Why Jamboard is the Best Tool for End of the Year Discussions and Reflection
Jamboard templates that will thank volunteers, put your students at ease for next year, and countdown to summer
If you’ve been following me here, you know that I love Jamboard for the classroom.
I started using Jamboard templates mainly for morning meeting and beginning of the year activities to building classroom community, but I quickly realized they were also perfect for math, reading, and writing, too.
Most recently I started using Jamboard for the end of the year to create thank you notes, use as a collaborative end of the year memory book, countdown to summer, and more.
Jamboards are a perfect 5-10 minute activity as a bell ringer, morning meeting, after recess, before another digital activity when students are getting their computers out, and even at the end of the day to settle students before the dismissal bell.
Did I mention students LOVE Jamboard and I get the most participation when I use them??
These are my favorite ways to use Jamboard at the end of the year.
5 Ways I Use Collaborative End of the Year Jamboards
1. Whole Group Memory Book + Year Recap
Individual memory books are great, but it’s even more fun for students to see their classmates’ responses and learn about everyone’s favorite memories from the year.
Having students respond to end of the year discussion prompts together encourages group reflection and extra bonding before the year is over. It’s really special.❤️
It’s also very unlikely that you’re going to take the time to go through all of your students’ memory books, so having them all respond in one place helps you gain insight into how the year went. You can quickly see what students liked and didn’t like about the year. This is a great way for you to get feedback and think about making changes for the following year.
Did I mention students love Jamboard?
They’re more motivated to participate in a class discussion when they can add their sticky note digitally and see it instantly added to the group Jamboard.
Here are some of my favorite things to ask students at the end of the year:
- Favorite thing you learned this year
- What will you miss the most about...
- Favorite Memory
- Favorite Assignment
- Favorite Read Aloud
- Favorite Subject
- Favorite Free Time Activity
- Give next year's class one piece of advice
- How have you grown this year?
- What was your least favorite...
You might think you know what assignments students really enjoyed from the year, but there have been so many times when I’ve been surprised at my students’ responses. I love finding out that assignments I thought were no big deal actually were really special to some students, especially those who aren’t as vocal in the class.
I like using a Jamboard like this because it’s really versatile.
The text in the yellow box is editable, so you can have students reflect on the grade as a whole, on a certain subject, or even what they’ll miss about a volunteer in the classroom. What will you miss most about Mrs. Palmer? It makes for a great card!
And again, you get instant feedback about what students loved, so you can do more of those things with your next class!
Give next year’s class one piece of advice. This is always a fun prompt for students. It helps you gain a little insight into their brains about something they’ve learned about being a student, how they’ve grown.
Plus you can project this Jamboard early in the next school year for your new students to see. It’s a great way to start a discussion.
I love having my students reflect on their learning and notice what they’re proud of themselves for. It’s an activity for even the youngest students, and what a good habit to get into it, reflecting on how we’ve grown as people and students.
2. Countdown to Summer and Summer Bucketlist
These next two are both some of my favorite activities to get students excited about summer break! They’re fun, full-group, bonding activities.
Balloon Pop Countdown to Summer
If you haven’t done a countdown to summer balloon pop, I HIGHLY recommend doing one. It’s super fun for your students and you!
In each of the 10 balloons of this end-of-the-year countdown template, you’ll type a fun surprise inside, one for each of the last 10 days of school.
Ideas for the inside of the balloons might be: sit anywhere, shoes-off day, read outside, extra recess, popsicle party, pajama day, etc. You decide!
Each morning, have a student use the magic eraser to reveal the surprise! (If the surprise is pajama party or something they need to prepare for for the following day, we pop the balloon before students go home that day.)
You can even strategically plan out the surprises to make your life easier. For example, I might do Popcorn and a Movie the day before a parent celebration or Open House. While students are watching the movie, I can prep.
I’ll put sit anywhere in the balloon for the day after we clean out our desks, so that students don’t have to worry about going back to their seat to get supplies.
What would you put in the last balloon!?
Summer Bucketlist Activity
What’s better than making a summer bucket list?! This is a fun activity to do as a class to get students excited about summer.
You can also assign this Jamboard to students individually so that they can make their own summer bucket list.
Encourage students to put a variety of things on their bucketlist: something they want to learn, a place they want to go, a new experience they’d like to have, someone they’d like ot see, etc.
3. Thank You Notes for Volunteers, Principals, and Nurses
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I get overwhelmed by the amount of thank you cards that circle the room for students to sign or that I need to create amongst all the other end-of-the year responsibilities.
I want to make sure volunteers know they’re appreciated whether they’re parent volunteers, high school or college students, or others from the community, so even though it can feel overwhelming, it’s always a top priority.
I know that volunteers like to hear directly from students, so I came up with some digital card templates.
Simply put the name of the volunteer on the Jamboard and students will add a sticky note with their message, thanking the volunteer.
You can send cards digitally or print out the Jamboard frames and give it to the volunteers personally.
💡Pro Tip: Duplicate the thank-you note Jamboard frames in one presentation so students can quickly go through and sign each card.
You can also use digital Jamboard cards for special days honoring school workers.
Jamboard card templates make it really easy to celebrate Nurse’s Day, Principal’s Day, and Teacher Appreciation Day. Email the completed digital cards or print them and have students deliver to the special school worker.
These Jamboard templates are great as cards for all the end of the year holidays:
- Principal's Day
- Teacher Appreciation Day
- Nurse's Day
- Thank yous: You're one in a melon, Llama Just Say You're So Great, Thank You
- Mother's Day
- Father's Day
4. Class Autograph Signing Activity
Digital autograph signing? Yes please!
A great alternative to signing yearbooks is to sign a Jamboard.
Every year I have students that aren’t able to purchase yearbooks. Using Jamboard templates is a free way for them to have a meaningful autograph signing experience.
And unlike having students sign a piece of paper that likely gets lost, they’ll have have a digital copy of their Jamboard messages saved in their Google Drive. They’re able to look back on it for years to come! What’s a better pick-me-up than looking at a bunch of positive messages your friends have written about you?
Added bonus, I’ve found that when students sign yearbooks, they typically just sign their name, but using Jamboard encourages them to write an actual message to their friends.
You can do this easily in your classroom. Before the autograph signing, each student personalizes a frame in the Jamboard set with their picture and name. Then their classmates go through each frame, leaving a message on a sticky note.
If you haven’t tried digital autographs, mix it up and give it a go!
5. Looking Ahead to Next Year
Moving on to the next grade and leaving familiarity can be feel a little scary sometimes for students.
It’s really helpful to give them a safe space to ask questions and talk about what they’re wondering or worrying about for next year.
This is also one of those times when having a full-group discussion is so much more beneficial than having students respond to a prompt in an individual book. Most of the time those individual prompts are never seen or addressed, leaving your students with uneasiness.
It’s also important for students to see that their classmates have questions and worries and to talk through things together.
Don’t forget to have students also talk about their goals for the next year and what they’re excited about! This all helps the transition go easier.
These are just some of different Jamboards you can use for the end of the year.
It’s also fun to sneak in some Jamboards for special days like like National Pet Month and May the 4th Be With You! You can see all the ideas (45+) by clicking the button below.
What do you think? Ready to end the year in a really reflective and meaningful way? Click below!
