#END OF YEAR CLASSROOM AUCTION

An end-of-year auction is a simple way to declutter your classroom space while offering students *treasures* to take home for playing school, learning over the summer, or be a keepsake of the year. This is a fun way to build excitement for the closing year and declutter your space.

WHAT TO INCLUDE IN AN END OF YEAR AUCTION?

There is no hard and fast rule to a class auction. Students have never seen an end-of-year auction before, so it truly doesn’t matter.

• anchor charts

• giveaways from any conferences  

• used school supplies that will be replaced (crayons, markers, folders, chalk, glue sticks, pencils)

• prizes/rewards that were sent for free

• books 

• materials personally purchased that won’t be used in future years i.e., pell and stick, magnetic whiteboard)

• board games/puzzles 

• extra writing papers

• left-over word rings or other learning materials

TWO (IMPORTANT) CONSIDERATIONS

A class auction can be fun and easy, but still – do it well.

1. Before placing basic supplies in the auction, you can consider which students might need these things at home. You can bag crayons, eraser tops, and pencils into a gallon-size bag and send them home with specific students beforehand. Then, any extras go into the auction.

2. Only give away things that you have personally purchased or things that would be replaced like supplies. 

THE END OF YEAR AUCTION PROCESS

Keep it simple. There is no reason to expend extra energy, time, or resources on this venture. The goal is to make your life simpler, the classroom cleaner, and send students home with some materials they can use over the summer.

1. Choose a Date: 7ish days before the auction, set out a large box labeled “Auction” and set the date. Give zero more details. Build suspense. (Pro tip: DON’T host the auction on the last day of school. It’s too much and some students will forget things. Aim for 2-3 days before the last day.)

2. Raffle Tickets: Then, 5ish days before the auction, begin handing out tickets and stocking the box as you clean and move through the classroom. You can give tickets to students who are going above and beyond following classroom procedures, are kind, and/or working with others well. Especially in the chaos of the last few days of school, these tickets are VERY motivating. Regardless of behavior, every student receives one ticket (sometimes two depending on how large the auction is).

3. Auction Day: On the day of the auction, gather the auction items on the floor and sit around them as a class. Review expectations and procedures for the auction. Practice what it looks like/sounds like when someone wins and takes something you want. Then, start pulling names and students begin picking items.

4. Management of Things: As students pick items, they set them on top of their desks. Then, at the end of the auction, hand out plastic shopping bags. Students stuff their bags and then go around and tie them. Then, the bags go directly into backpacks (except anchor charts which are rubber-banded).

5. Clue Families In: The morning of the auction I schedule a Reminder Text to families saying something along the lines of Happy Class Auction Day! Students will be bringing home a few treasures to use at home over the summer. Please take a few minutes to empty your child’s backpack. Congratulations! 

6. Clean Up: Depending on the size of the auction and the interest of the items in the auction, some things may be leftover. At this point, we toss the remaining things or offer them to teammates. If there are any students that want and will use something specific, I will secretly slip the item into their backpack at some point before dismissal.

WRAPPING-UP

So, A simple, fun, low-key ways to declutter, celebrate a year of learning, and refresh the Classroom.                                                              The Brown Bag Teacher