It’s Back-to-School time! Teachers are getting those classrooms set up, decorated, cluttered, full of bright light, lots of words at a distance….oh wait…. Sorry…. We’re supposed to be excited!
BUT – How are our students going to function efficiently in a new space with so many new things to see under less than ideal lighting conditions? This article proposes a fun scavenger hunt idea for empowering students to orient themselves to their own classroom in a fun, lighthearted way.
Method
There are many methods you can use to design a scavenger hunt for your students. Keep in mind that students working at different levels will benefit from different formats. Some ideas include:
- Scavenger Hunt paper template – I created this very quickly. The prompts can be changed for different grade levels, and students can write, check, or use a sticker to mark off each item as they find it. This can also be adapted for non-visual learners.
- iPad – In the past, I have created a Google slideshow with prompts and asked students to take pictures to insert into the slides to document the findings in their hunt. You could get creative and write clues on each slide as well, rather than just the item to find.
- Book – With a book format, students can take pictures to glue onto the pages or write in the book under each prompt. They can also collect an artifact or sticker that has been pre-placed in the area to document completion. Objects or tactile symbols can be used as well.
- Checklist – Using a checklist will allow you to orient students in a sequential way to the room. This option also allows you to use object or tactile symbols to make connections to different areas of the classroom.
Prompts
Here are some ideas for places in the classroom you might consider adding to your hunt. You can also ask your students which areas they would like to discover.
- Student’s desk or seat at a table
- Student’s place on the carpet
- Centers
- Quiet corner
- Teacher’s desk
- Pencil sharpener
- Line-up space
- Cubby or hook
- Classwork supply storage (pencils, crayons, glue, etc.)
- Cane hook
- Word walls
- Class rules poster
- Calendar
- Morning Meeting or Circle Time Board
- Assignment turn-in basket
- Free-time activities
This activity could be extended to other classrooms or areas that the student will be in or could encompass the entire school as needed. Allowing peers to participate in activities like this with our students with visual impairments can also be socially beneficial for everyone.
Happy Hunting!
Note: Photos from wonderful classrooms in previous P2L articles
