Embedded Files
Need to fill extra time?
We're sure that you have a few go-to activities that you use when you have little (or a lot) of time to fill with a class.
Here are some additional fun resources we've discovered that you can add to your list!
California State Parks
California State Parks
Lessons to Fill an Hour (or longer)
Lessons to Fill an Hour (or longer)
The California State Parks created projects for teachers to do with their students. What's nice about these is that the rangers filmed videos to introduce the challenge, it's almost like your students get a mini-field trip. If you've got a way to show videos, the lessons are ready to use.
Tip: These are meant to be multi-week projects and have a lot of documentation. But you can streamline the lessons by just showing the challenge video and asking students to do an activity.
Examples:
- For the Crystal Cove Project, play just the lesson 2 video (if YouTube is blocked, try this link) and pair students up to create flyers to help Ranger Francesca.
- For the Point Lobos Project, play the lesson 2 video (if YouTube is blocked try this link) and ask students to take notes on the video then write their teacher a letter sharing three things they should know about Point Lobos State Park.
Crayon Collection
Crayon Collection
Art Projects
Art Projects
Ever been to a restaurant with kids and gotten a box of four brand-new crayons? Wonder what happens to the slightly used crayons at the end of the meal? Crayon Collection is a nonprofit working to make sure they don't go to the landfill. They've worked with artists to create activities that you can do with just crayons and paper.
Example: Newspaper Shapes is an activity where students circle capital letters (for example, the letter A) on a sheet of newspaper, connect the dots and create a picture out of the shape it makes (like a monster).
Playworks
Playworks
Games You can use
Games You can use
We love Playworks, a nonprofit that helps kids stay healthy and build life skills through play (full disclosure, we share the same founder).
Check out:
- Game Library to find games you can use in the classroom, categorized by grade level and type (ice breaker, transitions, etc).
- Games Playlist on YouTube for quick how-to videos for games to use during PE and skills to help with group management.
Useful Websites for finding OER
Useful Websites for finding OER
OER stands for Open Education Resources aka Free Lessons, Materials and Curriculum for Educators.
OER stands for Open Education Resources aka Free Lessons, Materials and Curriculum for Educators.
OER Commons is a nonprofit website that aims to be a public digital library for OER content. You can search hundreds of thousands of free lessons, worksheets and other resources on the site. You can also add to the library using their authoring tools.
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