Fun Activities for Third Grade
It's difficult for any teacher to control a class of third-graders. Not only must teachers teach basic reading and arithmetic, they must also teach in a way that grabs pupils' attention. Many inexperienced parents and educators struggle to balance these two goals. Adding a few fun educational activities to the mix with your third-graders can promote learning and engagement.
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Pen Pals
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Most third-graders will be intrigued by an assignment that lets them write a letter to a child who lives in a distant city, state or country. Education.com suggests having your third-graders write postcards to children living in Africa. PenPal.com (see Resources) arranges pen pal connections between young children from different parts of the United States or the world. Whether they write to pupils in Africa or Los Angeles, your pupils will love practicing proper writing while composing pen pal letters.
Memory Games
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Harness the power of competition to promote interest. Competitive games such as memory games will engage your pupils while simultaneously refining their memories and reinforcing important facts. For example, Education.com (see Resources) features a Presidents Day memory game that requires pupils to compile a few facts about a president and then arrange a standard matching memory game. Pupils turn over cards until they match the same fact on two cards. Every time the pupils turns over a card, she reads the fact aloud. Pupils have fun and learn key facts by playing this game.
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Jeopardy
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A quiz show format, like "Jeopardy!," can be used to excite interest and test for pupils' knowledge. Create a list of categories and questions and allow teams of students to compete as though they were playing on "Jeopardy!" You do not need to design a fancy stage or use electric buzzers. Instead, give each team a small whiteboard and award points to the first team that writes down the correct answer and holds up the board.
Writing and Acting Out a Script
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Greatschools.org suggests having your third graders act out a play script (see Resources). You may even ask your third-graders to write a script themselves. This activity will teach students to use their creativity in productive ways, learning about play writing and acting as they build writing, reading and oral presentation skills. Some pupils may balk at performing in public. These pupils could be gently coaxed into speaking only a few lines, or they could be asked to help behind the scenes as a director or costume or stage designer.
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References
Resources
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