| Academics and Activity
I am very blessed that I have two passions. I am first of all a full-time
elementary educator and second a personal trainer who works with children in
her church and after school care program. Here is a article that focuses
on each of my passions. These are language arts games that you can play
that also teach educational concepts.
Writing
In our world writing is essential to any business. To encourage activity
and interest in the same vein try these games.
Scavenger Hunt
Have a scavenger hunt. Make up a list of things you can find on a beach,
shells, rocks, seaweed, horseshoe crabs, use your imagination, and see who
is the fastest at finding everything on their list.
Punctuation Punch
Have students find their own self space in the playing area. The teacher
begins by stressing the locomotor skill that the children will use and
reviewing the actions that accompany each Word Phrase (see below). Students
begin to move around the playground and stop on the teacher's signal. The
teacher will then call out a word phrase and the students will have to do
the skill related to that particular punctuation phrase. For example, if
running is the locomotor skill being used when the teacher says
STOP, "question mark", the students must now run in the opposite direction.
Word Phrases (and their meanings):
1. Period = Stop
2. Exclamation Point = Jump in place
3. Question Mark = Move in the opposite direction or way they were
moving
4. Comma = Walk, pause and then continue
Spelling
Spelling is a skill that is important for any child. In our world writing
has become monumental to communication. Even with spell-check ( which is
not 100% all of the time) it is essential that every student to effectively
spell. Here are some games you might want to try.
Who am I?
Write a spelling word and stick it with a post-it note to each student’s
head. Don’t let them know what it is. They have to ask what the word is
with clues. This teaches students to ask questions about syllables,
location of words in the alphabet, and vowel sounds.
Three Cheers for Spelling
Have students act out spelling words by showing what tall letters such as T
and H look like and hanging letters such as j and p resemble. They might
want to reach high for the ceiling for tall letters and bow low to the
ground for hanging letters. Have a active student act out all the letters
for the class and have them follow along.
Sight Word Safari
Study familiar sight words and take a walk around your school, home, etc.
See how many words you can find. The one with the most words wins!
Phonics Fun
Students may benefit from practicing their vowels while doing simple
calisthenics such as jogging, running, hopping, skipping, etc.
Simon Says Sight Words!
Put on each child a sight word with a sticker, necklace with index cards
punched out with two holes. Review that when Simon says their sight word
they will do the action that Simon wants them to do such as hopping on one
foot, jumping, etc.
Vocabulary
Reading is power and knowing what words mean allow students to grasp the
whole meaning of stories. Vocabulary does not have to be boring and there
is a variety of kinesthetic ways to review vocabulary.
Three Syllable Game
Players who are chosen to be guessers go out of earshot. The rest of the
players pick a 3 syllable word, divide the group into 3, each taking a
syllable. The guessers return, and then the 3 groups say their syllable
once, all at the same time. The guessers see if they can get the word. If
not, the 3 groups repeat their syllable and guessers try again. Repeat till
solved.
Act it Out!
Make small groups of students in a classroom setting. Give each group a
vocabulary word. Have the students act out as a single group member or
group the word that they are trying to describe with only body and gesture
movement. Body sculpture or a skit not using the specific word is also
acceptable. Have the rest of the class try to guess the word.
Catch a Word
Take strips of paper or stickers and put them on a beach ball with the words
that you are studying. Toss the ball into the air. The student who catches
it must read the word or use it in a sentence, or spell it without looking
at it a second time, or make up a dictionary term for that word.
Bounce it, Say it, Catch it, Spell it
Make a large square and divide it into four smaller squares. Have the each
of the children stand in a smaller square. Write the vocabulary words
evenly in each child’s circle. Bounce a ball to a child. Say one of the
words that is in the child’s circle. They must spell that word without
looking at the word, or use it in a sentence, or make up a dictionary term
for that word.
Grammar
Grammar can be exciting or boring to learn. These games take grammar
learning to a new level and encourages activity as well. Active and
involved children are rarely a behavior problem.
Noun Walk-Around
Talk about what a noun means and then brainstorm various ones that the
students may encounter outside. Make a list of the nouns and have them
write them down and put them in a small brown bag. Then go to a outside
specified area and try to find each of the nouns. Students keep notes on
which nouns they found outside. Additions of this activity may include
adding more nouns to the words that they find.
Fishing out Verbs
Ask what is a verb and have the students place a verb in a bowl. Take a
verb out of the bowl and act out the verb. Have the students sit in a
circle and take turns guessing what word that the person is acting out.
When the verb has been accurately guessed someone else can pantomime
another verb.
In The Manner of the Adverb
One or several players go out of earshot while the group chooses an adverb,
The guesser(s) return and give the group a verb that they must do in the
manner of the adverb that the group has chosen. Based on what they see,
guessers try to guess the adverb. If wrong, guessers give another verb and
try again.
The LY Walk
Brainstorm adverbs that end in ly. Put the adverbs in a bag and allow
students to act out adverbs that were chosen. Add ly words as you find them
in your reading to your adverb bag.
Stand-up Sentences
Have students make a sentence with various words using sentence strips. See
what would happen if they changed the order of the sentence.
Punctuation Bounce
Have students bounce a ball every time they come into contact with
punctuation. A period has a medium bounce, a common noun a small bounce
and a large bounce for a exclamation mark.
If, And , And, But
Students write incomplete sentence phrases and conjunctions on sentence
strips. Divide the class and give half of the students sentence phrases and
the other half conjunctions. See how many complete sentences that they can
make with their phrases and conjunctions. The groups that can make the most
complete sentences with their conjunctions and phrases wins!
Any way you use creativity can reach a child will make them a success for a
lifetime. Many kids seem to learn when moving. Activity added on to
academics will make that learning happen.
