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This site has you guess a mystery word by giving a number value at how close you are - and the group will give popcorn reponses to try.  For middle school.

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Mrs. Riley's Class | Supporting Learners to be Creative, Curious and Caring

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The body needs to warm-up before a workout! The same is true for our brains. We use these quick exercises both offline and online in order to stimulate our brain. Some of the warm-ups are math based, some language based and others critical thinking. I have used most of them in the classroom setting and many could be used individually as well.

24 Game - Use 4 digits and the 4 mathematical operations to equal 24

Riddle of the Day - Quick fun riddle

Word of the Day - vocab word for the day

Quote of the Day - or Quotation Station

Number of the Day - quick number exercise that takes one number and asks 10 questions about it

Rebus Puzzles - out of the box thinking and there are books of these as well

Creative Writing - Creativing writing prompts for your writer

Noodlers - visual spatial thinking game

Tangrams Don't let those little tykes in the photos fool you! The hard ones are HARD!

Logic Puzzle books - Check out the reviews, Amazon has a bunch!

Mystery Object - Closeup photos - ask what do you think this is? What makes you say that exactly?

Word Ladders - Word puzzle

Would You Rather - A new question every day

Puzzle Paradise - various puzzles

Mancala and DIY game - Classic mancala game and how to make one yourself from

Scattergories - fun verbal game of topics
Here's My Amazon List, too!
SET Game - classic game and there is a new one every day! Great for individuals or teams with a smart board

Scrabble Online - classic Scrabble

Quiddler - an online game or card game

Kakooma - various math puzzles

KenKen Puzzles - a very addictive math puzzle! These are fun!

WangDoodles - a Math Playground game

Word Wipe - fun word game

What's the Question? - Instead of asking a question, present a photo and have them generate the question

Simon Says - the class Simon game

Mancala Online - Mancala online

Puzzle Collection - lots of puzzles

Brain Teasers - Older kids - list of brain teasers

Wonderopolis - lots of things to click on and wonder about!

Chess - Play with the computer, set your own level and even has a "coach" option

Logic Games - various logic games

Everyday Mysteries - the answer to life's mysteries!

BrainPop Game - Guts and Bolts - game

GeoGuesser - Given a location, can you guess where you are in the world?

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The body needs to warm-up before a workout! The same is true for our brains. We use these quick exercises both offline and online in order to stimulate our brain. Some of the warm-ups are math based, some language based and others critical thinking.

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Movement & Improv Flexible Thinking Ideas

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Movement & Improv Flexible Thinking Ideas

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Flexible thinking is a skill that lets kids look at situations in different ways and find solutions to new problems. For some kids, it comes naturally. But others need help building flexible thinking.

Strategy and logic games can help kids think about different ways to look at and solve problems and puzzles. Encourage kids to think out loud as they play. This helps them see options and strategies.

Try making up new rules for games, too.Start with simple switches in games kids know well, like Chutes and Ladders. Instead of climbing up the ladders and sliding down the chutes, agree to slide down the ladders and walk up the chutes.

Jokes and wordplay can also boost flexible thinking. Explain that words can have more than one meaning. Read books like Amelia Bedelia, whose main character takes everything literally. For example, when asked to "draw the curtains," she draws a picture of them. Ask what she should have done instead.

Tell jokes that play with the meanings or sounds of words. Tell a joke like: "Why are fish so smart? Because they live in schools." Explain how the punch line uses two meanings of the word school. Encourage kids to try, too.

About the author

About the author

Julie Rawe is the special projects editor at Understood.

Reviewed by

Reviewed by

Amanda Morin is the author of "The Everything Parent's Guide to Special Education" and the former director of thought leadership at Understood. As an expert and writer, she helped build Understood from its earliest days.

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How to build flexible thinking skills in kids

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How can you help kids build flexible thinking skills? Try these flexible thinking activities and games for home or school.

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Warm-up activities play a crucial role in the English language classroom. Students often arrive to class feeling tired or preoccupied, making it important to gently transition them into the learning environment rather than diving straight into challenging grammar or vocabulary tasks. A well-designed warm-up can engage students, sparking their interest and encouraging active participation. It can also serve as a review of previously taught material or as an introduction to a new topic. Additionally, these warm-up activities can double as go-to fillers for those moments when your lesson plan wraps up early or unexpected issues arise, ensuring a seamless classroom experience for both you and your adult learners.

