experiences and share their knowledge with the next year’s class. One fun and meaningful bilingual end of year activity to accomplish this is to have your students write a letter to the next year’s class. In this letter, they can share their favorite memories from the year, give advice on how to succeed in your class, and share some of the things they learned.
Not only does this activity help students reflect on their own growth and learning, but it also allows them to practice their writing skills and develop empathy and leadership skills by sharing their experiences with others. Additionally, this activity can help build community in your classroom as students work collaboratively to share their thoughts and ideas.
To elevate the status of the Spanish language, I highly suggest conducting this activity in Spanish for bilingual classes. Witnessing the older students write fluently and confidently in Spanish may encourage the upcoming students to take pride in their language proficiency and work towards becoming more proficient themselves.
To get the kids started, read Una carta de tu maestra en el último día de clases to give them some examples of what to do!
Novel study + project
Using a novel study as an end of the year activity is a fantastic way to engage bilingual learners while also supporting their language development. Novel studies allow students to delve deep into a text and analyze its themes, characters, and plot in a meaningful way. In bilingual classrooms, this type of activity can be particularly helpful in developing reading fluency and comprehension skills, as well as boosting Spanish language proficiency. Students are able to practice reading and speaking Spanish in a more challenging context, and they can also discuss and write about the novel’s themes and plot points in Spanish. Moreover, a novel study can provide a powerful and memorable experience for students as they explore complex themes and ideas, and connect with characters in the story.
My favorite end of the year novel is De como tia Lola vino (de visita) a quedarse. It’s a relatively short novel and we typically finished it as a class within 2 weeks. Then I had students work on a Bloom Ball book report project. Completing their project was the pass to the end of the year party. You can get that Bloom Ball book report project in English, Spanish, and a bilingual bundle with both.
Reader’s theater performance
Reader’s theater is a wonderful end of the year activity that can benefit bilingual learners in numerous ways. This activity involves students reading a script out loud as if they were performing a play. Not only does it encourage teamwork and collaboration, but it also helps improve reading fluency and pronunciation skills. In bilingual classrooms, it can be particularly effective in enhancing Spanish language proficiency, as it encourages students to practice speaking in Spanish in a fun and engaging way.
Additionally, reader’s theater can help students develop confidence and a love for reading, as they work together to bring their chosen script to life. Overall, incorporating reader’s theater as an end of the year activity is an excellent way to support bilingual learners in their language development while also providing a fun and rewarding experience.You can find reader’s theater scripts in Spanish for free by searching on TPT. Most language arts curriculum come with them as well. Here’s an example of a free one I’ve used in my 4th grade class.
Class names word search puzzle
One of my end-of-year traditions is to create a word search with all of my students’ names. I give a token prize for whoever finishes (usually a sticker). You can find free word search makers online. Personally, I use this one from Discovery.
How well do you know your teacher quiz?
I saved the best for last because this is my absolutely favorite of the bilingual end of the year activities that you can do in either Spanish or English. As the title implies, you make a short quiz about yourself for students to take.
I like to do this on the last day of school. I create a little suspense by letting students know that they will have a quiz on the last day of school about the most important things they learned this year. This is where knowing your students is really important. For some years I was able to really lean into it. Other years I had more anxious students and I let them know ahead of time that I was joking.
Then on the last day of school I make a big deal about them coming in quietly. I have their quizzes sitting upside down on their desks. I warn them not to start or peek until it’s time. Then I cue them and they all start. In about a minute they all erupt in laughter! They take the quiz, we review the answers, and then jump into the festivities of the day.
Wrapping up bilingual end of year activities
In conclusion, these five fun, creative, and bilingual end of year activities will help your dual language classroom celebrate the end of the school year and reflect on what they’ve learned. By incorporating both languages into these activities, you will give your students the opportunity to practice their language skills while also celebrating their cultural differences and personal growth.
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