As the end of the school year approaches and the dreaded summer itch sets in, embark on an adventure of learning and celebrate “under the stars” with these simple Camping Day activities! A Camping Day at school is the perfect addition to your roster of end of the year theme days. The Case of the Camping Caper is a creative way to easily host a Camping Day in the classroom, while helping increase student engagement at the end of the year. To solve the case of the stolen s’mores, the students will complete each math and literacy challenge to receive clues and eliminate suspects. This simple Camping Day classroom transformation will be a learning-filled day your students will never forget!

Camping Day Activities

Celebrate the end of the year, as you review math and literacy skills, with The Case of the Camping Caper End of the Year Escape Room!

To kick things off, read this note from a camper:

I turned on my flashlight,

Only to see,

A sneaky caper,

Scurry past me!

The critter took,

S’mores from my sack.

Can you help me?

Please get them back!

Eliminate suspects,

One by one.

Complete the challenges,

And have some fun!

Once the stage is set and your students are eager to discover who has stolen the s’mores, it is time to set up their case files. All you need for these are some file folders or a big sheet of construction paper folded in half.

The students will need to color the cover and then glue it to the outside of their folder. While the students are working on this, you can staple the “Suspect Elimination” sheet to the inside of the folder.

In order to make this end of the year theme day extra special, you can have students dress like a camper, bring in a flashlight to use as they complete each center, or bring in a stuffed animal that will help them solve the mystery!

Camping Day Activities Set Up

Getting these camping theme centers set up is as easy as roasting a marshmallow! Simply prepare the centers with the camping challenges.

You can either place each activity inside a tub, or for a touch of authenticity, slide them into manila envelopes.

In order to discover who has stolen the s’mores, the students will need to complete six to eight different camping themed math and literacy centers.

With every completed challenge, the students earn a clue from the culprit, leading to the elimination of a suspect after each challenge.

After all of the camping day activities are complete, one suspect will remain, and the case will be solved!

If you prefer to drop the escape room aspect, you can just use these as regular math and literacy centers during your end of the year Camping Day.

Literacy Camping Day Activities

There are four different literacy Camping Day activities. Here is a sneak peek at the skills the students will encounter for each challenge.

First up is the “Tent Challenge!” At this center, the students will arrange the words into the correct order to make the sentence.

The students will then stretch out each CVC word at the “Backpack Challenge.”

At the “Sleeping Bag Challenge,” the students will use letter tiles to build each sight word.

Once they make it to the “Campfire Challenge,” the students will listen for the beginning blend (cl & cr), sort the pictures under the correct campfire and match the word to the picture.

Math Camping Day Activities

There are also four math Camping Day activities included. Here is sneak peek of the skills the students will work on. 

At the “Thermos Challenge,” the students will begin with 10, and count the blocks. Then they will match the cup to the correct thermos.

For the “Star Challenge,” the students will count and graph how many of each type of star. Use the graph to answer the questions.

The students will match the picture to the correct number sentence at the “Bug Challenge.”

For the final math center, the “S’mores Challenge,” the students will solve each subtraction problem.

Camping Day Escape Room

Grab The Case of the Camping Caper Escape Room, including all eight math and literacy centers, here!

For a digital alternative, be sure to check out this digital camping theme escape room. Similar to “The Case of the Camping Caper,” students complete eight math and literacy challenges in order to uncover who has stolen the s’mores.

More Theme Day Activities

Throw a beach day with these Beach Day Activities for the End of the Year!

Your students might also enjoy these Ice Cream Activities!

These Circus Day Activities are also a great theme day for the end of the year!

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