The great thing about the activities on this page is that they all require no preparation at all. However, if you keep a copy of our Collaborative Crosswords book in your bag, then you'll have another perfect class-starting activity. These crosswords designed for pair-work are great for introducing a theme and some suitable vocabulary. Read more about these activities here.

Teaching Online

We have an accompanying online-focused website LearnHip where you will discover lots more online activities which work well as warmers and fillers.

No-preparation ESL Warm-up Activities

Below, you'll find a selection of warm-up activities that require no prior preparation. These versatile exercises can also serve as convenient fillers to fill any extra time you might have towards the end of your lesson.

Quick questions

Begin your lesson by writing two or three questions on the board that introduce the theme of the lesson. For example, if your topic is books, you could write: What's your favorite book? What was the last book you read? What kind of books do you prefer? etc. Allow the students 5-10 minutes to discuss the questions in pairs or small groups, and then invite them to share their responses with the class.

If you need inspiration, check out our extensive collection of over 500 themed conversation questions on this page. For even more convenience, these questions are also available in easy-to-use card sets featuring additional exercises in our book, 50 Conversation Classes.

Make the most words

Write a topical vocabulary item on the board. In twos or threes, students make as many new words from it as they can. Use longish seed words such as apologise, dictionary or September. Score teams a point per word and award a bonus point for the longest.

Make the longest words

Write a topical target word vertically down the board, for example, WINTER. In twos or threes, students attempt to come up with the longest word that begins with each letter. Give teams a point per word and a bonus point for the longest. Waterfall Industrious Nausea Terrified Empty Retailer

What does your name mean?

Using a dictionary, google or any other resource, students find and write down an appropriate adjective that begins with each letter of their first name. For example:

Mixed-up question

It's always good to start the class with a question. Write a good one on the board but mix up the word order, then challenge students to reconstruct the question and then discuss it in pairs or small groups. For example: most item you have the ever expensive what's bought?

Mixed-up question (anagram variation)

Alternatively, write a question on the board but this time scramble the letters of each word. For example: tahw si ruyo seealirt rommey?

Letter string dictation

This is a great way to lead into the topic that you want to cover in the class and also serves as a simple activity to help students recognise letters of the alphabet. Think of a couple of questions for students to discuss in pairs or groups. Write the questions down and then dictate them as a long string of letters. For example: whatsyourfavouritecolour? whatdidyoudoattheweekend? whatkindofbooksdoyouliketoread?

After dictating the letter strings, students should attempt to form the questions and then discuss and report back to class.

For more advanced students try dictating the letters backwards and then have the students decode the question. This is more challenging because students will find it more difficult to predict the next letter and therefore must focus on the letters being dictated. For example: ?teemotekiltsomuoydluowohw

For more ideas on using dictation see the article 10 Dictation Activities.

Hangman

This popular filler can also be a great way to start a lesson with beginner learners who are still unsure of the alphabet. Just put a recently learned word on the board and let the students take it in turns to guess a letter. If you don't know how to play, you can read an explanation here.

Word ladders

In this activity, a word must be transformed step by step into a target word. To illustrate the idea, write the word run on the board and explain that the target word is fit. For each turn, only one letter can be changed. See if the class can find a valid sequence together. Some possible sequences are:

Students will need access to a dictionary in order to check if their words are valid. If you want to find possible word pairs, there is a site with a handy word ladder generator. Put students in pairs and have them create their own word ladders to test their classmates with.

The A to Z game

Give students a theme, for example, jobs, things you take on holiday, food. Write the letters A to Z on the board. Teams of students must race to write an appropriate word next to each letter on the board. Read more about the A to Z game here.

What's the missing word?

Find a group of compound words or collocations which share a common word. For example, bedroom, bathroom, living room, classroom, showroom, etc. Give students one of the word/collocation parts, such as bed and have them guess the missing part, add to the list writing bath, living, class, etc., until they successfully guess the word. Here are some more examples:

ear, boxing, diamond, finger, wedding (ring)

tea, soup, table, dessert (spoon)

kitchen, tea, bath, beach (towel)

green, light, ware, boat, work, wife (house)

What do you know about bananas?

Set a five-minute time limit and in groups have students think up and write down as many facts as they can about bananas (or cats, Belgium, David Beckham, etc.). One point should be given for each true sentence.

Things to do with a potato

One of many brilliantly simple warm up ideas from one of my favourite teaching books. Produce a potato (if that's not possible, introduce the concept of a potato). Ask students to come up with a list of as many unconventional uses for it as they can. For example paperweight, weapon, pen holder, smartphone dock. The longest list wins the potato.

