When testing is over and summer break is on the horizon, it can be a challenge to keep students engaged and learning. One way to use this time is to review literacy skills that always seem to need a review AND are engaging for students. Idioms (and other figurative language) are always a great skill to incorporate into end of year activities. This post will share a free idioms activity with a summer theme, making it perfect to use as an engaging end of year literacy activity.
Before students complete the sorting activity, quickly review idioms, if needed. You can use the What Are Idioms? poster that is included in this free resource to help you review.
After reviewing what an idiom is, have students share verbally or write other common idioms on an index card or sticky note. You can hang the student example idioms on a bulletin board or class anchor chart.
For this end of year themed literacy activity (available in both printable and digital versions), students will match 20 common idioms (on hotdogs and hamburgers) to their meanings (on picnic tables).
There are two versions of the activity:
Version 1 – For this version, each idiom is written in the context of a summer-themed sentence. The sentences provide a context to help students understand the meaning of the idioms. The summer-theme of the sentences (swimming, barbeque, camping, etc) adds an extra engagement to the activity.
Version 2 – For this version, students will match idioms with their meanings without the idiom being included in a sentence. Use this as an additional activity or for students who don’t require context to identify the meaning of the idioms.
In addition to the printable set, there is also a no-prep digital version that is ready to assign for students to complete individually, with partners, or as a whole group activity.
In the digital version, students will choose from four options on the bottom of each slide and then drag the hamburger or hotdog with the matching idiom to the meaning on the picnic table.
If you have an interactive whiteboard, you can display the slides (in edit mode) and have students take turns dragging the hotdogs and hamburgers to the picnic tables on the screen. You can have students use the printable recording sheet to keep track of the meanings of each idiom or just participate in the activity and discuss the meanings as you go.
Idioms Included:
- Break a leg!
- Cat got your tongue?
- cry over spilled milk
- hit the nail on the head
- easier said than done
- raining cats and dogs
- back to square one
- let the cat out of the bag
- butterflies in my stomach
- The ball is in your court.
- chewing the fat
- put all of my eggs in one basket
- clear as mud
- a dime a dozen
- a piece of cake
- on the double
- rain check
- see eye to eye
- pull out all of the stops
- in the same boat
Click here or on the image below to download the free Idioms Sorting Activity from my Teachers Pay Teachers store now. The PDF has access to the digital version on page 3.
Need End of the Year Math and Literacy Activities?
Are you still needing academic resources to engage your students until the end of the year? Check out these end of the year activities (with digital activities) for math and literacy.
