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Indoor "Recessitation", Grades 3-6
Select one of these activities to have on the best Indoor
Recesses ever!
Internet Activities
- find out about Mars expedition (Pathfinder, July 1997)
- answer your computing questions
- learn about robotics: make a robot arm move, stand a
robot on its head . . .
- visit current tech and science current exhibits
- Find the latest science news, activities, and more...
At TIME for Kids you'll be
treated to interesting news for kids. You won't want to miss the science
news and activities.
- If you love sports, this is the place....
Sports Illustrated
for Kids gives you "talking rebuses", Girls & Sports,
tile puzzles featuring famous athletics, and more. You'll want to make
up your own "talking rebuses" after solving the Sports Illustrated
creations. What's a rebus, you ask? We're not telling, but they are fun.
- Links to good sites recommended by a 9 year old....
Maddy Mayhem is what her Mom calls her, but it's not her real name. Does
your Mom call you any funny (or what you consider embarrassing) names?
Try Maddy or Madeline's site for some very nice links to lots of recess
fun: Maddy Mayhem's Kids'
Stuff.
- Do you like to march?
Marching is great fun during outdoor or indoor recess, but make sure you
have enough room. Go online and download one of the lively marches on the
following site:
John Philip
Sousa, An American Music Icon. Then make up a march for you and your
classmates. Play the computer music and march on!
- Can you solve these puzzles?
Strawberry
Macaw's Puzzle Page contains puzzles such as Tic Tac Toe; Crossing
the River with a Fox, Duck and Corn; Sliding Pictures and Sliding Numbers;
and more.
- Your Online Public Library....
The Internet Public Library is
one of the nicest places for you on the World Wide Web. You'll enjoy the
stories, questions, activities, math, the world and more. Remember to bookmark
this site, for you'll be returning. It's your online library!
- How do you say "hello" almost 3000 ways?
One of the best activities at the Internet Public Library is learning to
say "Hello" in
2700 different languages. Go to this very nice site and practice different
"hellos" with your friends. Don't forget to go home and try the
"hellos" on your family. Did you know there were that many languages?
We didn't.
- So you want an automobile....
If you'd like to make a car during recess, try Make
a car. You'll learn about making cars and car history. You can also
design your own company and
see if you'd be a successful company CEO (Chief Executive Officer).
- Make your own flying machines, club houses, leaning
towers, ...
At YES MAG, Canada's Science
Magazine for Kids , you'll want to try the "at home" science
packed with directions for making flying devices, geodesic club houses,
telegraphs, leaning towers, cyclones.... The magazine's "Brain Bumpers"
will lead to answers to such worrisome questions such as: "Can it
really rain cats and dogs?" and "Where do butterflies go when
it rains?" You'll love it.
- Nice links and more....
Little
Planet Magazine has some very good book reviews, stories and activities
for recess time.
- How about a little game of Charades?
You'll enjoy the Charades
for good old-fashioned word fun on the Houghton Mifflin site.
- The World of Amphibians....
Enter the World of
Amphibians for ever so many pictures of the most unique frogs and other
amphibious creatures you've ever seen. You'll also enjoy the amphibian
sounds at this unusual site.
- You know where you live, but this is fun....
Use MapQuest to find your home,
school, parks and more. This site is one for finding the location of your
friends' homes, your home, and other important addresses. You can also
get directions from airports and.... You'll find lots of uses for this
site-and your teacher will appreciate it, too, for using it will teach
you about map reading.
- Take an Internet Field Trip.
If you travel online, it's called a "virtual field trip." You
can take one anytime you want, but during indoor recess, they can really
be lots of fun. Why not get a group of your classmates together and head
to one of these neat places? When you go home, tell your parents that you
traveled to the Grand Canyon or to see the Liberty Bell or-all during recess.
They'll be amazed!
National Park Service Site contains links
to parks throughout the nation, Nature Net, and more.
Assateague Island National Seashore.
Take a virtual tour and learn about the wild ponies of Assateague and Chincoteague
Islands along with the beach and bay nature zones on the island. If you
love the books by Marguerite Henry such as Misty of Chincoteague, you'll
especially enjoy this trip. This is the home of Misty.
See if you can identify Presidents
on Mt. Rushmore. It should be easy for you. Where is Mt. Rushmore,
anyway? Find it on the computer or on a map.