How many sounds can you hear?

Students sit in silence for two minutes and write down every sound that they hear. Let them compare their lists with their neighbours before seeing who has the longest list? If you like this activity try doing a guess the sound quiz.

Odd one out

Give the students a couple of examples to guess, then get students to come up with their own ideas. Here are some examples: apple, peach, banana, tomato - a banana doesn't have seeds strawberry, branch, bowling ball, boat, iceberg - bowling balls don't float window, river, envelope, client, oregano - client doesn't begin and end with the same letter comb, champagne, knife, plum - the word plum doesn't contain any silent letters. Yards, feet, stone, litres. Note: There can be more than one correct answer.

Name ten

Have students think of 10 items that fit particular criteria. For example:

Jobs where you have to wear a uniform

English football clubs

Sports that are played with a ball

Foods that contain egg

Animals that lay eggs

Three letter parts of the body - eye, arm, leg, hip, ear, toe jaw, rib, lip, gum

Two truths and a lie

An ESL classroom staple. Write or dictate three sentences about yourself. Two statements should be true and one false, for example: I used to be an air steward I can ride a unicycle My favourite food is sushi Now invite students to discuss in pairs which statement they think is the lie. Ask each pair which statement they think is untrue and have them explain why. Reveal your answer, and ask students to come up with three sentences about themselves. I find students need quite a lot of time (at least five minutes) to come up with three ideas. If some students are still short of a sentence or two, start the game anyway, and they can finish their statements during play. Check students' statements and then have them take it in turns to read them out to the class. In each case, the other students have to guess which is the untrue statement. See this page for more ideas on using dishonesty for fun and profit.

Homophone Quiz

Say a word from a list of homophones and challenge students to write both (or more) forms of the word. Possible words include: bear,bare,piece,peace,not,knot,here,hear,witch,which,flower,flour,would,wood,be,bee,heal,heel,soul,sole,air,heir,break,brake,mist,missed,read,red,board,bored,buy,bye,pair,pear,male,mail,jeans,genes,not,knot,where,wear, so,sew,sow

Mastermind (AKA Bulls & Cows, Jotto, Wordle)

Based on the code-breaking board game where players have to deduce the order of 4 coloured pegs which the other player had hidden behind a plastic guard. It's slightly complicated to grasp but fun when you get the hang of it. Think of a four-letter word and write XXXX on the board, each X represents one of the letters of your word. Invite the first student to guess what the word is. Start a new line underneath your original XXXX. If the first letter in the student's word is the same as the first letter in your word put a ✓ in the first position. If the first letter is not the same as the first letter in your word but is contained somewhere in your word put a half-tick /. If the first letter of the student's word is not contained anywhere your word put an X. In the following example, the teacher chooses the word FIRE. XXXX XXXX - COAT X/XX - BEST X✓X✓ - HIKE /✓X✓ - RIDE ✓✓✓✓ - FIRE A word of warning. Stick to 4 or 5 letter words. It's much more difficult to guess longer words and it can also be tricky trying to mark each guess. When students are familiar with the game you can get them to come and put their own words on the board.

I'm going on a picnic and I'm taking a ...

This is a guess the rule type game. Think of a rule which governs which items can be taken on a picnic, for example, it must be six letters long, or it must start with a vowel. In this example, the rule is that the word must be an uncountable noun. Teacher: I'm going on a picnic and I'm taking milk. Student A: I'm going on a picnic and I'm taking eggs. Teacher: No, you can't take eggs. Student B: Can I take orange juice? Teacher: Yes, you can take orange juice. And so on. Continue adding items to your picnic list until a student correctly guesses the rule (the choices don't have to make sense within the picnic scenario e.g. love, information, air ). When you've finished, invite the students (alone or in pairs) to come up with their own rules and let them run the game.

Word Association

This must be one of the oldest ESL warm-up activities, but sometimes the simplest ideas turn out to be surprisingly effective and word games don't get any simpler than word association. Give an initial word, for example, banana and each student takes it in turns to say a word which they associate with the previous word. If the connection isn't obvious, challenge the student to justify their choice. banana - monkey - zoo - tourists - hotel - bible ...

Tell a story

This is another circle game. Going around the class students take it in turns to add three words to your story stem. You could start it off with relatively mundane stems such as Yesterday I went ..., If I won ..., I have never or something more imaginative like, A wolf howled, the rocket landed ..., Princess Martha kissed ... Write the story on the board and elicit corrections as you go along.

