Memory Wheel Templates for a Favorite End of School Year Activity
Memory Wheel templates are a low-prep, easy way to structure one of my favorite end of the school year activities.
Students really enjoy spending time remembering and depicting their 6th grade memories at the end of the school year, by creating “Memory Wheels.
Create Memory Wheels Using the Memory Wheel Templates
Memory Wheels Steps
1) Brainstorming Memories for the Memory Wheel
When we create our memory wheels, we take time to brainstorm a huge list of all the things we did during the school year:
- Field trips
- Special lessons
- Special events
- Activities students may have been involved in, like chorus, band, etc
- New friends
- Favorite things about middle school
2) Choosing Events
Next, students choose their top 6-8 memories.
3) Creating the Wheels
Then, students use the Memory Wheel templates to create their wheels. The templates can be printed on regular printer paper, or on card stock. OR, they can be traced on oak tag or white construction paper.
- Students write “6th Grade” or “6th Grade Memories” in the center
- They write a heading and/or sentence or two in each section
- Student create illustrations to go with the sentences in each section
- Then they add color!
Displaying the Memory Wheels
Display at the End of the School Year
I laminate the wheels and display them for the end of the school year, so students can see and share their classmates’ memories:-)
Then I save the wheels to put up at the beginning of the new school year!
Creating these wheels gives students a chance to reminisce about the school year, and the wheels give the incoming 6th-graders a chance to see what the “old” students thought was fun about their 6th grade school year.
AND, the 7th-graders who left their wheels behind like to come back to visit and pick their wheels up in the new school year:-)
Other Wheel Template Uses
Getting to Know You Wheel
The ‘memory wheel’ templates could also be used at the beginning of the year, as a “getting to know you” activity.
- The student’s name would go in the center circle.
- The student would choose 8 things to share about him/herself, and then write a brief description of them and illustrate them.
- I haven’t used the wheel in this way yet, but I like the idea:)
Project Wheels
The wheel templates can be used for any type of project, at any time during the school year.
In the past, I have used the wheels as a book report project:
- Students choose main events from the book to feature in each section, they write a brief description of each event, and then illustrate each one.
- The title and author are written in the center circle.
Video About End of the Year Memory Wheels
I did a quick Facebook Live to share this idea, if you’d like to check it out!
I’ve also created quite a few wheels in different content areas! Check them out here!
If you’re looking for more end of the school year activities, check out this post!
2 Comments
I love this idea! I do a similar “getting to know you” activity where students pick 6-8 things about themselves that include a number- how many siblings, video game level, house number, etc. they must write an equation whose answer matches their info. I make copies for other students to solve – it works as a nice review of order of ops.
Love this! Thanks for sharing, Laurie!
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