Handing out diplomas helps students mark their passage from one grade to the next.
Any graduation is both a happy and a sad time. Students celebrate their academic accomplishment, but also mark moving on to a new stage in life, leaving their old one behind. While students graduating from the fifth grade might not always be changing schools or stations in life, they will likely be with a different mix of students in sixth grade. Use a variety of fun and meaningful activities that allow students to celebrate their graduation and look back on the year they have just completed.
Frame Decorating
A nice way to mark a class graduation is to take a class picture and make a copy for each student. Give students a large piece of construction paper and have them make their own graduation picture frame. Hand out a 4-inch-by-6-inch pattern, and have students decorate around the place where the picture will go. Give them markers, glue, sparkles and anything else that will fit nicely on the frame. Have students glue the picture into the finished frame to take home as a lasting memory.
Autograph Book
With students moving on to a new grade, give kids individual autograph books to look back on the year and remember each other's fifth-grade experience. Set aside an hour or two for students to exchange books and write messages of congratulations to each other. Encourage students to think of specific memories or jokes from the year to write to each other. Remind them that graduation is a happy time and their messages should be positive and in good taste.
"Survive Fifth Grade"
Graduating students can now call themselves experts on the fifth grade. Have students capitalize on their expertise by writing survival guides for the incoming class. Encourage creativity and originality. Students can be funny and give tips on trick your teacher into forgetting to give homework, or serious tips on how fifth-grade math is more difficult than fourth-grade math. Let students read their work aloud to each other when they are finished.
Awards Ceremony
No graduation is complete without awards. Give an award to each member of your class, recognizing his individual achievements, talents or interests. These can be serious awards, such as "Best Athlete" or "Highest Score in Math." Or, they can be creative or fun awards, such as "Most Likely to Drive the Sixth-Grade Teacher Crazy" or "Smelliest Lunches." Have fun with it, get input from students and make certificates for your class that they can take home and be proud of.
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