Games are a tried and true way to engage students. Whether teaching in-person or remotely via a live session like Zoom or Google Meets, teachers know that games, brain breaks, and icebreakers are an awesome way to get students actively involved in learning. With the ever-changing landscape of education, I thought it might be nice to compile some versatile activities that challenge students in really fun ways. Best part? These activities are very low prep and work in a variety of settings. These activities encourage students to listen, solve problems, be creative, and practice critical skills. They're designed to be easy to do with little to no prep. You can easily add one of these games to any lesson as a warm-up, closure, community building activity, or lesson extender. GAMES & ACTIVITIES ⭐How Many? Give students a category and then challenge students to see how many different things they can fit within that classification. At first students will respond with obvious ideas. However, as they brainstorm, their ideas will stretch and their creativity will grow. Students can jot their ideas down on scrap paper and earn points for each unique response when they share out. Here are some categories to get started: occupations, things that are slimy, things that roll, animal noises, articles of clothing ⭐Listen Carefully: Read a short passage out loud to students. Then, have them answer questions based on what they can remember. Make it especially fun by awarding points for every answer that students get right. You can change up this activity by reading two versions of the same story. Mix up some of the details in the second version for students to listen for. Give this activity a try with the passages in this set of FREE Brain Bursts. Add your information below and then check your inbox! ⮟⮟⮟⮟⮟⮟⮟⮟ ⭐Silly Silent Spelling: Practice spelling words in a super silly way. Explain to students that you are going to be giving them a practice spelling test (definitely NOT the real thing). Just like a typical practice test, they'll listen for the word and write it down. However, here's the catch: you're only going to silently mouth the words. Students will need to read your lips to figure out what word they will need to write down. Of course, figuring out a word from a silent cue is not easy. That's what makes this fun. Students will write down some wild guesses as they spell their way through this game. ⭐One Word: Pose a fun question to the class and have them all think of a one-word answer. Then, give every student a chance to share their responses as you call on each of them. Here are some questions to get started: --- If you were a type of dessert, what would you be? --- Where do you feel happiest? --- How would a soccer ball describe its day? --- Where is somewhere that you would like to visit? --- What would be the perfect gift for you? ⭐Mystery Item: This activity is quick and easy to play. To prepare, write 5 or 6 clues about an object. Make the clues gradually increase in their specificity. Then, read the clues to students as they jot down their guesses for the mystery item until you reveal the answer. ⭐Punchline: Start telling a joke to students, and then have them guess the punchline. Find a ton of jokes for kids here. ⭐Strike a Pose: Explain to students that they are going to pretend that they are in a photograph. They will need to imagine that the photo was taken at the height of the event. All they have to do is strike a pose after you give them a situation. For instance, you might say, "haunted house," and then students would freeze in a pose that shows them frightened or terrified. Here are a few situations to try: Dentist Office, Roller Coaster, Last Day of School, Scary Movie, Food Fight, Race ⭐Timed Writing Activities: Engage students with a creative writing prompt. Then, "amp up" the fun factor by adding a timed element. Challenge students to race the clock as they write as much as they can in a fixed time period. Find my favorite prompts here. ⭐And Then...: This is a listening game for the entire class. Students will need to listen to and add to a growing story. You'll start the story with an opener like, "At the zoo, I decided to open the lion's cage, and then..." Next, you'll call on a student to explain what happened next. That student will add one line and the phrase "and then" before selecting another student to add to the story. ⭐Listen and Draw: Students love this activity! To prepare, create a simple illustration filled with shapes and designs. Then, write out the directions for students. Have students complete the activity on a piece of paper. Read each direction to students and challenge them to replicate the illustration you instructed them to draw. (These are included in the exclusive freebie below.) ⭐Class Pet: Pretend that you have a new class pet. Explain to students that they will need to guess the type of animal. Students will need to ask questions and write their guesses on a piece of paper when they think they have figured out the new class pet. ⭐Add the Ending: Engage students as they practice writing and storytelling skills with this activity. First, students will listen to the beginning of a story that you read to them. Then, they'll take over the writing and complete the story. The story starters are a fun way to motivate students to write. ⭐Alien, Tiger, and Cat: Here's an improvisational theatre game that works in the classroom. Explain to students that they can be one of three things: an alien, a cat, or a tiger. If they choose to be an alien, they need to hold their pointer fingers next to their head (like antennae) and say "bleeb, bleeb." To be a cat, they need to rub their wrist along their face (like a cat cleaning itself) and say "meow." Finally, to be a tiger they need to push their hand forward with a claw stance and roar. On your cue, every student will choose and act like an animal. The goal is to get everyone to choose the same animal (which is nearly impossible, but fun to try). ⭐Rapid Recall: Create a list of random words. Then, read the list of words to students. As you read the words, you might have students put their hands on their heads so that you know for sure that they aren't taking notes. Once you've read the words to students once or twice, wait about a minute before letting students write down every word that they remember. (Find ready-made lists in this complete resource.) ⭐Finish the Fact: Share the beginning of a fact with students. Then, challenge them to complete the fact. Have them share their guesses before revealing the complete fact. Find a collection of random facts here. Want a free set of virtual classroom activities designed to be NO PREP and NO COPIES? Just add your name and email below. ⮟⮟⮟⮟⮟⮟⮟⮟ BONUS: Here's one more idea: ⭐Paper Airplanes: Help students practice following directions by challenging them to fold a paper airplane by following your directions. To get started, choose a paper airplane design to have students fold. Then, have students take out a piece of paper. They'll need to listen carefully to each of your directions to make their paper airplane. Wishing you tons of fun in your (virtual) classroom, Mary Beth P.S. Find a TON of ready-made activities HERE.
