The end of the year is always bittersweet for students, teachers, and families! It is sad to say goodbye to the wonderful community you have built, but it is also exciting to watch your students get ready to advance to a new grade level. But… before you finish your end of the year countdown and say your final goodbye, send your students off with this simple-to-assemble end of the year memory book backpack craft! This backpack craft makes a great treasured keepsake that students and families will cherish forever!

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End of the Year Memory Book Read Aloud

Before introducing our end of the year memory book backpack craft, I like to spend some time reflecting on the school year with the help of one of my favorite read alouds, A Letter From Your Teacher: On the Last day of School by Shannon Olsen.

The story is written in letter format from the perspective of the teacher. The class is warmly encouraged to reminisce about the memories created, the bonds forged, and the obstacles overcome. The letter conveys the teacher’s immense pride in the students and expresses genuine sentiments of how much they will be missed.

After reading the story, we create a whole class anchor chart where we brain dump a huge list of our favorite memories throughout the school year.

End of the Year Memory Book Backpack Craft Prep

Prep is simple and quick for this end of the year memory book backpack craft! The memory book pages can be printed on regular copy paper.

For the backpack craft pieces, you will want to print those on construction paper or colored card stock.

You can also print the cover on regular copy paper or white card stock and have your students color the cover with crayons, markers, or colored pencils.

One other page you will want to prep ahead a time if you choose to include it is the “A Note From My Teacher,” page. You can type out a note to each student and change their name to make it more personalized. This ties in great with A Letter From Your Teacher: On the Last day of School.

End of the Year Memory Book Backpack Craft Directions

With 25 different pages, customizing this end of the year memory book backpack craft to fit the needs of your students is easy! You can complete as many or as few pages as you would like with your students.

I like to work on one to two pages a day and save each page until we are ready to assemble them into a book.

Each time we work on a new page, I like to have several students share what they plan to write and/or draw on that page.

For some of the pages, we simply share our ideas orally; whereas for the more open ended pages like the “This Year I Learned” page, I like to spend extra time modeling what to write.

Once we have completed all of the pages for our end of the year memory book backpack craft, it is time to cut out each page.

Next, we are ready to assemble the cover. If you chose to print on colored card stock or construction paper, students simply need to cut the pieces and assemble with glue.

If you went with the more DIY route and copied the cover on white paper, you will want to give students time to color their cover.

Once the cover is complete, it is time to put our memory books together. Simply stack the pages in order and staple at the top.

After our memory books are complete, I like to give students an opportunity to share their end of the year memory book backpack crafts with the class. Some years we do this whole class, while other years, we do this in small groups or 1:1 with a buddy.

Depending on when you make these, you can choose to hang them as an end of the year bulletin display for all to enjoy!

At your end of the year party or last day of school, send them home with students as a treasured keepsake.

More End of the Year Memory Book Ideas

For a more traditional memory book, be sure to check out this post!

Your students might also enjoy creating this graduate craft memory book!

DON’T FORGET IT… PIN IT!