100th Day of School activities for upper elementary made simple!
Being an upper elementary teacher is hard! There is always the struggle between the fun of wanting to celebrate the holidays and seasons in the classroom and making sure you get in the challenging expectations and standards of your grade level.
Kids are kids no matter how old they are and they love celebrations of any kind! I have found that my upper elementary students LOVE to celebrate every holiday throughout the year...even the 100th Day of School! The holidays are a great way to increase participation and engagement from your upper elementary students.
You may gloss over the 100th Day of School, thinking it is a day for the primary grades, but don't! Celebrating the 100th Day of School is an instant motivator for your upper elementary students and a great way to engage students in the middle of winter, just when they need a little boost!
Of course, when it comes to celebrating the holidays in my classroom I always infuse critical thinking, and rigorous activities that get students thinking...not just celebrating!
Here are my favorite ways to celebrate the 100th Day of School with my "big kids" who love celebrating as much as any other kid!
1. Start with a Read Aloud!
The Hundredth Day Disaster is a perfect read-aloud for upper elementary classrooms! It is super fun to read since it is written in rhyme. It is easily relatable too, as the teacher miscounts and does not have 100 days of school on her chart. The kids band together to help their teacher figure out how she miscounted. (Spoiler alert, don't blame the teacher, our days are quite hectic!) With larger vocabulary words included and a theme of a strong community, this story is one that I definitely feel is a good fit for upper elementary classrooms!
Since it is written in rhyme, challenge your students to create a list of 100 rhyming words! Grab the free printable below.
Other Fun 100th Day of School Reading Ideas:
- Challenge to read silently for 100 minutes on the 100th Day of School (or during the 100th Day week)
- Word Challenge: Give a specific direction and challenge kids to brainstorm as many as they can in a small group or with a partner. Combine all student ideas to see if you reach 100. For example: Let's list 100 compound words.
- Sentence Challenge: Give a specific topic and challenge students to write one hundred sentences about that topic. This is a perfect tie-in to any nonfiction topic you are studying.
2. Play up 100!
When it comes to the 100th Day of School, you can do more than just count 100 things! Leave that for first graders. Go beyond the counting of 100, and dive deep into learning about things that are related to 100. My two favorite "play on 100" topics to learn about are inventions that took place 100 years ago and Benjamin Franklin, who appears of course on the $100 bill!
By taking the number 100 and relating it to the last century, upper elementary students can take part in exciting 100th Day of School lessons.
Try these "Big Kid" 100 Ideas:
- Have students research and write a persuasive piece about which invention they think is the most important one that was invented in the last 100 years
- Have students create a list of 100 endangered or extinct animals and create a presentation on one of them
- Bring 100 into their world by having students work with a partner to create a list of 100 different ways to do something that directly relates to their world, like 100 Different Ways to Practice Multiplication Facts
- Have students count out 100 days and find the date. Have students write a letter to the teacher explaining what they hope to learn and experience in the next 100 days of learning.
3. 100 Acts of Kindness Challenge
- Groundhog Day
- Valentine's Day
- President's Day
- Random Acts of Kindness Week
- Lunar New Year (depending on the lunar calendar)
Try these 100th Day + Other Holiday Ideas:
- Have students create a list of the United States Presidents that held office in the last 100 years. Go further and have groups of students research and present information about one of those US Presidents.
- Have students as a class write out 100 Valentine's Day cards and leave them around the school
- Have students research and list 100 different places where groundhogs live
4. Community Building
- Have students write their names with a pencil on a small piece of paper and fold it into fourths. Place all the names in a bucket or bowl.
- Have students one at a time randomly draw a name from the bucket or bowl, making sure that they did not pick themselves. If they pick themselves, have them show you before selecting a new name.
- Students then write a letter to the student whose name they picket. Their letters should be positive, upbeat, and include specific examples of why they are happy to be that person's friend and classmate.
- For the 100th Day of School, we use the theme...100 Words to Describe YOU! The kids love it! They write a letter for their classmate AND fill a "100" with positive words about their classmate.
- When all students are all done creating the cards for their classmates, they deliver them. They really love both giving letters and receiving them!
Try these community-building ideas:
- Work as a class to create a list of your favorite 100 memories, lessons, and activities that you have completed this school year
- Try something from this list: 8 Strategies for Building Classroom Community
5. Math Fun with 100...of course!
- Race to one hundredth math game
- Greater than or less than one hundredth
- How big is one hundredth?
If you teach third grade or fourth grade, you can do these same spinner games and activities but focus on 100.
Try these 100th Day Math Ideas:
- Have students figure out different ways that 100 days can be measured. How many hours is it? How many minutes? How many seconds?
- Give students the probability challenge of flipping a coin 100 times, will it be 50 heads and 50 tails? Have them predict, flip a coin, gather their findings, and be ready to share with a mini presentation.
- Have students work backward from the number 100 and write a word problem where the answer is 100. Students can write addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and two step word problems. Have students create an illustration to match their problems. This is always a class favorite!
When it comes to celebrating the holidays and seasons in your upper elementary classroom, don't leave the 100th Day of School out! It is the perfect opportunity to get in some fun, community building, critical thinking, and rigor in the midst of winter.