Party Trick

This is a great way to practise can & can't. Ask the class to think of one thing they can do which nobody else in the class can do. For example a student could ask the class, can you count to ten in Chinese? You could turn it into a knock-out competition - playing until there is one person left standing.

Three things in common

This is a great icebreaker, but you can also use it as a lead-in to a theme or to test your students' knowledge of a grammar point. Simply ask students to work in pairs and find three things that they have in common and then report back to the class. You can narrow the topic down to areas like t hree things we both did at the weekend, three foods we both like, three things we both don't like about this city, three things neither of us has done yet but would like to, etc.

Free Speaking Tic Tac Toe

Similar to the long-running BBC Radio show. Draw a Tic Tac Toe grid on the board and in each space write a topic that you think some of your students might be interested in or have some knowledge of. Play the game with two teams, to claim their X or O, a team member must attempt to talk about the topic in the chosen square for 45 to 60 seconds (depending on their level) without pausing or repetition. Possible topics for your Tic Tac Toe board might include Sport, Breakfast, Smartphones, Family, Movies, Cats, Rock Music, Soap Operas, Chocolate, etc.

One-upmanship

I discovered this great activity at BusinessEnglishResources.com. Start off by explaining the concept of one-upmanship, that some people always like to appear to be more interesting or superior to others in their company. Tell the students a relatively mundane story about something that happened recently and invite a student to tell a similar story but to top it in some way. Each student, in turn, tries to top the previous student's tale. For example: You: Yesterday I overslept and was five minutes late to class. Student: That's nothing, I overslept and was an hour late. Student B: An hour! I once overslept a whole day! If the students are sufficiently advanced you could have them watch and read through Monty Python's Four Yorkshiremen sketch which is a very funny skit on the subject of one-upmanship.

Spontaneous Scatter Sheet

Scatter Sheets are a great way to review vocabulary, introduce a theme and get students talking. As a warmer, have students brainstorm words connected to a theme, for example, the seaside, London, marketing, etc. Write these words on the board randomly, not in straight lines or columns but higgledy-piggledy and at jaunty angles. When you have around 20 words on the board, go around the room asking each student, in turn, to describe one of the words, when it's been successfully guessed, circle it and move on to the next student. Encourage students to let the describer produce at least two sentences before shouting out the answer.

Spin the marker

Sometimes students just want a chance to talk and express themselves in an unstructured way and it's a good idea to encourage this. Spin the marker pen and whoever it points to can dictate the conversation, ask questions, suggest the topic, etc. Spin the marker again when you feel the conversation has run its course. I find this activity works best when students are sitting in a small circle not too far apart.

Fortunately / Unfortunately

English learners often have trouble remembering and correctly pronouncing these two useful words. One way to practice it is to start a story and have learners alternately advancing the story using these adverbs. For example: Teacher: Yesterday my car was stolen. Student A: Fortunately, it was insured. Student B: Unfortunately, the insurance company went bankrupt. Student C: Fortunately, my grandfather said he would buy me a new car. Student D: Unfortunately, he's lost his mind and doesn't have any money. Etc.

Organise yourselves!

Have students arrange themselves in order according to a given criterion. For example by age, alphabetical order of first name or surname, the number of shoes owned, etc.

Whose weekend?

Give each student a slip of paper and ask each student to write down three things they did at the weekend. Collect up the slips of paper and randomly read each one out. The students must guess whose weekend is being described.

Provocative statements

Write a provocative statement on the board and then put students into small groups to discuss their opinion of it. For example, some drugs should be legalised, Facebook should be banned, Breaking Bad is overrated, one child is enough, organic food is a waste of money, etc. Have students report back to the class. You could make a list of arguments for and against the thesis.

Draw the kitchen

I often use this when I work in-company. Ask the students to think of a room or area which they are all quite familiar with and then have them guide you as you try to draw a plan of the room on the board. This is great for practising there is and there are as well as prepositions of place and furnishing vocabulary.

The Categories Game

I tend to use this as a filler rather than a warmer. Put students into teams and write on the board six vocabulary categories. Now give them a letter of the alphabet and the teams must race to think of a word beginning with that letter for each category. Writing stops when the first team yells finished! and points are given for each correct answer. See The Categories Game post for a more detailed explanation as well as a list of possible categories.

Compound word quiz

This is a fun little quiz you can do at the beginning of a lesson to get your learner's brains buzzing. Choose five groups of three compound words with the same stem and write them on the board without their stem. For example paste, ache, brush (the stem is tooth) or ball, man, board (the stem is snow). Put them on the board (as below) and give students five to ten minutes to figure out what the missing stem is.

