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classroom activities

Lucky St. Patrick’s Day Activities for Students

by Peggy Reimers February 29, 2024

written by Peggy Reimers

“Top of the morning to you,” as the traditional Irish greeting goes. As we finish up February and leap into March, we have many things to look forward to, like the start of spring, spring break, and… St. Patrick’s Day! Let’s get our green on in the classroom this March with the following:

A brand-spankin’ new digital breakout
Two Connections games
“It’s All About the Green” activity

1. St. Patrick’s Day Connections

The two St. Patrick's Day Connections. The first row contains, brocolli, rain, stew and gold.

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I’m currently hooked on the New York Times Connections game. In this engaging activity, you organize 16 words into four categories of four words each. Each group is linked by a common theme. I have designed two St. Patrick’s Day Connections games suitable for student use! The answers are also included. Our Digital Marketing Specialist, Sara Qualls, also shared a valuable tip: Swellgarfo.com offers a convenient online tool to craft personalized puzzles inspired by the New York Times daily Connections game. It’s quite impressive!

2. St. Patrick’s Day Digital Breakout

The header for the St. Patrick's Day digital breakout.

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Get ready for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration like never before! I’m excited to introduce my latest holiday-themed digital breakout, specially crafted for the greenest holiday of the year. Whether you’re a seasoned escape room enthusiast or new to the adventure, my St. Patrick’s Day digital breakout promises an engaging and entertaining experience for all. Are you ready to break out of the four-lock digital challenge? Solve the 5 Letter, 4 Color, 6 Number, and 3 Direction locks to beat the breakout. And remember educators, you can always email me for the answers at preimers@tcea.org.

3. It’s All About the Green

Four examples of the It's All About the Green, including slang for a dollar bill and a signal for moving forward.

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View the “All About the Green” Activity

This is also a brand-new activity. The goal of the activity is to correctly guess the answers to a series of clues. All the answers have one thing in common: they contain the word “green.” A clue provides a hint related to a word or phrase that includes the word “green,” and the challenge is to identify words or phrases associated with the color green.

Whether you and your students are decoding word connections, navigating a digital escape, or unraveling clues tied to the vibrant color green, I hope these activities add a dash of excitement to your classroom. May your St. Patrick’s Day be filled with joy, learning, and a bit of Irish luck! Sláinte!

February 29, 2024 0 comment

Seasonal Activities

Eight Winter Activities and Games for the Classroom

by Peggy Reimers December 6, 2023

written by Peggy Reimers

Here is my curated collection of winter activities! I hope they will make this season merry and bright in your classroom. Whether you’re celebrating the magic of the winter solstice or indulging in holiday festivities, these engaging ideas are designed to bring joy, laughter, and a sprinkle of cheery warmth to your December, January, and February days.

1. Winter Trivia

Four different trivia questions including, what happens to some birds in the winter? Answer: they migrate to warmer climates.

This Canva presentation is the newest addition to my winter activities lineup. Fifteen trivia questions with bright, winter-colored graphics are featured. And after each question, the answer follows. You are welcome to edit the presentation template to customize it for your particular audience.

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Edit Winter Trivia

2. Vanishing Vowels

Four selections of vanishing vowels including blizzard, ice skating, flannel and the new year.

Vanishing Vowels: Winter Edition is also hot off the press. The fall version had thousands of views, so I thought a winter edition would be a good follow-up. Vanishing Vowels focuses on words related to a particular season. In this winter activity, 20 words are presented without any vowels. Students need to figure out what the word is! Each slide with missing vowels is immediately followed by the complete word and an image representation of the word.

Two ways to use this winter-themed activity:

Use it as an individual or group exercise where students work together to decipher the words based on consonants. This encourages teamwork, builds class community, and also incorporates word recognition into the mix.
Use it as a creative spelling activity where students add the appropriate vowels back in to spell the winter words. This activity enhances students’ word recognition skills and offers an opportunity to reinforce spelling proficiency in a fun and interactive manner.

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3. Winter Syllacrostic Puzzle

The box of syllables for the syllacrostic puzzle.

Are you looking for a fun word game to play as a winter activity? Give this 18-word syllacrostic puzzle a try! Here’s a quick overview if you aren’t familiar with syllacrostic puzzles. You’ll be given a box filled with various syllables. Then, you need to use those syllables to solve a list of Thanksgiving-related words. For each word, you’ll get three hints:

An associated phrase or word related to the solution
The number of syllables in the solution
The number of letters in the solution

Your task is to combine the given syllables into words that fit the length and syllable criteria.

