How many kids are eager readers? How many students go to the library & spend time with books? Now, we could hardly find any kids who would ask for a nice storybook as a gift.
In this world of digitalization, it’s rare to find that a child reads a book containing lots of poems & stories.
Teaching & learning isn’t just limited to blackboards, textbooks & classrooms. It is far beyond this.
‘Shows no interest in studies,’ ‘is distracted easily,’ ‘Is disengaged’ – Making descriptions in classrooms like these are too common these days.
What are Learning Activities?
There is almost an infinite no. of activities which are effective in learning & teaching as well. Useful learning activities are those when students are able to make use of what they have learnt while engaging in fun learning activities.
Then they can use it in real and cooperative ways.
With our fun-filled learning activities for students in school, learning & grasping knowledge thus becomes an interesting as well as enjoyable experience. Here are six learning activities for students in the classroom that help in keeping pace to their learning:
Activities for Students in School
1. Pass Slips
This useful activity is used at the end of each classroom session. Ask each student to write something based on a specific topic on a slip for 1 or 2 minutes. Tell them to speak what they have written down individually.
This activity is performed to help them generalize what all have they learnt the whole day.
2. Acting in Theater
It is a great activity for young students to meeting new people while expanding their mental horizons wide. This purposeful activity helps those shy kids to open up to larger audiences while driving social children into a perfect creative environment.
This activity helps them to participate in various school plays. Those children, who don’t like to come in front of the limelight, also consider working in costume or production department.
In this way, students learn how to face real-life competitions playfully.
3. It’s Time to Quiz
Yes, you’ve heard it right!
Being innovative is the key! Conducting a quiz in class on the topics covered in the previous classes helps them to understand the basic concepts of subjects. Starting a debate over a topic, case studies & Problem-based learning can also be equally effective.
Quizzes can extract more knowledge from students’ minds & excite them. This is also the best form of revision.
4. Go for Meditation
Importance of Yoga & Meditation for students , is a worldwide proven method for improving brain power & concentration level of students.
Doing yoga and meditation, keeps mind active and body healthy. This also increases their retention power and memory. These helped them to grasp study topics easily.
Group Activities for Students in School
Activities for students to overcome the fear of speaking in front of the audience, mingling with other students, working in groups, etc. are called group activities.
1. Checker Stack
This is a wonderful game for keeping up a two-way conversation between students as well as teachers. There are children who face difficulty in maintaining conversations with classmates.
Participating in this activity will help those shy children in keeping up conversation alive. This two-player game can be played with the help of tokens, checkers, or poker chips.
2. Pick up the Winner
Make groups of 7 to 8 students by dividing the entire class. Let them assign work on a particular topic. Each child will record his/ her answer, make strategies digitally, or write on a piece of paper. After some time, allow the groups to select the best answer from the choices.
The right answer will then be presented to the whole class.
3. Group Projects or Assignments
Students group is one of the strongest relationships that children hold during their school time. As considered in the case of individual attempts, team spirit brings better results.
Teaming up for a group discussion or making a group for the class project is a very promising learning activity for students.
School projects, assignments, making of mnemonics, etc. are some of the activities that are performed by a group of students having 3-4 or 4-5 students in each group.
They can also be taken to field trips to gain educational experiences. Making a group for school projects, learning for class tests, or a group discussion is also a good learning activity.
4. Brainstorming young Minds
This activity is mostly performed in group activities as it helps students learn to work together in a team or group. This process is useful as while brainstorming, they come up with great new ideas. There are various brainstorming activities for students. E.x.
Pro & Con Grid is another activity that involves students to make both negative & positive points based on a particular topic related to the curriculum. It helps them to observe a topic from many viewpoints while developing skills to analysis & evaluate.
5. Buzz Session
Encourage collaborative discussion among the students by making groups. Every single student distributes his/ her share of experiences. They learn from each other’s ideas & thoughts. Students are involved in groups that focus on a single topic.
Within each group, every student contributes their thoughts and ideas.
6. Debate & Discussion
Involving in collaborative argumentation & discourse improves conceptual understanding and improves their reasoning abilities. Stage a debate for an argument by forming a team of students. Give them time to prepare and then put them into the discussion.
One group will focus on representing the opposing viewpoints.
Social Activities for Students
It is extremely important to have good social skills in students as these help them prepare for their later life. These skills can be indulged with the help of some social activities.
Those activities which help children improving mentally & socially without harming anyone are termed as social activities.
1. Volunteering
It is a good activity for children of all age groups. They should be encouraged to volunteer at some public places like animal shelters, child welfare centers, teach useful skills to younger ones, to read books to them, etc. Social skills can only be improved by helping others.
Students can also organize volunteering work to help community, neighborhood & other children.
2. Educational Trips
Kids love to visit for picnics, yes, of course. Plan some activities where they can perform better to improve their social skills. They should be taken to places of educational interests like museums, planetarium & others.
Likewise, activity camps are also better in honing up skills that are needed for proper social interaction. A day of interaction with new people & participating in various activities helps those students who feel shy in interacting with others.
3. Improvisational Storytelling
Social skills may be delayed in some students, especially those who don’t like to talk much. One of these activities is storytelling, which improves their social skills. Read a story with emotional content & let students talk about it afterward.
This story-based activity helps them understand each other’s emotions. When they join group conversation, they try to reflect on their own experiences.
They also learn about differences in the way every other child reacts. This mutual understanding helps them in developing team work.
These learning activities help students with:
- Remain Focused in Studies: Students who are actively learning & are engaged in studies are less prone to become bored, tired & disinterested in studies.
- Learn Differently: Students are emotionally engaged more when they’re involved in the process of learning.
- Learn & Grasp Quickly: Learning first-hand involves deep critical thinking with problem-solving ability. These processes increase learning power, engagement in study & speeding up the retention level of students.
Last but not least, the study should be fun-induced learning. Interactive games & experiential learning activities for students in school can also be fruitful in the process of learning. There’s always something for everyone!
Also read, Ways To Create A Positive Learning Environment For Students
