Types of hands-on activities to try
- Creating a sensory bin. Sensory bins are hands down one of my favorite activities to use for a few different reasons. ...
- Using magnets, stamps, or letter tiles to spell. Manipulatives are not just for learning math! ...
- Using Play Dough to form letters. ...
- Learning Games to practice working together. ...
What are some fun hands-on activities for high school students?
Take a look at our enormous list of fun hands-on activities for high school! High school sciences naturally lend themselves to hands-on activities because of the lab work required. But as you can see in the following list, you can also have fun with food, field trips, LEGOs, and even comedy to bring your science to life!
What can kids learn from hands-on projects?
Sadly, as kids get older, the ideas for hands-on projects seem to dwindle. If you stop to think about it, though, almost anything can be educational: acting in a play, running a lawn-care business, creating pieces of art, cooking and baking, and even babysitting!
How should students be graded during hands-on activities?
During hands-on activities, teachers do not direct students at every step. Therefore, at the introduction of the project, teachers should provide students with rubrics on how their project or presentation will be graded, as well as the requirements for each level of performance.
What are the benefits of hands-on activities for ELLs?
The following paragraphs will explain the positive outcomes hands-on activities have on ELLs, and how educators and parents can implement these strategies in their classroom or at home (O'Neil, 2004). Hands-on activities let the students' minds grow and learn based on the experiences and the environment they are exposed to.
What are hands-on learning activities?
Hands-on learning is another term for experiential learning, where individuals immerse themselves in a subject to learn. Students learn from partaking in activities rather than passively reading a book or attending a lecture.
What are hands-on projects?
An example of a hands-on project is one that requires you to get involved and learn and do the tasks necessary. Involving active participation; applied, as opposed to theoretical. Designating or of training, an activity, etc. in which a person actively participates by design.
What are hands-on activities for preschoolers?
HANDS-ON LEARNING ACTIVITIES for PRESCHOOLCatching Bugs Counting Game For Preschoolers - Pre-K Pages. ... Geoboard Activities for Preschool - Pre-K Pages. ... Name Activities for Preschool. ... Name Recognition Activity for Preschool: Letter Tree - Pre-K Pages. ... Alphabet Sensory Bin for Letter Recognition.More items...
What is hands-on activity in science?
Hands-on science is defined mainly as any instructional approach involving activity and direct experience with natural phenomena or any educational experience that actively involve students in manipulating objects to gain knowledge or understanding (Haury & Rillero, 1994).
Why hands-on activities are important?
Hands-on activities let the students' minds grow and learn based on the experiences and the environment they are exposed to. ELLs learn while discussing, investigating, creating, and discovering with other students.
Why are hands-on activities good for children?
Through hands-on activities, children are encouraged to learn through exploration. Hands-on learning develops thinking skills. The senses are engaged through physical participation in learning. Through their seven senses, children develop an understanding of their world and engage with different learning styles.
What are some hands-on activities for kids?
Versatile Hands-on Activities for KidsBuild a Map. Increase understanding and help kids visualize history and geography with a 3-D map. ... Make Costumes. ... Put on a Play or Puppet Show. ... Create a Presentation. ... Make a Paper Mâchè Model. ... Prepare a Themed Dinner. ... Do a Paper Bag Book Report. ... Make a Lapbook or Notebook.More items...
What are activities for preschoolers that are DAP?
Frequently playing with, talking to, singing to, and doing fingerplays with very young children. Sharing cardboard books with babies and frequently reading to toddlers on the adult's lap or together with one or two other children.
What can a 3 and 4 year old do?
Here are 10 simple and fun activities for parents and preschoolers to do together:Trace letters together. Three-year olds are often big fans of drawing. ... Do puzzles. Jigsaw puzzles aren't just for retirees! ... Throwing games. ... Matching shapes. ... Play bingo. ... Create a tin can phone. ... Do a color scavenger hunt. ... Try an information game.More items...
What are some STEM project ideas?
These simple STEM projects for kids will help reinforce important life skills and help to potentially spark a lifetime interest in this crucial field.Cloud in a Jar. ... Oil Spill. ... Sticky Note Number Match. ... Coding a LEGO® Maze. ... Crystal Sun Catchers. ... Building a Hand Crank Winch. ... Build a Balance Scale. ... Magnetic Slime.More items...•
Do students learn better with hands-on activities?
Experiential learning environments provide endless hands-on learning benefits for children of all ages. Research has shown that students of all ages learn better when they are actively engaged in their learning journey. As one Scholastic article states, when children have busy hands, they have a busy brain.
What are scientific activities?
Scientific activities . ' means those activities leading to the systematic knowledge of the physical or material world, largely consisting of observation and experimentation. It also includes the supervision, utilization, and communication of these activities.
