These end of year reflection activities use the book Last Day Blues to help elementary students process emotions, celebrate growth, and reflect on their school year through meaningful SEL lessons, writing prompts, crafts, and classroom discussions.
End of Year Reflection Activities for the Book ‘Last Day Blues’
We all know the drill when the last few weeks of school hit. One minute, students are cheering because summer vacation is finally here, and the next, someone is crying because they realized they won’t see their teacher every day anymore. Kids feel happy, sad, nervous, proud, and excited all at once during the final days of school. Honestly, adults do too.
This time of year can feel especially overwhelming for teachers. You’re trying to finish assessments, clean the classroom, survive field days, organize supplies, answer parent emails, and somehow still make the last week meaningful. Planning thoughtful end of year reflection activities often gets pushed to the side simply because there is not enough time or energy left.
That’s why finding a simple read-aloud that naturally opens up conversations about emotions can make such a huge difference. Instead of trying to force serious discussions during the chaos of the final week, a book like Last Day Blues helps students reflect in a way that feels safe, relatable, and age-appropriate.
This book is the perfect starting point for meaningful end of year SEL activities, writing lessons, classroom reflection activities, crafts, and discussions about change. You’ll find simple SEL, literacy, and craft activities to help students reflect in meaningful ways while still keeping engagement high during those wild final days of school.
Table of Contents
- End of Year Reflection Activities for the Book ‘Last Day Blues’
- About Last Day Blues by Julie Danneberg
- Why This Book Is Perfect for the End of the Year
- Last Day Blues Activities and Lesson Ideas
- Anchor Chart Ideas for End of Year Reflection Activities
- Literacy and Writing Activity for Last Day Blues
- End of Year SEL Activities for Kids
- Easy End of Year Crafts and Reflection Ideas
- Create a 3D School House Memory Craft
- Teacher Tips for End of Year Reflection Activities
- Resources to Reflect During End of Year
- More End of Year Ideas/Activities
About Last Day Blues by Julie Danneberg
Last Day Blues is one of those end-of-year books teachers come back to again and again because students instantly connect to it. The story focuses on the mixed emotions students experience during the final days of school, but one of the sweetest parts is realizing the teachers are emotional, too.
Students love seeing adults experience the same feelings they do. It helps normalize emotions and reminds children that feeling emotional about change is completely okay.
For teachers, this book is especially helpful because it naturally leads into discussions about growth, memories, friendships, and transitions without needing an elaborate lesson plan. During a season when everyone is exhausted, having a book that does the heavy lifting for you is honestly a gift.
This story works beautifully for:
- end of year reflection activities
- end of year SEL activities
- last day of school activities
- end of year feelings activities
- end of year morning meetings
Why This Book Is Perfect for the End of the Year
The end of the school year brings out huge emotions in kids, even in students who don’t usually show them. Some students are excited for summer while others feel nervous about a new teacher, changing schools, or leaving familiar routines behind.
That’s exactly why this book works so well.
Instead of ignoring those emotions, Last Day Blues gives students permission to talk about them openly. It validates feelings while helping students realize they are not alone.
It’s incredibly helpful because emotional behaviors tend to spike during the last few weeks of school. Students may become extra clingy, emotional, distracted, or overwhelmed. Using read-alouds and end of year emotions lesson activities helps channel those feelings into meaningful conversations instead of meltdowns and chaos.
This book helps students:
- Build emotional awareness
- Reflect on personal growth
- Understand mixed emotions
- Feel connected to classmates
- Celebrate accomplishments
Endings can feel complicated, and this book helps students understand that.
Last Day Blues Activities and Lesson Ideas
One reason teachers love this book is that it can easily fit into multiple parts of the school day. You can use it during morning meeting, literacy instruction, SEL time, or even as a calming end-of-day activity.
The lesson’s activities are simple to prep, highly engaging, and meaningful. During the last week of school, that combination feels almost magical.
Before Reading
Before opening the book, give students time to discuss their emotions about the end of the school year.
Questions to discuss:
- How do you feel on the last day of school?
- What are you excited about?
- What are you nervous about?
- What will you miss?
- Can someone feel happy and sad at the same time?
These conversations work wonderfully as activities for Last Day Blues because they immediately help students connect personally to the story.
Teachers also love these discussions because they help quieter students open up before emotions build throughout the week.
