Teacher’s Brain

Author: teachersbrain

Educator

5 Creative Ways To Make Worksheets More Fun

Teacher's Pay Teachers, Teaching Tips

Worksheets are an essential part of the classroom. There are so many activities and crafts we can do with our students but sometimes there is just no way to get around good old fashioned worksheets. They are the best way for students to get practice and build fluency in whatever you are working on in the classroom. Worksheets are also just the best way to assess where your students stand in with the skills you are working on aside from taking a test.

Unfortunately, they aren’t always the most fun or engaging for the students. Despite any cute or fun designs they might have, they are still a sheet full of work for the student to complete, and that just isn’t the most thrilling thing to do. 

I am all about keeping my students engaged in the classroom, and the best way to do that is to make learning fun. Sometimes shaking things up a little can make a big impact on the kids’ willingness to really dive into what we are working on. 

make worksheets more fun

 

With worksheets, it can be beneficial for your students if you think outside the box. Believe it or not, there are ways to get creative with worksheets so that your students actually enjoy it, I promise! 

Here are some ways to make worksheets more fun

  1. Have students complete half. Let your students pick what half of the worksheet they want to complete. Letting them make the decision to do only the half that they want to do can take the pressure off to do the whole thing and shake things up just enough to take away the monotony of another worksheet. 
  2. Use rainbow writing. Get out fun colored pencils or colorful markers and have them use different colors to complete the work. This will create a fun rainbow effect on the worksheet. It’s like educational artwork! 
  3. Make them dry erase. Laminate the worksheets and get out some dry erase markers for the students to use while they complete it. There is just something about using a dry erase marker for kids. They love the feel of markers and their ability to easily erase and start over if they mess up. They will legitimately enjoy the activity, trust me. 
  4. Work with partners. Everything’s better when you’re working with a classmate. You can also pair the students up and let them play against each other in a game of “Beat My Partner”. They can race to see who can complete the work first with a little friendly competition. 
  5. Have a snowball fight! Have your students complete their work as fast as they can. Once they are done, check their work (to make sure they did their best), and then have some fun. Have everyone ball their paper up and have a “snowball” fight with them. This is guaranteed to be a hit! 

 

make worksheets more fun

Shaking things up in the classroom not only helps the students, it helps you keep things fun and exciting for yourself! Not to mention it will make you one of the most memorable teachers your students will have! 

For more ways to make learning fun, check out my tips for using games in the classroom here! 

For more learning resources, check out my shop here.

Do you have any ways you like to shake things up in the classroom to have more fun? Let me know in the comments!

make worksheets more fun

 

Winter Activity Ideas For Your Classroom

education, Teacher's Pay Teachers, Winter

Are your lesson plans ready for wintertime? After the excitement of the holidays, it can be difficult to plan for activities that get your students excited and engaged. Luckily, the cold weather provides plenty of opportunities for learning that is fun! There’s building a snowman together, drinking hot chocolate, and winter creative writing activities, just to name a few. 

Here are some of my favorite winter activity ideas, and I hope they’ll inspire you to get creative in your lesson planning!

One of my favorite topics for wintertime lessons is ICE!

The frozen water kids see on the ground, hanging from eaves, or on the local pond is a perfect springboard for science lessons. 

Ask your students about their observations outside if you have ice around your school. Then, lead them into a discussion of different forms of matter. Even younger students can begin to understand the relationship between water and ice, preparing them for more in depth learning about the water cycle in future years. 

winter activity

You can also grab some ice from outside (or from the freezer), and observe what happens as time passes at room temperature. This is a perfect opportunity for students to record observations and make hypotheses about why ice melts. Students will be engaged, and you’ll be covering important science and writing skills!

Another of my favorite winter activity ideas is creating beautiful snowscapes with puffy paint.

You will need to mix equal parts shaving cream and white glue to create the paint, and provide students dark blue or black construction paper for their canvas.

This activity is hands-on and a little messy, but so much fun! Students can create a scene using their puffy paint, or a snowman picture. They can then write a narrative to match their picture. You can have students share their narrative with the class or with a partner. Art, tactile learning, and writing skills are all involved in this one lesson! 

winter activity

A true student favorite for winter is my Stop Motion Animation resource.

Using a snowman animation from a real Disney animator, this activity gets kids super excited about creative writing. They will also get to create their own stop motion animation. This is an exciting and unique activity that they may never have experienced before.

winter activity

Included in this resource, you’ll find over three weeks of writing lessons and engaging activities. Your students will be thrilled to get creative with animation and writing!