Over 80 amazing, simple proprioceptive activities for kids. Learn benefits of proprioceptive input to calm, focus, and alert.
Too many classroom icebreakers require students to take big social risks with people they barely know. Or they don't really help students get to know each other. Or they are just plain cheesy.
Using Google Slides and Seesaw activities for preschool, pre-k, kindergarten and 1st grade is a great way to integrate technology into education. Not to mention it's perfect when you don't want to or CAN'T print a bunch of papers. Google Slides activities and Seesaw activities are easy to send to your students and you can
Writing stories together can be a great exercise for little ones to develop storytelling, literacy and writing skills. Connect storytelling and yoga by asking kids to write stories about their favorite yoga poses. Use our Mountain Pose template to help kids develop proper story structure!
Easy Matisse Art Project for Kids - A Henri Matisse art idea for kids of all ages with inspiration shape templates to inspire, draw or cut out.
Over 35 heavy work activities for kids, toddlers, and preschoolers that are designed to help calm and improve attention. Many of these activities can be done through natural activities your child is already doing!
Learn about famous art and create your own sculpture with this fun lesson about Giacometti.
What are pre writing shapes and how and when should you be “teaching “ your toddler? Toddler from drawing scribbles to actually writing? Pre writing shapes...
This week for Virtual Book Club Summer Camp it is Forest Fun Week! Here at Toddler Approved when we think of the forest, we think of one thing... THE GRUFFALO! So, this week we'll be
Ladies and Gentleman... we officially have the first week down in the books!! And what an AMAZING week it was!! #BestFirstWeekEver!! My kiddos are just awesome. We learned a lot and laughed a lot! My own children also had a great week (aside from a quick bout of a stomach bug that kept one home for a day!). My oldest, Drew, started 1st grade. My middle, Quinn, started Kindergarten. And my toddler twins, Addy and Chase, began two-mornings-a-week preschool. Additionally, Mr. Musings from the Middle School (my husband Dennis), started a new school year, too! Phew!! My head is spinning! Anyway, I hope everyone is having a great weekend and recovering from this busy time of year. This post is mainly a pictorial of some of the goings on in my classroom this week. As we settle into our routine, I'll be back with more "meaty" posts (and hopefully some new videos, too!). One of my favorite activities from the week was this Growth Mindset lesson that I adapted from here. Basically, the kids had to create the image on top using just a piece of paper and scissors. It was NOT easy... but that's exactly the point! As the kids worked, I wrote down some of the comments I heard. Things like, "this is impossible," and "I give up!" After I let them struggle for a while, I brought them back together and discussed the activity with them. It was eye-opening to see their words. They all agreed that their attitude was too negative so of course they would never have been successful. Then we read the Growth Mindset posters hanging in our room and discussed what each one meant. I closed with this video from Khan Academy. It was a fun and powerful lesson. One of the BEST purchases I made from TpT for this school year is the Icebreakers that Rock bundle from Cult of Pedagogy. This product contains three PowerPoint activities that allow students to talk to each other in an easy, comfortable way. What is great about these is that you can use them as one, big activity, or you can break them up, showing just a few slides here and there, as "brain breaks" through out the day. That is how I used them. So, on the first day, I did a big "Find Someone Who" activity with them. This allowed all the kids to learn each other's names. Next, I assigned them all their lockers and we practiced opening the combination locks (super-stressful for these first time locker users)! After that, we did a few slides from Icebreakers that Rock. Then, we went over the syllabus. Next, a few more Icebreakers that Rock slides. After that, I handed out and went over all the paperwork that had to go home and be signed (oh, the paperwork!!!). Then, a few more slides right before lunch. And then a few more right after lunch. Next up, a tour of the building. Then a few more slides before trying our lockers again. Finally, another slide right before dismissal. It was the perfect break/filler/attention-getter/distraction to use throughout the day... actually, I used the slides throughout the whole week! Run to TpT and pick this product up today! Totally worth every penny. (Some of the slides can be done silently. I LOVED these slides!!) Of course, we had to number our notebooks to get ready for ELA next week. I always tell kids that this is the easiest, most difficult task that we do all year :) I really the love smell of a Mr. Sketch anchor poster in the morning! This year, I'm starting with Reading Nonfiction: Notice and Note Stances, Signposts, and Strategies. My thinking is that it will really help with getting started with Article of the Week. Here is one of several of the posters I'll be using to teach these strategies. I'm jumping on the #ObserveMe bandwagon! Read more about it here. I'll keep you updated on how this goes throughout the year! Okay... that is enough for now! The beach is calling my name... nothing beats September here at the Jersey Shore! Hope the back-to-school season is treating you well! I'd love to hear how your school year is going so far. Happy Teaching!!
Beautiful free coloring pages featuring LDS temples and scripture stories which make the perfect Sunday activity, lesson tool for the youth and more.
These beginner cutting activities are great for helping young kids learn how to snip paper and move scissors across paper.
Too many classroom icebreakers require students to take big social risks with people they barely know. Or they don't really help students get to know each other. Or they are just plain cheesy.
This four page printable is designed to encourage children to do some really good research about a country of their choice, and put together a book that they will be proud of! We've asked them to compile all sorts of interesting facts but left room for creativity too.
5 Activities to Teach Angles
Happy teachers mean happy students. Here is a list of ways to build morale, support teacher wellbeing and have fun as a teaching team at school.
