Transition Activities for the Classroom
Transition periods within the classroom are often chaotic and children can be confused about what is going to happen next, thus allowing for disruptive behavior to occur. Transitional activities, also called sponge activities, keep students focused so that a smooth progression of lessons or scholarly tasks is achieved. The sponge exercises must be age-appropriate and can reinforce lesson material or allow a break from the everyday grind.
-
Preschool and Early-Elementary Transition Activities
-
Preschool students and those in kindergarten through second grade complete tasks at varying speeds so using sponge activities keep children on task without disrupting those needing additional time to finish. Free-drawing is a useful activity promoting imaginative art and is completed on the reverse side of the test or lesson reinforcement activity sheet avoiding the distraction of other students by gathering new materials. Math, science and literary learning centers often include file folder games, or paper-based activities kept in a manila folder, that can be used as sponge activities.
Upper-Elementary School Transition Activities
-
Writing exercises can be used when a portion of the class has finished an assignment and is waiting to move on to the next task. Encourage those students to write about a new topic learned during the previous lesson to include any remaining questions about the concept, fictional stories related to the concept and all of the points they have learned. Alphabetizing the names of all of the classroom students, adding up all the digits in the current month and creating lists of synonyms for vocabulary words are other examples of quick transitional activities appropriate for students in grades three through five.
-
Middle School Transition Activities
-
Writing scenarios, such as if the student were a millionaire or a movie star, are useful within middle school transition times. Timed sponge activities promote a game-like feel while naming as many global bodies of water, presidents in reigning order, cities wtihin the state or current teachers in the middle school. Developing a secret decoding legend that combines symbols and letters to send messages or instructing students to solve a posting of a challenging mathematical puzzle on the chalkboard are creative middle school transition activities.
High School Transition Activities
-
Although most transitional times in high school begin and end with a loud bell through the school speakers, instructors often find that switching lesson ideas within the classroom period requires a sponge activity. Correlating the transition task with the subject area taught helps to reinforce concept material while transitioning. Goal-writing for the class is an effective sponge activity for high school students that gives instructors a personal insight into each student's current perception of his learning as well as where each would like to be, educationally, by the end of the school year. Encourage each teenager to list at least five classroom or life goals.
-
References
- Photo Credit pupils at school image by Tatiana Belova from Fotolia.com