Another favorite is having students (especially if you are teaching virtual), build a digital snowman and write about it! Google slides make it simple for students to copy and paste items to design the snowman.  Then, let their creative juices flow with writing about their snowman!

build a snowman writing

 I hope these ideas get you excited about winter learning, and ready to enjoy the season with your students!

winter activity

Check out these digital holiday centers for more winter activity ideas!

 

Check Out These Christmas Classroom Decorations

Classroom Decor, Door Decorating, Teaching Tips

If you are like me, you love to look at what other teachers are doing in their schools and classrooms to keep the school looking joyful during the holidays! One of my sweet friends and very talented teacher authors, Jamie Knefely shared the Christmas hallways teachers created for the holidays at her school!  These will make your school hallways sing!

Door and Hall Christmas Decorations

This part of the hall is a traditional barn theme.

Christmas Door Decoration School Contest

reindeer Christmas door decorations

Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer Door Decoration

Christmas Decorations Farm Theme

Santa’s Workshop Door and Hallway Christmas Decorations.

Santa's Workshop Door Decoration Contest

Winter School Decorations

You and I both know that it would not be Christmas without the Grinch! Look at these amazing door and hall Christmas decorations for you school.
Grinch Christmas Decorations

How the Grinch Stole Christmas school Decorations

Dr. Seuss Grinch Christmas Decorations

Want to try something a little different this holiday season? Try out this Louisiana Cajun Christmas themed hallway!

Cajun Christmas School Hallway  Cajun Christmas Decorations

Cajun Christmas School Decorations

Cajun Christmas

Even though Frosty is a little deflated, the amazing wall, window and door Christmas display makes you feel like he will come back to life any day now!

Frosty the Snowman Door Decoration

Credits Teaching with Tidbits and More with Jamie

See this reindeer writing resource to create a great reindeer window display!

See MORE >>>  Christmas Door Decorations

 

4 Digital Holiday Centers For Kindergarten And First Grade

Distance Learning, Teacher's Pay Teachers

The winter holidays are such an exciting time for children, and bringing fun activities into the classroom creates happy students! Center activities are a favorite for teachers throughout the year as they can be completed by small groups of kids independently. Once activities are introduced and demonstrated, teachers can work with a group of students or rotate around the room as groups work.

 They are also exciting for students as they get to interact with peers and move around the room from activity to activity. Winter holidays provide great subject matter for centers and are the perfect addition to your lesson plans!

Read on to learn about four of my favorite holiday centers for the most wonderful time of the year. 

1.The Virtual Art Calendar is a great gift for parents, and is lots of fun for students as well.

holiday centers

This activity allows students to use Google Slides to create a unique 12-month calendar. The editable designs let kids get creative while they learn important calendar skills. Add artwork for each month, staple or bind with a ribbon.

 Since it can be completed digitally or printed out, it is a perfect option for digital learning. When students complete the calendar, they can print it out or even email it to their parents. A learning activity, virtual lesson, and parent gift combination is an awesome fit for 2020- and calendars are updated yearly so you will be able to use this resource every year! 

For more parent gift ideas, check out my post here. 

2. One of the most unique holiday centers idea for the holidays is the Ugly Sweater Writing Activity.

Students will use Google Slides to design their own ugly sweater, then write about it. Once students have completed their designs the slides can be compiled into a presentation for an Ugly Sweater Contest. 

You can add music and let students vote on their favorite designs. Graphic organizers and prompts are also included so students can write about their sweater. This will definitely be the most fun writing activity of the year! All materials are digital or printable, so this activity is great for digital learning.

3.Next up is the Holidays Around the World Escape Room.

holiday centers

Don’t worry- your students will stay safely in your classroom as they solve clues. This activity is great for reading comprehension and problem solving skills.

 Students will learn about winter holidays around the world and practice using the main idea as they attempt to break the spell of a bad elf. This activity could be completed during distance learning as well as it is 100% digital. You can increase the excitement by offering something special if they escape! 

4. Another escape activity is the Balloons Over Broadway Digital Escape activity.

holiday centers

In this lesson, students will learn about the designer of Macy’s holiday windows, parade balloons- the great puppeteer Tony Sarg. Students will listen to a short story, then use their comprehension and problem solving skills to “break the locks”.

This activity is digital so students can work at home, in small groups, or independently in the classroom. The Puppet Parade activity is ideal for first, second, or third grade students but kindergarten students can still enjoy it by doing it as a group with the whole class. 

 I hope your students have a great time working on these holiday centers! 

holiday centers