Here are some more examples:

doorbell, doorman, doorstep | headline, headcount, headlight, headset, headhunter | backpack, backseat, backfire | timeline, timetable, timesaver | blackbird, blacklist, blackout | lighthouse, lightbulb, lightweight | daydream, daylight, daytime | nightlife, nightclub, nighttime, nightmare | sunburn, sunset, sunshine, sunrise | waterfall, waterbed, waterproof, waterfront, watercolour | lifeboat, lifetime, lifeguard | paperback, paperwork, paperweight, paperboy/girl

Kim's game

If by rifling through your bag, your pockets and the classroom store cupboard you can come up with about 15 smallish items, you can play an impromptu version of Kim's game. This is a fun memory game which is great for introducing and practising some useful vocabulary, and also for reviewing there is, there are, there was and there were.

Pit Pat Putt

This is a fun pronunciation game for practising tricky vowel sounds. It needs zero preparation, just a board or flip chart. Students practise giving each other their phone number using a code.

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Engaging ESL Warm-ups and Fillers: Over 30 Creative Ways to Kickstart Your Class

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Warm-up activities play a crucial role in the English language classroom. Students often arrive to class feeling tired or preoccupied, making it important to gently transition them into the learning environment rather than diving straight into challenging grammar or vocabulary tasks. A well-designed warm-up can engage students, sparking their interest and encouraging active participation.

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The PE Warm Up Games section provides you with Physical Education resources which will help you to plan PE Warm Up Games. Each PE Game outlines what equipment is required, how to set the game up, how to play the game and how to differentiate the game. The resources can be downloaded and can support your PE planning. Lots of the resources are free. Explore the PE Games below:

Slide in the mud is a PE Warm Up Game focused on tagging and teamwork. To find out how to play this PE Game and for activity differentiation download now.

Traffic Lights is a PE Warm Up Game focused on rule following and movement. To find out how to play this PE Game and for activity differentiation download now.

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Find PE warm up games that are fun, exciting and challenging for all ages. Perfect for PE and Classroom teachers looking for active ideas.

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Before beginning any lesson, it is always great to have a warm-up activity prepared as well. Students can take a few minutes to get their thinking organized and their minds cleared and ready to learn new information. It is smart to plan a warm-up that pairs with your lesson plan and is easy for you to prepare. Look over this list of 28 warm-ups and decide which of these fun activities will be most beneficial for you to use with your middle school students.

1. Science Warm Up Cards

These science warm-up cards are great for warming up your class of middle school students. You can tie these cards directly to your lesson plans and the photographs help to make them a great ESL warm-up activity as well.

Learn More: Teaching Science

2. Decimal of the Day

The decimal of the day is a form of the number of the day, which many students do in elementary school. This is an effective warm-up activity because it allows for many different skills to be used when interacting with the number.

Learn More: Middle Web

3. Which Doesn't Belong?

This engaging warm-up activity is great because it really gets students thinking and reasoning. Not only do they find the correct answer of which does not belong, but they must also explain the reasoning behind their answer. This is a great way to challenge students' critical thinking in math.

Learn More: Middle Web

4. Journaling

Journaling is a great way to let students combine their own thoughts and opinions with writing. Starting the class period with a simple question or journal prompt is a great way to get students to write before the class gets going. This is good for all content areas, not just the English classroom.

Learn More: 2 Peas And A Dog

5. Entrance Tickets

Entrance tickets can be used when students first walk into the physical classroom. They can challenge students to reflect on the lesson from the previous day, pose a question about the new content to come, or simply ask a question that students can share an opinion or prediction about.

Learn More: 2 Peas And A Dog

6. Pick a Side

Give students a topic and have them choose a side to debate their opinion. They can literally choose a side in the classroom to sit and brainstorm or they can write about it. Try to provide topics that will challenge students to think about things from a different perspective.

Learn More: Plan Book

7. Sketchbooks

Students can use sketchbooks for a variety of reasons. You can have them do one for a warm-up activity at the beginning of class as a review of the day before. This is a good way to allow students to express their thoughts with visuals and words and for you to check to understand of concepts covered.

Learn More: The Art Of Education

8. ABC

Think about picture books that are about concepts. The same idea to this activity, except students can create a list. Give them a topic and have them list words that relate to the concept. These are also great ESL warm-up activities because they are so heavy with vocabulary and language.

