Below is a list of different, fun activities used with students.
1. What is it? - this activity is always used on the first day of school. I find items that most people might not know their use, and then have kids get in groups to brainstorm on what the items are and/or what they're used for. It's a great team-building, brain-awakening activity for the first day. After students have gone from station to station, talking in small groups to come up with their best guesses, we get back into a large group to go over answers, and I share what the items are really used for. It's always a fun time, as kids guesses can be very amusing and even correct. They also get to see that I might "mess" with them during the school year, in a fun way of course.
1. What is it? - this activity is always used on the first day of school. I find items that most people might not know their use, and then have kids get in groups to brainstorm on what the items are and/or what they're used for. It's a great team-building, brain-awakening activity for the first day. After students have gone from station to station, talking in small groups to come up with their best guesses, we get back into a large group to go over answers, and I share what the items are really used for. It's always a fun time, as kids guesses can be very amusing and even correct. They also get to see that I might "mess" with them during the school year, in a fun way of course.
2. Polygon Symmetry - use this activity to let kids have fun while still doing math. Pass out a pile of plastic polygons to each table and let them make symmetrical designs. They can use line or rotational symmetry to create unique, fun designs, and they love it!
3. Goofy Photos Prompts - no matter the level of writing, we want kids to put words together to form good sentences. Sometimes, we ask them to write about games, fun experiences they remember, or use some other prompt. I've found that asking them to expand their writing can be enhanced by combining it with humor. Get kids into pairs and let them write sentences together based on goofy photos projected. They will get many laughs and get to practice sentence writing in a fun way. Sample photos are below!
4. Zoom - I use the books Zoom and ReZoom by Istvan Banyai as early year activities to show kids that things aren't always as they seem when you first see them, and also to show them that social studies can be viewed from different perspectives. Using paperback versions, I remove all the pages, mix them up and hand each student one of the sequential drawings, making sure that students don't see others' drawings. Students must then try to get the drawings into the right order, but without showing each other the drawings they have in their hands. They can only use speech to decide on the order. This is done in small groups of 4-5 students, to help break the thirty or so drawings into a more manageable challenge. Kids love it and need teamwork/communication to finish the task. (notice: I DID not come up with this idea, but I use it all the time!)