Friday is a special day for children and teachers. Friday means the end of the school week and the beginning of the weekend. Even if weekends are busy, a change in daily schedule offers a needed break from the daily routine. Taking time to let students think about their week and what they’ve learned is a great use of Friday excitement. The following are just a few of the ways to capitalize on this favorite day of the week.
Creative Review
Creative review gets students up, moving and making real-world connections to acquired skills. Use the following to accomplish your review goals:
Spelling-Word Bingo
Turning the weekly spelling list into a game right before the test helps students see words in different contexts as well as hear their spellings out loud. Keep dry erase boards handy, and divide the board into squares with a marker. Have students write one spelling word in each box. Draw spelling word cards out of a hat until someone wins.
Math Facts Toss
Have students stand by their desks. Toss a soft, light-weight ball to a student while calling out a math fact. As the student catches the ball, he or she must say the answer. If the answer is wrong or not said in time, the student sits down. Play until one student is left standing.
Write and Reflect
During the 30 minutes after lunch, have students write one thing in their journals from the week they are proud of and one thing they want to work on. Spend 10 minutes at the end of writing time for students to share what they’ve written with the class and practice giving each other appropriate praise and encouragement.
Favorite Activity
Choose a few center activities used during the week that were new-skill manipulatives. Consider one from each unit- math, science, language arts and reading- and let students choose two centers to visit: one that was fun and one where they need more work.
Monthly Focus
Use Fridays to spend extra time reinforcing skills learned in one of the following units: science, social studies and writing. Find a simple science experiment, like making slime or creating a baking-soda-powered rocket that goes with one of your science lessons. Have a cross-culture experience, like food from another country, a short foreign language lesson or a fun map exercise for social studies, or have children work on writing creative stories that they can then illustrate and read to the class.
Fabulous Fridays helps students make connections to what they’ve learned in fun and unusual ways.
