Teacher’s Brain

Tag: escape rooms

Must Do HALLOWEEN Lessons

Fall & Halloween

October is here and that means it is time to bring out the Halloween lessons and activities! This time of year is fun for both teachers and students. 

Pumpkins, candy, and all things spooky. 

What’s not to love?!

In honor of Halloween season beginning, I am sharing some of my absolute favorite lessons for this time of year. These lessons are especially perfect this year because they can easily be used for online or distance learning or in the classroom. 

Here are my three favorite Halloween activities for elementary

Whether you are in person or virtual learning, letting students design a Haunted House for sale is a huge HIT! You can print these out or let students use the virtual Google Slides shapes to design their very own haunted house! 

halloween lessons

After their design is perfectly spooky, now it is time to sell it! Let their imaginations run wild as they write a story and explain why their house is for sale. 

This resource is versatile enough to be used for any grade in elementary. It is so much fun to see what they design and the creative stories they come up with when they write about it! 

halloween lessons

Here’s a review of this Halloween activity

“This is a wonderful resource for many reasons. My kids were able to pick their backgrounds and design their own haunted house. Then they got to review and work on a variety of writing prompts. My students loved designing their houses on Google Slides. This activity makes students believe they are not working.” 

Check it out here! 

The next activity I want to share is another one that is always a hit with students, no matter what.

 It’s my Halloween Mystery Escape Room! 

halloween lessons

 

This activity is ideal for K-2 students and is a great way to get them engaged and thinking critically as they solve the mystery. With a little prep, your students will work as a team to break into a box, which breaks them out of the classroom as they beat the clock!

The best part? It’s simple to set up! Just add a pumpkin for students to find. 

Here’s a review for this Halloween escape room: 

“I used this during our Halloween party and the kids had such a blast figuring out the clues to escape the classroom! Will definitely be doing this activity again next year.” 

Check it out here! 

Are you looking for something that is perfect for this time of year but is not actually “Halloween” themed? This virtual Bats Escape Room is perfect! 

halloween lessons

During the escape, students will be tasked with solving 4 lock clues in order to escape the bizarre bats buzzing around their building.

It is super simple and never fails to get kiddos excited. 

halloween lessons

Here’s a review for this bat themed escape room

“During our virtual meeting the next day, student could not wait to share with me what they learned about bats.  I love that they used critical thinking skills to solve problems while learning.  Excellent resource!”

Check it out here! 

Bonus! Looking for free activities? Check out this Halloween Sticker Story resource!

Let each student pick a Halloween Sticker out, add a spooky background and write a story using these fun printables. Sticker stories are a great way to get kids motivated to write creatively!

These activities are perfect for Halloween parties, individual work, or group activities. They are guaranteed to get student engagement!

halloween lessons

 

Sight Words Made FUN In Elementary

kindergarten survival, Reading, Teaching Tips

Learning to read is one of the biggest goals in the early grades. It sets the foundation for their entire education experience! To do this, we start with the basics, letter recognition, letter sounds, blending sounds, etc. Then we move on to a crucial step- sight words!

These words are words that students practice and become so familiar with that they recognize them instantly and don’t need to sound out. This helps them become more comfortable and fluent readers in less time.

But how do we teach students sight words in a way that they will remember?

We practice every day! The more students practice them, the better readers they will become. This can be done by practicing reading them in class, writing them out, creating sight word chants “T-H-E THE” to get stuck in their head, sending home sight word lists for students to go over as homework, and assigning books with sight words in them for students to read.

These are all great ways to practice them on a daily basis. However, if you are looking for something to really take it up a notch, I have you covered. Get students so engaged in learning their sight words that they won’t even realize they are learning because they are having so much fun with my Sight Word Escape Room! 

sight words

This Mystery Sight Words Escape Room is perfect for kindergarten and first-grade students.

sight words

Use these step-by-step instructions to guarantee student engagement while they learn about sight words to solve a classroom mystery. With little prep, your students will work as a team to break into a box, which breaks them out of the classroom as they beat the clock!

Included in this resource you get one PDF file with step-by-step instructions, a link to incorporate a video to hook your students into the mystery, and 3 pre-made clues for your class to solve. The other file is an editable PowerPoint to make it easy for you to add your own team names to personalize the experience and allow the students to take ownership of the lesson. You can also change the mystery letters to create your own sight words, sentences, and riddles.

This escape room is guaranteed to be a hit with your students!

Looking for more fun ways to practice sight words? Check out my post here! 

 What are your favorite sight word activities? Let me know in the comments!

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

 

Why Escape Rooms Are Great For Elementary

education

You probably already know that escape rooms have become hugely popular in primary grades recently. They’re exciting, unique, engaging, and make your students think! What’s not to love? They’re perfect for any grade in elementary.

If you haven’t heard of this before, you may be wondering what escape rooms are. 

An escape room is an escape game where your students have to work together in real life to discover clues, solve puzzles, and complete tasks in order to escape. But how do you do an escape room with 5 and 6 year old kindergarten students? 

It may seem obvious, but you don’t actually  need to have expensive locks, fancy boxes, or big prizes. My escape rooms meet standards, don’t need locks, encourage 100% engagement, and get kids to work together in teams to help each other open any box and escape their room. The activities and puzzles are grade level appropriate so they will be just challenging enough to be fun. 

My escape rooms have 3 to 5 tasks for students to solve in order to get their next clue.  They also have video hooks to build anticipation. You can make it fun by letting them escape the room and go to recess, the library, or really get the excitement up with a cookie party!

Escape rooms make a GREAT Holiday activity, especially. The Christmas Escape will add to your students learning all about Holidays Around the World!

Students find clues, solve puzzles and work as a team to help save the holidays while Santa is on a VACA! It has a fun video hook!

“We loved doing this! I didn’t have a wooden box or real keys! This resource provided everything but the treat at the end! I highly recommend and will be purchasing more!”
— Patricia T.
There is a digital escape FOUND HERE if needed.

The Halloween theme will add a spooky and fun twist. 

This Halloween Escape Room is for kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade students. It includes step-by-step instructions that will guarantee student engagement while your students work together to find the missing classroom pumpkin that was stolen by the werewolf.

escape rooms

Check out this escape room Halloween Mystery video to hook them in! 

Want to see this Halloween Escape Room in action? Check out this fun video from The Magical Teacher to see how she used in her classroom for a thrilling Halloween mystery. 

The MOST POPULAR Escape the Room is the Sight Word Mystery Escape! Students work together to solve mysteries all involving sight words.  This escape is EDITABLE, so you can tailor the words to meet your needs.

Do you use escape rooms in your classroom? Let me know in the comments!

escape rooms

Looking for more Halloween activities, check out my post here for Halloween crafts and center ideas!