I’m in a situation in which I have to teach a group of kids who range in age from 5-12, all in the same class. Naturally they have varying levels of ability and comprehension.
Separating them is not an option.
I’m using posters and a whiteboard for games and activities, but I worry that the younger kids can’t keep up, and the older ones might get bored.
Can you give me some ideas for whiteboard activities that are suitable for all age groups?
3 comments
You can play Connect 4 on the whiteboard. Draw a grid pattern, maybe 7 lines vertically and 7 lines horizontally. That makes 7 rows across and up/down. Have 7 vocabulary items going across and 7 going down. You can use whatever words they all should know. Then divide them into two teams, balance out the ages for the two groups and they can play against each other. It’s easy and requires little prep work.
You can also play English baseball on the whiteboard. English baseball can be played 2 ways: one where the students actually move using 3 chairs for bases, or just use magnets on the board in place of runners. It goes like this:
-Divide the class into two teams. Again, try to get a balance of ages so big kids aren’t squaring off against little kids. Designate one team to be batting, the other pitching. If you do the physical running, have 3 chairs in a diamond pattern in the center of the room with the 2 groups lined up against opposing walls. If not, draw a diamond on the board and use magnets for runners.
-The first kid from each row comes to the front, and you show a flashcard. The first student to answer correctly wins. If that kid is a batter, he sits on a base/move a magnet. If that kid is a pitcher, it’s 1 out. The students move to the back of the line and the next kids come up.
-As batters answer the questions correctly, they advance in the bases. As the pitchers get the answer right, the outs mount up. After 3 outs, the batters all sit down and the batting/pitching teams switch. Points gather as the batters get answers right and runners come home.
It sounds lame, but there’s always hangman
You can change the “hangman” to whatever you want (snowman, a person so you can also name the body parts as you write them on the board, etc.)
If there’s a small group, I like to draw a parachute and a character for each student and a shark below each of them. Then as they miss points, I remove a string from their parachute until they fall.
You can also adjust it to fit each students needs so the younger ones can get more strings than the older so it’s more fair and no one is eliminated too quickly.