During Reading
While reading, pause often to discuss emotional changes throughout the story.
Questions to ask:
- Why does the character feel both happy and sad?
- What emotions do you notice?
- How are feelings changing?
- Have you ever felt two emotions at once?
- What parts feel relatable?
This makes a wonderful last day of school feelings activity because students begin to recognize emotional patterns in themselves and others.
These discussion opportunities naturally support comprehension and oral language skills while keeping students engaged.
After Reading
After the story, encourage students to reflect on how much they’ve grown throughout the year.
Discussion questions:
- What changed from the beginning of the school year to now?
- What stayed the same?
- What are you proud of?
- What memory will you always remember?
- What are you excited about next year?
These conversations become powerful classroom reflection activities while also helping students leave the school year feeling successful and celebrated.
Anchor Chart Ideas for End of Year Reflection Activities
Anchor charts are one of the easiest ways to guide reflection while keeping discussions visual and organized for younger learners. Teachers love them because they require minimal prep, encourage participation, and can remain on display throughout the final weeks of school.
These charts also help students who struggle to express emotions independently by giving them sentence starters and visual support.
Try these simple anchor chart ideas:
From the First Day to the Last Day
Include categories like:
- On the First Day I Felt…
- Now I Feel…
- Things That Changed
- Things That Stayed the Same
- New Things I Learned
- Goals I Reached
Our Favorite Classroom Memories
Students share:
- Favorite field trip
- Funniest classroom moment
- Favorite read aloud
- Favorite class project
- Favorite brain break
- Favorite classroom game
Things We Learned This Year
Create sections for:
- Reading skills
- Math skills
- Friendship skills
- Problem-solving skills
- Self-control skills
- Growth mindset moments
How We Grew This Year
Students reflect on:
- Things that used to feel hard
- New things they can do now
- Ways they became kinder
- Ways they became more confident
- Goals they achieved
Feelings About Next Year
Students can share:
- Excited feelings
- Nervous feelings
- Questions about next year
- Hopes for their new classroom
These anchor charts work beautifully as end of year SEL activities because they encourage emotional conversations in a structured, low-pressure way.
Literacy and Writing Activity for Last Day Blues
At the end of the school year, teachers often need activities that are meaningful yet manageable during chaotic schedules. Simple literacy and writing activities connected to read-alouds are perfect because they keep students learning while also allowing space for reflection.
The best part is that students are usually much more engaged when writing feels personal and connected to their real emotions.
Compare & Sort Activity
Create or use the cards with first day vs. last day scenarios to help students reflect on how much they’ve grown throughout the school year. This simple activity encourages discussion, emotional reflection, and classroom conversations while helping students compare their feelings, skills, and experiences from the beginning to the end of the year.
Examples:
- Walking into a new classroom
- Knowing classroom routines
- Meeting new friends
- Saying goodbye to classmates
- Feeling nervous
- Feeling confident
Students sort and discuss the scenarios while talking about how emotions may differ between the beginning and end of the year.
This activity works well because it combines speaking, social interaction, and emotional reflection all at once.
Writing Prompt
Use this simple reflection prompt to encourage students to pause and think about their emotions, memories, and personal growth from the school year. Reflection writing activities like this help students process big end-of-year feelings while also giving teachers meaningful insight into what students enjoyed, learned, and remembered most.
“On the last day of school, I feel…”
Students can respond with:
- writing
- drawings
- sentence starters
- labeled pictures
Teachers love this activity because it is simple, meaningful, and easy to differentiate for different learners. Sometimes the shortest writing prompts create the biggest emotional responses.
End of Year SEL Activities for Kids
During the final weeks of school, SEL activities become especially important because emotions tend to run high. Students may feel excited one minute and emotional the next, which can make classroom behaviors unpredictable.
That’s why low-pressure emotional check-in activities can be incredibly helpful for teachers. They provide structure, encourage communication, and help students process emotions in healthy ways.
Feelings Wheel Activity
Students create a spinning emotions wheel featuring different feelings they may experience during the last weeks of school. This hands-on activity helps children recognize that it is completely normal to feel multiple emotions at once during big transitions, such as the end of the school year.
- happy
- excited
- proud
- sad
- nervous
- worried
- grateful
Students then share why they chose certain emotions and explain moments connected to those feelings. It also encourages important classroom conversations about emotional awareness, friendships, memories, and excitement for summer and the next grade level.
