100 Days of School Ideas for Upper Elementary - Your Thrifty Co-Teacher (2024)

Why don’t we get to celebrate the 100th day like the little kids? That’s what a few of my 4th and 5th grade students asked last year. Honestly, I didn’t have an answer, but now there will be no excuse. I’ve put together some fun 100 Days of School ideas for upper elementary together, so we can all have fun this year.

Here are a variety of fun ideas you can incorporate into your classroom to make the day memorable and a day full of valuable lessons.

(This blog post contains Amazon Affiliate links. That means that if you buy a book using a link, Amazon will throw a few pennies my way at no cost to you.)

100 Days of School Classroom Set Up

No need for anything extravagant, but setting up the stage to engage can get students excited for the day.

1. Bring in #100 balloons.
2. Put up a Happy 100th Day of Schoolposter on the front door or banner on the board.

Theme Ideas

Kids love a good theme and this day will be the perfect excuse to have one.

1. T-Shirt: Have students create t-shirts with 100 things on them (ex. buttons, stickers, etc.), and have them come to school wearing it.
2. Happy 100th Birthday: Students show up to school dressed as if they were 100 years old.

Snack Ideas

Kids get really excited about snacks, so here are a few fun snack ideas. (As always, make sure your students do not have an allergies to these foods.)

1. 100 Grand Candy Bar
2. Nabisco 100 Calories Snacks
3. 7 packs of Smarties per student (about 15 in each pack making 105…close) and add a note that says 100 Days Smarter.
4. a sandwich bag with 1 graham cracker and 2 fudge strip cookies (looks like the number 100) and add a note that says You’re a Smart Cookie … Happy 100th Day of School. You can also substitute for something a bit healthier such as mini bagels with a pretzel stick or crackers.

Game Ideas

Infusing some brain break games or indoor recess games will make the day fun and memorable. Have students play any of the following games in pairs.

1. Stack 100 plastic cups like a pyramid
2. Build a 100 piece puzzle
3. 100 seconds challenge – challenge students to different tasks for 100 seconds (ex. standing on one leg, stand like a statue)

Read Aloud Book

I don’t know about you, but I will use any excuse to share a read aloud with my upper elementary students. The 100th day of school is no exception. Many of the picture books that center around 100 are very primary, therefore, today I am sharing a short chapter book. It takes about 40 minutes to read, so you want to split it up. It does have a strong theme about discrimination and is a perfect book for this age group.

• The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
• Hundredth Day Disasterby Bridgette Reidstad

Student Gift Ideas

1. 100th Day of School bookmarks
2. A school supply that come in 100s such as notebook paper, stickers, sticky notes, etc.
3. Any of the snack options listed previous

100 Days of School ELA Activities

As an upper elementary teacher, we know how important it is to tie the activities to standards, especially with state testing right around the corner. Below are some fun 100 Days of School ELA Activities.

1. Have students work with hyperboles. Choose one that has 100 in it. (ex. one hundred and one things)
2. Introduce students to the root cent(i). Have them define different works that include the root in it. (ex. century, centimeter, etc.)
3. Challenge them to make a list of 100 parts of speech: 20 nouns, 20 verbs, 20 adjectives, 20 adverbs, and 20 conjunctions. etc.
4. Challenge your students to find 100 synonyms for commonly used words such as said, good, and bad.
5. Have them write about what they would spend $100 on if they were gifted the money.
6. Challenge the class to read 100 books. This can be done in one day by having each student choose a handful of picture books to read. Another way to implement this is to have students start recording books that they are reading and have see if the class can reach 100 books by the end of the year.

Brain Break or Just for Fun Ideas

1. Have students participate on the “Not a 100” drawing challenge. Have them draw a large 100 on a paper and turn that 100 into something else in a drawing.
2. Challenge them to see how many words they can come up with by using the letters in ONE HUNDRED DAYS. Want to make it more challenging? Give them just 100 seconds.

Make planning easy with this 100thDay of School ELA Activities Pack!