**Updated 5-1-20**
Have you been using Zoom or Google Meet with your students? Are you running out of ideas for what the heck to do during these meetings?! So am I.
I sat down and made a big list today and I want to share it with you. I would also love for you to email me with your own ideas since I can always use more!
Here we go:
*Scavenger hunt — make a list of items that students could easily find around their house. I use Google Slides for these, putting one item on each slide. I also include a one minute timer on the slide. I usually assign points to each item. I suggest using one student (or another adult) as the scorekeeper because kids get a little excited to run off and find the item, then show it to you on the screen.
*Brain Quest questions– an oldie but a goodie.
*Have a talent show – tell kids in advance so they can bring whatever they need to the meeting. I’ve had kids show cookies they decorated, show us card tricks, and sing! I’ve actually learned things about my students that I did not know before, which has been fun.
*Show & tell – again, let them know in advance so they can have something ready to share. It could be a book they’re reading, some kind of art they’ve made, a game they’ve played, a pet, a favorite stuffed animal, whatever.
*Charades – you’ll have to send different students something for them to act out in advance, then everyone else gets to guess.
*Guess Who – have your students send you three clues about them in advance and create a Guess Who game for them! My students loved this. Here’s my link to the presentation I made for the game.
*5 Second Rule game – give a category and kids have to answer within 5 seconds.
*Headbanz game – you put the headband on, kids give you clues, and you have to guess. My kids have loved this one.
*Scattergories or this online version
*Pictionary – similar to Charades, you can send different kids the words to draw (in advance) and then let everyone else guess.
*Mystery Number — I found this in one of my Facebook groups, but I didn’t write down the name. If you created this — thank you!! And please let me know your name so I can give you the credit. I am looking forward to trying this out with my students this week.
*Play a class Kahoot game — this can be tricky with tablets as you need more than one tab open. But if your students have Chromebooks, it’s great. You can make up your own Kahoot or choose from pre-made games. Here are some of my favorites: Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?, Disney trivia, figurative language, social-emotional, North Carolina facts, riddles, candy bars.
*Play a class Quizlet Live – okay, confession time: I haven’t actually tried this one yet but my kids have requested it since they love doing this in the classroom. So I’m going to try it out this week or next week. If you have tips for how to do this, let me hear them!
*Play Quizizz – similar to Kahoot. You can make up your own or use pre-made games.
*Ask “would you rather. . .?” questions. Here are some great questions from Minds in Bloom and another great list from Conversation Starters World. If your kids are into Disney, they might enjoy these Disney Would You Rather questions.
*Play Guess Who Said It – Disney Edition!
*Play Pico, Fermi, Bagel – this is a great math game I learned a long time ago from a Marilyn Burns book or blog post. Here are some detailed directions.
*Play Skribbl.io – I haven’t tried this one yet but it looks fun!
*I’ve used a few of these art projects on Art for Kids. You can present your screen so kids can follow along.
*A friend recommended this Digital Dance Party on Teachers Pay Teachers and it looks like fun!
*Another oldie but goodie – Mad Libs!
*Play multiplication or division fact Bingo. Have kids draw the Bingo grid on paper and give them choices of products or quotients. Then call out facts and let them cross out what they have on their grid.
*Play Boggle – students will need to write their words on their own paper.
*Play 24 – students have to use the given numbers, plus any math operation to create a total of 24. This one is fun!
*This looks fun – it’s doing a drawing on a paper plate without looking while you’re drawing! Here are directions.
*Read aloud to your kids — short stories or poems are especially good for this.
*Play Hangman (although I never call it that — too creepy) or Wheel of Fortune with a phrase. Draw blanks for the letters and let kids guess.
*Use 101 Fun Questions to Ask Your Kids or The Kids’ Book of Questions.
*Another great idea I saw – play 15 seconds of a Disney song (create a playlist on Spotify) and let kids guess the song. Sort of a Name That Tune!
*I was using Steve Wyborney’s EstiMysteries in my classroom before school closed, and my students have really enjoyed doing more of these.
*Show Jen Jones’ Picture of the Day (from Teachers Pay Teachers) and let kids make inferences, using the details from the pictures.
*If you want to instill a little mindfulness in your kids, try doing this 1-Minute Triangle Breathing exercise today or try Yoga with Cosmic Kids!
Now, for one of my favorite activities – virtual field trips! Here’s my list with links:
*Museum of the American Revolution – great field trip on Scholastic site
*another great list! I love the San Diego zoo trip.
*yet another great list! I haven’t tried any of these yet.
*virtual field trips with Discovery Education
*American history virtual field trips
*field trips with Google Arts & Culture
*my favorite – virtual rides at Disney parks!
I hope you found some ideas to try! Please share your ideas with me — we’re all in this together.
I asked my students to pre-write a sentence rhyming with the one I had sent
C’ERA UNA VOLTA UNO STRANO BARONE= ONCE UPON A TIME THERE WAS AN ODD BARON (inspired by Rodari’s book “Lamberto, Lamberto, Lamberto”).
During the meeting every student reads his/her verse.
Then we read the odd nursery rhyme made up with the verses from the children
Ciao!
Thanks for the great idea, Alessandra!