Teachers love this activity because it fosters meaningful conversations while remaining fun and interactive.
Easy End of Year Crafts and Reflection Ideas
By the end of the year, attention spans are usually hanging on by a thread. Crafts are helpful because they keep students engaged while still allowing opportunities for reflection and conversation.
The best end of year crafts combine creativity with meaningful discussion instead of just keeping kids busy.
Directed Drawing: Schoolhouse Drawing
Students draw and personalize a school building. This creative reflection activity gives students a chance to celebrate the end of the school year in a fun, low-pressure way.
Optional writing extension: “My favorite school memory was…”
Teachers love directed drawings because they provide structure while still allowing creativity. They also work well for students who struggle with open-ended writing tasks.
3-D School House
Create a 3D School House Memory Craft
Students cut, color, and build a 3D school house while writing favorite memories from the school year inside the windows. This fun end of year reflection activity doubles as an adorable keepsake and hallway display.
Bonus Activity: Goodbye Crown
If you need one more easy activity for the final days of school, Goodbye Crowns are always a hit. Students love creating something wearable, and teachers love having a simple craft that still encourages reflection, conversation, and celebration during those extra busy end-of-year days.
Students reflect on:
- what they learned
- favorite memories
- what they improved
- goals for next year
This activity helps students end the school year feeling proud, celebrated, and excited for what comes next. Plus, the crowns make adorable end-of-year photos that students will absolutely love showing off.
Teacher Tips for End of Year Reflection Activities
The final weeks of school can feel equal parts magical and completely exhausting. Students are excited for summer, routines are falling apart, and emotions are suddenly everywhere. That’s why keeping your end of year reflection activities simple, meaningful, and low-prep is often the best approach.
Here are a few teacher tips to help the final days run a little smoother:
- Keep activities short and flexible. Attention spans during the last week of school are usually very short, so quick discussions and simple projects work best.
- Expect extra emotions. Even students who seem excited for summer may suddenly become emotional, clingy, or overwhelmed. Build in extra patience and calm conversations.
- Use read-alouds to guide discussions naturally. Books like Last Day Blues help students open up about feelings without putting pressure on them.
- Focus on celebration over perfection. Not every activity needs to look Pinterest-perfect. Students will remember the feeling of being celebrated far more than perfectly cut bulletin board pieces.
- Combine SEL with academic activities. Writing prompts, crafts, and class discussions can easily become meaningful end of year SEL activities while still supporting literacy and communication skills.
- Give students chances to talk. Many children simply need opportunities to share memories, worries, and excitement out loud with classmates.
- Save easy prep activities for the final days. Directed drawings, reflection crowns, anchor charts, and feelings wheels are lifesavers when energy levels are low.
- Take pictures whenever you can. Students love looking back at classroom memories, and honestly, teachers usually end up cherishing those photos too.
- Remember that transitions are hard for kids. Even happy changes can feel overwhelming for young learners, so giving students time to reflect truly matters.
And most importantly? Give yourself some grace during the final stretch of the school year. If your classroom feels a little louder, messier, or more emotional than usual, you are definitely not the only one.
The last days of school are filled with big emotions for both students and teachers, which is why meaningful end of year reflection activities matter so much. Using Last Day Blues alongside simple SEL discussions, crafts, and writing activities helps students reflect on their growth, process emotions, and celebrate the school year in a memorable way.
Resources to Reflect During End of Year
Last Day Blues Book Companion
Try the Last Day Blues Book Companion by Proud to be Primary. It includes low-prep reading comprehension activities, writing prompts, SEL discussions, crafts, and reflection pages designed to pair perfectly with Last Day Blues. This resource helps solve common end-of-year teacher problems by giving you meaningful, ready-to-use activities that keep students engaged, encourage emotional conversations, and save valuable planning time during one of the busiest weeks of the school year.
Make the last days of school meaningful (without scrambling for ideas) with the End of Year Book Companion Bundle by Proud to Be Primary! Filled with engaging end of year reflection activities inspired by favorite read-alouds like Last Day Blues, this bundle helps students reflect on friendships, memories, growth, and everything they’ve learned throughout the year.
With low-prep writing prompts, discussion activities, crafts, and printables, it’s an easy way to keep students engaged while creating those memorable end-of-year moments every teacher wants.
More End of Year Ideas/Activities
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