When many people think about school, they may envision numerous students sitting at desks, reading and writing. However, learning in elementary schools can be fun and engaging without sacrificing students’ education. Teachers and instructors use various elementary activities to help students engage with each other and use their rationalizing and problem-solving skills.
Here, we outline several interactive activities that are equally fun and educational.
Why Classroom Games Are Essential for Elementary Students
Classroom games and activities are more than a way to liven up a group of students. They can also provide the following benefits:
- Create new learning opportunities: Learning isn’t limited to reading from textbooks and taking tests. Students may have different learning challenges and styles, so games offer teachers a way to engage reluctant learners and those struggling with lessons.
- Develop a bond with the class: When students and teachers play games together, the engagement fosters an exciting, welcoming, and positive atmosphere.
- Foster creativity: Most elementary activities encourage creativity and engage children’s imagination.
- Establish a routine: Incorporating class games into the routine helps students adjust to the classroom after extended breaks or at the beginning of the new school year.
Top Eight Activities To Foster Fun, Learning, and Classroom Participation
Here are some elementary activities to consider playing with a class.
1. Quick Answer
This game can engage the entire classroom while providing students with material to review. Start the game by picking a topic with lots of information that could fit on a large list. Counting by fives and multiplication tables for 10s are good examples.
Next, have the students answer questions regarding the chosen topic, starting on one side of the room and moving to the other. Repeat the question-and-answer format until all students have a chance to answer at least one question, or until you’ve finished the information you want the students to review.
2. Friendship Bracelet Making
It can be tough to find elementary activities at the end of the year or right before a long break that keep students engaged. Friendship bracelet making creates a unique opportunity to keep everyone’s hands busy while allowing students to engage their imagination and creativity.
Students can make woven friendship bracelets using a few strands of 12-inch embroidery floss in different colors. By tying the ends of the string and braiding the strands, they can create colorful, custom bracelets to pass around to their classroom friends. The process is simple and gives students unfamiliar with bracelet-making a fun, new skill.
3. Classroom Scavenger Hunt
Are you looking for a way to help young students acclimate themselves to a new classroom environment? Consider the classroom scavenger hunt.
This activity gets students up and moving around the classroom, helping them learn about its many features and items. You can make the game more educational by including various elements in the hunt, such as books the children will read or phrases from educational posters hanging in the room.
4. Creative Problem Solving
For this activity, give the children an abstract problem that isn’t easily solvable. An example would be how to open a business on the moon or how to reach the bottom of the ocean without swimming.
Next, present the students with a list of three random objects. Then, give the class five to ten minutes to create a solution to the problem that incorporates each random object in some way. Let volunteers present their creative problem-solving skills to the class.
5. Pen Pal Writing With Younger Students
A great way to engage multiple classes across different grade levels is to create a pen pal system between older kids and younger elementary students. The younger class can write letters to students in the grade level above them. They can ask what to expect when they move to the next grade or what the older students’ favorite part of that grade is.
Once the older students receive their letters from the younger class, they can write a response. They may write their responses on plain paper or use a teacher-provided template. This activity will help ease the anxiety that younger children may be experiencing while giving older students a chance to be kind and helpful with their younger schoolmates.
6. Goal Setting Assignment
On the first day of school, you can give out a worksheet that helps each student set goals for the school year. As students work on the sheet, they will reflect on their short- and long-term goals for the school year. They will also work on their writing skills by completing the worksheet.
7. How Does It Work Game
For the “how does it work” game, you simply show students a picture and ask them to explain the image and describe how the item in it works. This game is one of the elementary activities that works well for introducing new topics to students. For instance, the picture could be of a satellite or rocket ship, which could introduce lessons about the solar system.
8. Letters To Your Future Self Assignment
Having students write letters to their future self is one of the best elementary activities that doesn’t require prep work. Simply ask the students to write about where they see themselves in the future, whether it’s in the next grade, high school, or in adulthood after college. Tell the children to include specific details about themselves, such as their current hobbies, likes or dislikes, and advice for their future selves.
Discover More About Using Play as a Way for Children To Learn
Countless elementary activities help elevate young children’s minds as they learn problem-solving and other essential skills. Montessori education provides a solid educational foundation for young children while fostering self-discovery, curiosity, and student engagement.
At Montessori Children’s House of Miami Lakes, we believe in treating our faculty and students as family. Our mission is to help expand the development of young learners beyond the confines of a classroom. For more details about elementary activities that encourage imagination, learning, and group participation, or to inquire about our curriculum, call Montessori Children’s House of Miami Lakes at (305) 823-5632.