Download the Puzzle

4. Holidays Quiz Show

Flippity is a fantastic online generator of many tools. It has been around for several years and is created and maintained by one talented guy, Steve. I wish I could buy this guy a hot chocolate topped with many thanks. His user-friendly interface provides teachers with 28 customizable templates and games for the classroom.

One of the tools is the Quiz Show (think Jeopardy). Check out the Holidays Quiz Show with these categories: symbols, food, action, clothing, and traditions. It’s a fantastic winter activity for the whole class! If you get tired of holiday trivia, check out the cheese category.

Access the Holiday Quiz Show

5. Winter Digital Breakout

The image used forthe winter breakout that includes, trees, candy canes and a snowman.

If you follow my blogs, you know digital breakouts are my passion projects, so I made one to be a winter activity. The seasonal Winter Breakout is a beginner-level digital breakout. It has five locks: a word, five-color, four-number, five-direction, and eight-letter lock. It is the easiest of the two digital breakouts I’m sharing today. Now, you might be asking, how is it easier?

There are only two sections available for clues.
The locks give an example.
I included only one obvious distractor. (The distractor for the WInter breakout is the little birds in the trees.)
There are no commas used in lock answers.
Enter colors and numbers in the order they appear in the breakout, not in alphabetical or number order. These are not mixed up in any way.

Access the Winter Digital Breakout

6. The Snowstorm Stumper Digital Breakout

The snowstorm stumper breakout header for the Google Site.

The Snowstorm Stumper digital breakout has four locks: a six-color, five-direction, four-number, and four-letter. Whether you are new to my breakouts or a breakout fanatic, here are a couple of insider tips. I always try to include one or two hidden links for lock answers. I rarely use links to outside websites as I never know when the link might break or inappropriate content could pop up. I never mix up the order of colors or numbers. Enter them as you see them in the breakout, but letters might be scrambled. Enjoy this winter breakout activity!

Access the Snowstorm Stumper Digital Breakout

Tips for the brand new breaker-outer!

If your class has never solved a breakout, I would solve a breakout for them and model your thought process first.

Then, try solving one as a whole-class activity.

If that goes well, try it in small groups!

Teach students to look at the locks on the Google Form and read through them first to get a heads-up on what they are looking for. (For example, if one of the locks is a four-color lock, look on the page for a group of four colors.)

Teach them to write down the combinations they have tried to keep from trying the same answer over and over.

7. Unscramble the Christmas Carols

A sample which includes the small percussionist lad is the little drummer boy.

Engage in the festive fun of unscrambling Christmas carols with this entertaining winter activity. I’ve given 18 classic Christmas songs new titles using similar words or synonyms. For example, “The Tiny Percussionist Lad” becomes my version of “The Little Drummer Boy.” You’ll see the synonym title immediately followed by its correct title. Explore the slide deck to test your carol knowledge or customize the activity for your classroom or as a staff icebreaker. Enjoy the merry task of unscrambling and spreading holiday cheer, whether solo or with a group!

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Edit the Unscramble Activity

8. Putting a New Spin on The Twelve Days of Christmas

Peggy's 12 Days of Christmas which starts off with 1 llama under a rainbow, 2 turtles surfing, etc.

In this new winter activity for 2023, leverage Emoji Kitchen to put a creative twist on The Twelve Days of Christmas. Use Emoji Kitchen to generate unique animals and characters for your personalized rendition of the song. Teachers, you can make a copy of the slide deck or use the Canva template to aid you in updating the twelve days of Christmas.

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Edit the Activity

Make a Copy in Google Slides

Hoping that one or more of these activities can be tailored for the snowy season or, if you are in Texas, at least the cooler part of the year. As always, teachers, if you need any assistance or the answers for the breakouts, please email me, Peggy, at preimers@tcea.org. Happy holidays!

December 6, 2023 18 comments

Explore technology resources for real-world connections in the classroom.

Three Resources for Real-World Classroom Connections

by Amy Storer September 14, 2023

written by Amy Storer

Tearing down our four classroom walls to connect students to other classrooms, experts, the world, and authentic audiences can add so much value to your classroom community. Let’s explore a few ways that you can facilitate real-world connections for students and make a true impact on learning through technology!