Moving and Mathematics
Counting, adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing is essential for all
students to learn. Games make this process less painful. Here are some
games that will get students moving and grooving to the mathematical beat!
Make 11
Groups face each other and at the count of 3, put out one hand with a
number of fingers extended, trying to reach a total of 11. They try until
they reach 11. For a variation try 21 with both hands.
Fitness Math
Divide the class into teams of four and give each team a dice. Each team
must find their own personal space in the gym. The teacher will instruct the
students to take turns rolling the dice. With each number that is rolled,
the students do a physical activity, i.e. 1=push up, 2=jump and stretch,
3=toe touches, 4=curl ups, etc., and a poison number. If the students roll
the poison number then the entire score is wiped out to zero. Have one
student in the group keep a running total until they reach the goal, i.e.
25. Other fitness activities that can be included are: jump rope 10 times,
hop over eight cones, touch three walls, 10 jumping jacks, shoot a basket at
each end, and/or 10 sit-ups. When a new game is started have the students
switch exercises.
Even Odd Math
Explain the difference between dominant and non-dominant hands. The student
uses his dominant hand to dribble or throw a ball in the air while reciting
even numbers. The teacher can use a stop watch to see what number they get
to in 30 seconds. The student then switches to non-dominant hand and
dribbles or tosses a ball to the friend while reciting the odd numbers for
30 seconds. Ask the student if they dribbled or tossed more even numbers or
odd numbers.
Hop-Skip-Jump Addition
This relay gets children moving and adding. Have two teams line up in a row
and have them hop by 2s then 4,s,6s,8s. Other variations can be tiptoeing
by 4s, crawling by 5s, jogging by 10s, sidestepping by 20s, ice skating by
25s, and swimming by 50s.
Slam-Down Math
Practice facts with this basket ball game. Have them take two numbers and
add or multiply them and dribble that number of times to the hoop.
Shape Up
Have children act out a particular 2-dimensional shape and have their
partner guess what shape that they are making.
Mystery Shapes
Ask students to listen to shapes that their partner make in the air with a
loud plastic bag. Have them guess what shape was made into the air.
Freeze, Please?
Play a combination of field day favorites Mother May I and Freeze Tag — with
no running and lots of math practice! Players line up shoulder to shoulder,
while the “Sun” (you or any player) stands in front. The Sun gives two
numbers, such as 10 and 5, to the first player on the left. The player
asks, “Freeze, Please?” If the Simon ays “Yes,” the player adds the numbers
together (10 + 5 = 15), walks forward the same number of steps as the
answer, then freezes. If the Simons says “No,” the player subtracts the
smaller number from the larger number (10 - 5 = 5), walks forward the same
number of steps as the answer, then melts (falls gently to the ground). A
frozen or melted player can't take his next turn until another player, on
her turn, “thaws” or “heats” him respectively by tagging him as she walks
by. The heated or thawed player can go when it's his turn again. The first
to reach the Sun wins, and becomes the Sun in the next round.
1+2, Touch Your Shoe!
In this rhyming game, players act out the solutions to simple equations.
Kids can play independently or you can lead them in a group activity.
1 + 1, reach for the sun (reach up for the sun 2 times)
1 + 2, touch your shoe (touch shoe 3 times)
1 + 3, touch your knee (touch knee 4 times)
1 + 4, touch the floor (touch floor 5 times)
1 + 5, take a drive (make 6 turns of an imaginary wheel)
1 + 6, pick up sticks (pick up 7 imaginary sticks)
1 + 7, fly to the heavens (flap wings 8 times)
1 + 8, shut the gate (shut gate 9 times)
1 + 9, chop down a pine (axe chop 10 times)
1 + 10, do it all again! (clap 11 times)
Parachute Prediction
Put a number of balls on a parachute and problem solve how many balls will
fall off when it is shaken into the air. The student who guesses the
closest to the number shaken off the parachute wins!
Lummi Stick Fun
Tap out addition problems adding both numbers together to make the answer.
Number Line
Make a large number line that students can stand in. Pose a problem like
2+ = 6. What number needs to go into the addend. Have students move
that distance to 6. Math is more fun when you add movement to the mix!
References
Clarke, Jacqueline, Best Ever Activities for Grades 2-3 Vocabulary,
Jefferson City, MO: Scholastic 2002
Even Odd Math
http://www.pecentral.org/lessonideas/ViewLesson.asp?ID=4283
Dillion, Susan, Field Day Math, Instructor, May/June 2004
Fitness Math
http://www.pecentral.org/lessonideas/ViewLesson.asp?ID=4723
Le Fevre, Dale, Best New Games. Champaign Illinois :Human Kinetics2002
Lipton, Beth Move and Learn Early Concepts , Jefferson City, MO: Scholastic
2003
Novelli, Joan 40 Sensational Sight Word Games, Jefferson City, MO:
Scholastic 2002
Novelli, Joan Best Ever Activities for Grades 2-3 Grammar Jefferson City,
MO: Scholastic 2002
Novelli, Joan Best Ever Activities for Grades 2-3 Spelling , Jefferson
City, MO: Scholastic 2002
Robinson, Helja, Wolfe, Robert, and Grant, Jean Marie ,Move and Learn Math
Activities, Jefferson City, MO :Scholastic 2002
Scavenger Hunt
http://www.pelinks4u.org/sections/interdisciplinary/interdisciplinary.htm
Sentences in Motion
http://www.pecentral.org/lessonideas/PrintLesson.asp?ID=1090
Water Games
http://www.pelinks4u.org/sections/interdisciplinary/interdisciplinary.htm
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