Our Favorite Classroom Activities

Sarah Wilde

McKay Student Ambassador

Special Education (Severe/Profound Disabilities Emphasis)

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Teachers are always looking for new ideas and activities to use in their classroom, and we thought we'd share some of the favorites we've seen! While none of us have actually started teaching, we all have experience in the classroom and have seen activities that have gone well. Not every idea works in every type of classroom, which is why we have ideas from all our ambassadors!

Mikaela Campbell, Early Childhood Education: One of my favorite classroom activities came from my experience volunteering at an elementary school. The kindergarten teacher there would engage the students with interactive storytelling. She wouldn’t just have the students listen to her read the book, but would involve the students in the experience by pausing to ask the students questions or invite them to act out different parts of the story. Every child was fully engaged and was eager to interact with the story. They were able to make connections to the story and their own life. Or used their imagination to picture what was happening and how they would feel or what they would do in the story. I remember one day, there was a book about crazy hair. When the teacher read the story, the students kept touching their hair or would come up with silly hairstyles they would want in their hair. Something else I noticed is how well the English language learners were included in her classroom during this activity. It reminded me how important it is to be strategic in making inclusive activities for children who speak all languages. We, as future teachers, can follow the act by simply being inclusive. All of the students enjoyed acting out the story and interacting with their classmates. They learned literacy, social, and language skills during this reading activity. I loved how they could bring their own ideas and express themselves individually and as a group.

Rachel O'Malley, Elementary Education: One of my favorite class activities was using salt dough to create a geographical landscape. We used a hands-on learning strategy to physically mold and shape mountains, rivers, and valleys. We were able to practice thinking like a geographer by asking questions such as where the people would want to live, and we were able to use geographic tools, such as using a key and mapmaking. I loved doing this activity in class because I was able to have creativity in building. I enjoyed taking a break from lectures by having a fun way to remember the content and lesson standard because I was able to create meaning and engage.

Sarah Wilde, Special Education: I enjoy teaching math with physical objects, called manipulatives, that the students can move around. It is an interactive, concrete way to teach the concepts the students are discovering. The manipulatives can be different shapes, sizes, and/or materials for students with fine motor skill deficits, PICA, or other disabilities that may get in the way of using basic blocks. This activity can be adapted for older students who still struggle with basic math concepts by using age-appropriate materials. Instead of rainbow blocks and TouchPoints, you can use coins (something adults have to count often) for a high school student who doesn't want to be treated like a 2nd grader while being taught 2nd grade math. By changing your manipulatives, you can adapt the activity for any age or disability.

Different activities work in different classrooms, but there are fun and useful activities for everyone! We would love to hear about more activities from you! What have you seen/done in a classroom that went really well? Tell us about it in the comment section at the bottom of the page. We can't wait to hear from you!

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