1. Google Arts & Culture

Have you heard of Google Arts & Culture? It is truly one of those resources that allows you to discover something new and exciting every time you dive in. With it, users are able to make real-world connections to art, culture, and historical artifacts from around the world. Not only that, we can also able to take virtual field trips to many places around the world, including geographical locations and museums. The ultimate goal of Google Arts & Culture is to make art and culture accessible to ALL, and they have definitely reached that goal. Here are a couple of my favorite ways to connect classrooms and make real-world connections through Google Arts & Culture!

Virtual Fields Trips

The Great Barrier Reef virtual field trip page. — Screenshot by Emily Horn: Google Arts & Culture **The Great Barrier Reef**

“Where do you want to go today?” is the first thing you see when you visit the Virtual Field Trips page on Google Arts & Culture. You can explore by picking a subject, such as science and technology or geography. My favorite place to visit is the Great Barrier Reef. From the comfort of your home or classroom, Google transports you to that location in our world, and not only does it include visuals and text, but it also includes the sounds of Lady Island Birds!

Museum Tours

Museums Virtual Tours page from Google Arts & Culture — Screenshot by Emily Horn: Google Arts & Culture **Museum Virtual Tours Page**

Another great resource for making real-world connections through technology is by exploring Google Arts & Culture’s virtual museum tours. Users are able to tour some of the most beloved museums and historical sites using 360° Street View tours. Imagine getting to tour places like the Trevi Fountain in Italy and the Taj Mahal in India! There are over 4,000 panoramic tours you can take here. The world is your oyster!

2. Flip Discovery Library

Flip, formerly known as Flipgrid, is a FREE Microsoft app that gives educators and students a safe online space to express ideas through video, text, or audio. If you are new to Flip, a great place to start is the Discovery Library. There are two places in the Discovery Library that are definitely worth mentioning when it comes to connecting classrooms with experts – Flip Events and Partners!

Flip Events

Flip event for Hispanic Heritage Month 2023 from the Flip Livestreamed Events page. — Screenshot by Emily Horn: Flip Events **Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month**

Classrooms can connect and join live events or find on-demand events featuring inspirational speakers, such as authors and scientists, to spark meaningful conversations and connections in the classroom. You can find events like World Otter Day, The AI Infused Classroom, Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month and even events with well-known authors such as Rick Riordan and Jason Reynolds.

Flip Partners

Who remembers Skype in the Classroom? It was an online community that connected teachers and students with experts from all over the world. This resource has since been sunsetted, but you can still find many of those experts, including book publishers and national parks, in Flip Partners within the Discovery Library.

As an instructional coach, I loved taking classrooms on a virtual field trip to the B uffalo Bill Center of the West. It is a collection of museums in Cody, Wyoming. There are five museums in total, ranging from Western Art to Natural History. Not only do they provide you with topics to include in your Flip Groups, but you can also schedule a virtual field trip with them. Definitely check them all out, but my favorite was the Animal Adaptations field trip. During this lesson, students are able to discover basic habitat needs of different animals as well as how they adapt to their environments.

3. Mystery Games

Who remembers #MysterySkype? This was an experience that I discovered when I was a part of Skype in the Classroom, and I like to refer to it as “sticky learning” because – it just sticks! One of the resources that helped me get started with this critical thinking game is from an educator by the name of Paul Solarz. He states:

“Mystery Skype is a 45-60 minute critical thinking challenge that your class takes part in while Skyping with another class somewhere else in the world.”
Source

The goal is to video chat with another class and guess the other school’s location (state) before they can guess yours by asking yes or no questions back and forth. It is so much fun! Since we now use multiple ways to video chat with others (Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, etc.), the name has taken on a few different forms, including Mystery Location, but the goal is still the same.

Not only are the students engaged because it is a game, but it also combines technology, geography, and communication skills by making a real-world connection. Students are able to connect with other classrooms from different backgrounds and experiences to truly help them better understand the world that they live in.

The first step is to find a classroom to connect with and then set up a day and time to meet. Prior to that, you want to prep your class and possibly assign jobs. I would definitely recommend referring back to Paul’s article on how to set up a Mystery Skype and checking out this ar ticle from the wonderful and fabulous Matt Miller. Use me as a resource, too! I would love to help you make your first connection.

So which of these tools will you try to make real-world connections in the classroom? If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out. Let’s get connected!

September 14, 2023 0 comment