As the school year winds down, everyone is counting down to summer—but there’s one important moment before the final bell: Step Up Day. This is your chance to help students feel excited (not anxious) about what’s next. Whether you call it Step Up Day or Moving Up Day, these simple step up day activities will give students a glimpse into the next grade level while keeping things fun and low-stress.

Picture Yourself in the Next Grade Bulletin Board

Make a cute craft for the perfect transition bulletin board. Students will draw a picture of their future self and write a short caption about something they are excited about in the next grade level.

Grab the template here

This is a great way to celebrate the end of the year and transition to a new grade level! Your soon-to-be students will love imagining themselves in their next grade!

Who Wants to Be ____? Trivia Game

This is the PERFECT game to test students’ readiness for the next grade level! Plus, all of the questions are done for you! It’s interactive and fun. It’s available for kindergarten through 4th grade.

Check it out here

Write Facts and Opinions About Your Classroom

Have your current students share what it’s really like in your class—this is always a hit with younger students 👀

You can keep it simple with a mix of facts + opinions, like:

  • We have ___ minutes of recess each day
  • Math is ___ (easy/challenging/fun 😅)
  • Our teacher loves when we ___
  • You will learn about ___ in science
  • One thing that surprised me was ___
  • A tip for next year’s students is ___
  • My favorite part of the day is ___
  • One thing you should be ready for is ___

👉 Want to make it more interactive?
Throw in a few false statements and have students decide what’s true vs. false.

  • We get 3 recesses a day 🤔
  • Homework takes 2 hours every night 😅
  • You never have to read in this class

This turns it into a quick, engaging activity instead of just reading a list—and students LOVE trying to catch the “tricks.”

Q&A Session: What to Expect Next Year

Give students a chance to ask questions about the next grade level—this is one of the easiest ways to calm nerves and build excitement at the same time.

You can have students:

  • Write questions on sticky notes
  • Submit them ahead of time
  • Or drop them into a question box throughout the day

🧠 Common Questions You Might Get:

  • Will we have homework every night?
  • How hard is the math?
  • Do we switch classes?
  • How much recess do we get?
  • What is the teacher like? 👀
  • What’s the hardest part of the year?
  • What’s the best part?

✨ Easy Ways to Run It:

  • 👩‍🏫 Whole Group Q&A – read and answer questions together
  • 👯 Student Panel – have a few current students answer questions
  • 🗂 Sort & Answer – group similar questions (school day, academics, routines)

Letter to First Day Self

Once your new students have learned a little bit more about their next grade level, have them write a short letter to themselves on the first day of school. This is such a nice gesture to open on the first day and will help them remember how prepared they felt when the school year ended.

Step up day activities make for a fun and informative experience that helps students feel more confident about transitioning to the next grade level.

Looking for more end of the school year activities? Check out this blog post!