The month of May is a busy time of the school year! Finding May activities that keep your students engaged and learning in these final days can be difficult. With all the end of the year activities, testing, field trips, and spring fever, it can be a challenge to keep students motivated to listen and learn.
Check out these May activities for the primary classroom that are sure to keep students learning, collaborating, and on task through the final days of the school year. Finish this year strong with incredible, no prep May learning activities for your students.
Are you over having to create and turn in lesson plans? How about done with searching the internet and buying bundles only to use a page or two as review activities in your classroom? I’m done prepping things… just want some easy no prep activities that keep those little hands engaged while I can start on my miles-long EOY checklist. (You know what I’m talking about.)
That’s the beauty of Education to the Core Premium. I type in any skill and BAM, instant no prep printables at my fingertips. I’ve got my students all set through the rest of this school year and I was able to get it done in half the time. Give ETTC Premium a try and see how much time (and money) you save on activities for any skill you teach!
May Activity 1. Color by Sound
Get your students excited about the warmer weather with an outdoor picnic. Take some snacks outside, enjoy a class picnic, and complete this Picnic Color by Sound activity. This is a great way to get the wiggles out, reinforce the letter sounds students have been learning, and get fresh air!
Activity 2. Graphs
Help students visualize data with an Ocean Graphing activity. Graphs are important because they encourage students to analyze, compare, and contrast information. If your class is learning about ocean animals this month, this ocean graph is a great addition to your lessons. Students love to share and talk about their favorite ocean animals and this activity can spark some great class discussion.
Activity 3. Ordinal Numbers
Learning ordinal numbers can be difficult for many students, so extra practice this month can ensure they have mastered this skill. Ocean Ordinal Numbers is a fun ocean themed activity and it’s perfect to complete in a small group.
May Activity 4. Read and Match
Students love reading the summer sentences and finding the matching picture with this Ocean Read and Match. This works well as a partner activity so that students can read the sentences to each other and build their fluency.
Activity 5. Build a Graph
The Build a Beach Graph Activity utilizes all of your students’ fine motor skills as they cut, color, sort, and glue the adorable beach pictures into the correct column of the graph. Encourage students to discuss the information from the graph as they answer the coordinating questions.
Activity 6. Story Writing
Story writing activities are important because they help students understand the beginning, middle, and end of stories. Sandcastle Story Writing is a fun way for students to think about the sequence of events in order to complete the story. Take this activity a step further and have students rewrite the story with their own details.
May Activity 7. Addition
Learning addition helps students master the relationship between numbers. Mastering basic addition skills gives students a framework to use when building new math skills. This Addition to 10 activity includes starfish counters for students to use as they model each addition problem. Add this to an ocean-themed center for a fun May activity!
Activity 8. Short Vowels
Learning vowel sounds is an important foundation for future reading success for students. As students master the vowel sounds, they are able to learn to read and spell more words and build their reading fluency. This Find the Path Activity helps reinforce the short o sound for students. Complete this activity individually and then check it together as a class to ensure student accuracy.
Activity 9. Word Search
When you need something different this month to get your students excited, try a word search! This CVCe Word Search activity works well in a small group. As students find each word, encourage them to read the word out loud to the group or to a partner.
May Activity 10. Measuring
If you’re working on measuring this May, encourage your students to estimate before measuring. This builds critical thinking skills and helps students grasp the concept of measuring. This Estimate and Measure May activity includes a small ruler for students when completing their work. A no-prep measuring activity that your students will love!
Activity 11. Capacity
Measuring skills are important because they allow students to understand and explain the world around them in universal terms that others can understand. As students learn various units of measurement, understanding capacity can be a more difficult concept to master. Use this Capacity: More or Less activity to help students understand this measurement concept.
Activity 12. Social Emotional Learning
As the school year comes to a close, it can be more difficult than ever for students to “bee” calm! This How to “Bee” Calm activity includes a read-aloud, movement activity, discussion questions, and a craft for students. This activity is engaging but also helps bring calmness to your classroom in these hectic final days.
May Activity 13. Pattern Blocks
A May activity with pattern blocks is always motivating for students. They love to build, and this Pattern Block Spin and Fill activity is a challenging game that encourages problem-solving skills. Add this activity to a May center for engaged learning.
Activity 14. Listen and Color
It’s the end of the school year, and students are restless! It can be difficult for them to focus and listen right now. This May Listen and Color activity is the perfect resource to build listening skills as well as strengthen vocabulary and concept words.
Activity 15. Labeling
As students learn about the plant life cycle this spring, it is important for them to understand and know the different parts of a plant. This Label the Flower activity builds fine motor skills and is a great opportunity to discuss the functions of each plant part. Include this in a center and follow up with discussion questions during your whole group lesson.
May Activity 16. Arrays
Arrays allow students to see a visual representation of math facts. Poppin’ Arrays adds a fun twist to this math skill. Students will be engaged and building those fine motor skills while popping these repeated addition arrays! Include Poppin’ Arrays as one of your Fun Friday math activities and build students’ addition (and intro to multiplication) fluency.
Activity 17. May Graphing
Color, tally, and total the objects in this May Graphing activity. Graphing activities continue to build number sense for students and provide a visual organization of information. After completing this May activity, encourage students to create a graph of their own!
Activity 18. Venn Diagrams
May is a great time to learn about insects. As students learn facts about butterflies and bees, encourage them to organize the information they know using a graphic organizer. This Butterflies and Bees activity provides students with facts and includes a Venn Diagram for them to complete. This is a great way for students to compare and contrast these two insects.
May Activity 19. Life Cycles
Explore the outside with your students this spring, and you are sure to find some ladybugs! This Ladybug Life Cycle activity includes a life cycle mini-book and comprehension activity. Students read the book and learn about the stages of a ladybug’s life cycle. Then, they cut and glue the life cycle in order and write about each stage in their own words.
Activity 20. Research
Is anyone else having an Inventors Fair at the end of the year? Build critical thinking and organization skills with a research activity for your students. This Invention Research resource includes the steps and graphic organizer that students need to complete research about an inventor and invention. This May activity might even inspire your students to design their own inventions!
These May activities for primary students are the perfect solution to use for teaching new concepts, continued practice, review, assessment, or homework. Use them in a way that works best for your classroom.
Check out the complete assortment of May activities included in each grade-level packet.
At ETTC, our goal is to support you every step of the way, all year long. That is why our resources don’t stop here.
You can continue to find monthly activities for the remainder of the year with our monthly packets for every single month. Monthly packets are available by the month or in Year Long Bundles.
Written By: Sarah Cason
At Education to the Core, we exist to help our teachers build a stronger classroom as they connect with our community to find trusted, state-of-the-art resources designed by teachers for teachers. We aspire to be the world’s leading & most trusted community for educational resources for teachers. We improve the lives of every teacher and learner with the most comprehensive, reliable, and inclusive educational resources.
If you enjoyed what we have to offer at ETTC, be sure to join our email list, so you won’t miss a beat. We are here to help with all your resource needs. Become a Premium Member of Education to the Core and receive immediate access to thousands of printable activities. For one small monthly or annual fee, everything ETTC can be at your fingertips all of the time.