Take time to visit the San Diego
Zoo where you can see the animals, send email postcards to friends
online, learn about animal tracks, and play games.
At Colonial Williamsburg, you'll
zoom back into history to the time when the United States was just beginning.
Fort McHenry
is a very interesting historical site to visit, and it's the home of what
famous national anthem?
Head to Philadelphia's
Historic Mile where you'll find Betsy Ross, the Liberty Bell, and more.
While in Philadelphia, zip over to The Franklin
Institute where you can try out your science knowledge through really
exciting activities.
The Smithsonian Institution invites you
to visit all of its galleries. You'll be able to learn about animals, history,
space, flight, art-whatever you want to know. Did you know that the National
Air & and Space Museum of the Smithsonian is the most visited museum
in the world. And it has a computer gallery, too!
Classroom Activities
(may complete with or without computers)
- Exercising Fun
You can't go outside, but you can get some exercise. With a group of your
friends think about what exercises you can do in the classroom. Remember
that all of the exercises have to be safe to do inside. We know a teacher,
who when her students are getting tired, does what she calls "brain
exercises." No, these aren't problems they have to solve, but exercises
that the students can do in the classroom. The students stand, but don't
move around except perhaps to move their legs or march in place. They do
move their arms, too, and they do lots of stretching. What types of exercises
do you think they do? Make up some safe exercises your class might do inside,
but don't do them until you check with your teacher to see if these exercises
are okay to do with your class. You might go to the library or search the
Internet for good indoor exercises. And be sure to ask you Physical Education
teachers for ideas, too. And don't forget some inspiring music that makes
everyone want to join in the exercise fun!
- Young Playwrights are Acting, too...
You'll probably need several recesses for this one, but it's worth it.
It's so much fun to be in a play, but it's also fun to make up a play.
With a group of students in your class, brainstorm ideas for a play. Talk
about what the characters would be like. Think about the sequence of events
in the play. Make a group plan for your play. Then you can write dialog
for the play on the computer and print scripts for all the actors. You
can practice during recesses, inside or outside. Ask your teacher about
presenting your play to the class or to other classes.
Another dramatic idea is to select a story everyone knows and give people
parts. Someone who knows the story well can be the narrator and start the
action. Everyone can role-play the parts without a script or anything written.
You might also, with a group of your classmates, role play being a famous
person. Let everyone in the group do this and let people make guesses about
who the famous people are.
Remember to take your bows at the end. :-)
- Class Wonders....
With others' help make a list of everyone in your class. Write something
wonderful about each person. Give the list to your teacher to post after
recess. You'll have to have everyone's help or you'll never get finished
at recess. Perhaps this can be accomplished by using several computers.
You'll have to decide how to get this job done.
- Play ball!
Use your recess time to make a list of all the famous athletes you can
think of. Think about which of these athletes are known to be very nice
people, too. For example, Cal Ripkin is a fine baseball player, but he's
not the top homerun hitter or the person with the best baseball average.
Why do we like him so much? What qualities does he have that are important?
Let's pretend that you and your friends are famous athletes. What sports
would you select? Why would you be famous? What would you do to help your
community and be a role model for young people? On the computer, draw yourself
as a famous athlete and write a short news story about your achievements.
Later when you have time, join your work to that of others and make a "Future
Famous Sportspeople" slide show.
- THE Presentation
With a group from your class, use your indoor recess time to begin a storyboard
for a marvelous Web Page or computer presentation. Your group can become
a "company" or a "business" that is developing a product.
Throughout the school year, whenever you have time, your "company"
will work on your product. What type of product will it be? Will it be
something that tells about you and your friends or your school? Will it
help the local humane society place homeless animals? Will it teach younger
students something? Will it be a game your classmates and others will enjoy.
Start now with your planning, and you'll never have to worry over what
to do when you have to stay indoors. We'll bet you and your "company"
will want to work on this project after school and on weekends, too!
- Nothing's better than a good story...
With your classmates have fun doing a round-robin story. Maybe you'll want
to make it a mystery or a comedy? The first person starts the story and
says perhaps a paragraph, then the next person adds to it, and so on and
on. Be sure to listen while the others are doing their parts so that you'll
know what to add to make the story exciting-and make some sense at least.
You might want to do a round robin telling about good books. Have a "book
sale" to try to talk your classmates into reading a good book you
loved. Then, if you can, go to the school library and check out some terrific
books.
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