What do ELLs need to learn in the classroom?
For a successful classroom experience to take place, ELLs need to have access to many different tools. For example, they need to be able to have access to computers, videos, books, magazines, manipulatives, and their local library to do research. They need time to brainstorm, generate, and re-create their ideas.
Do ELLs learn in different ways?
All students learn in different ways, and ELLs are no exception. Creating opportunities for hands-on learning in the classroom can provide another way for students to grasp difficult concepts.
On this page
Students learn in a variety of ways. Therefore, it is recommended that teachers use different teaching styles to meet English language learners' (ELLs') needs. Students who are learning the English language can benefit from a variety of learning modalities.
Endnotes
Rosa Lizardi is currently teaching in Chino Hills, California. She has also previously served as an assistant principal in The Chino Valley Unified School District. Rosa is a student advocate and is also a participant and trainee of the Professional Learning Communities Institute.
Reprints
You are welcome to print copies or republish materials for non-commercial use as long as credit is given to Colorín Colorado and the author (s). For commercial use, please contact [email protected].
1. Build a Map
Increase understanding and help kids visualize history and geography with a 3-D map. Building maps helps kids understand things like why Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt appear mislabeled on a flat map.
2. Make Costumes
Kids love costumes, simple or elaborate. I’m no seamstress, so when my kids were little, we assembled store-bought costumes or simple, DIY options.
3. Put on a Play or Puppet Show
From writing the script to building the set, kids practice a variety of skills as they prepare a puppet show or play. They learn dialogue, descriptive writing, oral communication, art, creativity, and more.
4. Create a Presentation
Oral presentations make a fantastic alternative to written assessments. Preparing the presentation provides an opportunity for kids to review. Presenting it showcases what they learned (and may highlight areas you need to go over again).
5. Make a Paper Mâchè Model
Easily add hands-on learning to subjects like history, science, or geography with paper mache models. Build a model of the earth or even the whole solar system.
6. Prepare a Themed Dinner
You probably first think of history or geography when considering a themed dinner, but with a little creativity, meals could represent concepts from science, math and other subjects.
7. Do a Paper Bag Book Report
Toss boring written book reports and try a paper bag book report instead. Kids start with a paper bag and add items that represent some aspect of the book (or a person’s life, a time in history, or an invention). Then, they pull out the items, one by one, and recap the highlights of the book as they explain the significance of each.
Science
How to Make an Edible Cell Model – This was probably one of the most fun projects we’ve ever done. It’s definitely one of the most popular on the blog. We did an animal cell, but it could easily be adapted to a plant cell.
History
Make an Ancient Egyptian dress – Sew an ancient Egyptian dress for an 18″ doll.
Math
Paper Airplane Math – Practice graphing the fun way – with paper airplanes!
Language Arts
The Phantom Tollbooth Activities – Journey through The Phantom Tollbooth with these activities.
Electives
A Nature Study Photography Project for Any Age – Photography makes a fantastic high school elective, so use these tips to combine it with nature study.
Huge List of Hands-on Activities for High School
It’s harder to find hands-on activities for high school than for elementary, but just because you are homeschooling teens doesn’t mean that your day has to be boring and tedious. Everyone learns better by doing–this is true for practical skills like driving and cooking, but also for academic knowledge like science and history.
Hands-on High School Science Activities
High school sciences naturally lend themselves to hands-on activities because of the lab work required. But as you can see in the following list, you can also have fun with food, field trips, LEGOs, and even comedy to bring your science to life!
Hands-on High School History Activities
Each of these activities are applicable to high school ancient history, even though we did many of them before the kids were teens. You would just expect more detail on each of the projects, and maybe a demonstration of the projects in front of a group of peers studying the same time period:
Hands-on Activities for High School Art
My high school students did a wonderful job with each of these famous artists, to learn their basic techniques and enjoy the works of the great artists:
Creating a sensory bin
Sensory bins are hands down one of my favorite activities to use for a few different reasons. You can create ones that go with any different season or holiday, use a variety of tactile objects to help with sensory learning, and keep students excited about the new sensory bin.
Using magnets, stamps, or letter tiles to spell
Manipulatives are not just for learning math! I love using a variety of manipulatives with my students to practice spelling. Here are some of my favorite manipulatives for hands on activities for ELA centers (plus activities that go with each one).
Using Play Dough to form letters
Students need to build their fine motor skills, so why not add in some fine motor practice with your hands-on learning. Simply have your students roll the play dough, as if they are making a snake. Then manipulate the “snake” to create different letters. Find it here.
Learning Games to practice working together
Games are another type of hands-on activity that are great to include in your center activity rotation! You can find these 4 games that are always a hit with my students on this blog post here.