Learn More: The Art Of Education

9. Bumper Stickers

Incorporating writing into your lesson plans is really not as hard as you think. Be creative and think of ways to bring it easily into your lesson. Have students create bumper stickers to reflect content retention in your classroom as a quick and easy warm-up!

Learn More: Writing-Based Curriculum

10. Phrased Poem Challenge

This warm-up gives students words to use to form a poem. Students may have to challenge themselves to arrange them in a way that makes sense and relates to the content topic. Students can even choose their own words and challenge other students to do the same with new poems.

Learn More: Writing-Based Education

11. Give Motivation

Motivational warm-ups create a positive atmosphere and help uplift students when they enter the classroom. Letting students write motivational messages to each other is a fun task that allows them to step outside their comfort zone and help provide encouragement to their peers.

Learn More: Pinterest

12. Paint Chip Poetry

This is a really fun way to get writers warmed up in English classes or can be used in other content areas as well. Students will use the paint names to write a poem or story that makes sense with what they are given. This is challenging because it forces students to think outside the box.

Learn More: Zauber Bear

13. Worries and Wonders

Worries and wonders are things all students have. This is a great way to gain insight from their perspective and connect with them on a personal level. Be sure to provide a safe space for students to share such personal things.

Learn More: Pinterest

14. Brain Teasers

Quick riddles and brain teasers are easy ways to warm up the brain and get students focused on learning. Give them a quick one each day and have them talk to their peers if they get stuck and cannot answer on their own.

Learn More: Laura Randazzo

15. BOGGLE

Boggle is a fun warm-up for class! Get students thinking about all the types of words they can make when given a random set of letters. Use this printable to help students track the words they can form. You can make it a daily or weekly challenge and let students work independently, with a partner, or in small groups.

Learn More: A Crucial Week

16. Wacky Word Riddles

Wacky word riddles like these are fun! Similar to the Christmas song riddles, these will be a big hit as students enjoy figuring out the actual phrase for each one. Some are tricky, so this may be a good activity for partners or small groups.

Learn More: Pleacher

17. Index Card Story or Poem

What can students do with the power of words and only an index card? Let them see! Encourage poetry or song lyrics. Students could also complete other forms of creative writing ideas. The catch could be that it has to tie back to the content you have been teaching, or just let them free write as a warm-up!

Learn More: Teach Nouvelle

18. The Synonym Game

Another great ESL warm-up activity is the synonym game. Give students a panel of words and see what synonyms they can come up with. You could do this with antonyms as well. Have students, or teams, use different colored markers to track the words they submit and see who can give you the most!

Learn More: Teach Nouvelle

19. Writing Conversations

Have you ever had students write notes in your class? With this activity, this is what they do! They get to have conversations during class! The catch to this one is that they must do it in writing. They need to have different colored ink so you can distinguish between two or more writers in the conversation.

Learn More: The Literacy Effect

20. Paper Snowball Fight

What kid doesn't want to throw paper across the room, right? Well, now they can, and with your permission no less! Ask a question to the class, have them answer in writing, and then crumple their paper and heave it across the room. Students can then pick up snowballs and read their peers' thoughts. This is a great way to spark conversation with students.

Learn More: Educate And Create 123

21. Futures Videos

This is a channel that provides a variety of fun videos to choose from. Students can just watch or watch and respond. This is a great activity to pair with journaling.

Learn More: The Future's Channel

22. Describe a Picture

Whether ESL or general education, describing a picture is a great warm-up. Provide the visual and seek out verbal or written descriptions to help your learners build their vocabulary and warm up their brains.

Learn More: Gold Star Teachers

23. Pass the Ball

Think of hot potato! This game is similar as it has learners ask a question and toss a ball to the person they want to answer. They can toss it if they need help or maybe they can even pose the next question.

Learn More: Gold Star Teachers

24. STEM Warm Ups

STEM bins may be a little too immature for middle schoolers, but these warm-up STEM cards are perfect! They give simple tasks for students to try and complete while using math and science and answering questions about the task at hand.

Learn More: STEM Activities For Kids

25. Escape Games

Escape rooms are really popular now! Use them as a warm-up by giving one clue per day for students to figure out and determine how to move to the next clue. They can work in teams for this one.

Learn More: Secondary English Coffeeshop

26. Two Truths and a Lie

Two truths and a lie are exactly as it sounds! Give students 3 statements and have them determine which is the lie and which two are the truth. You can do this with written statements, facts or myths, and even math problems!

Learn More: Mash Up Math

27. Tech Time

Give the children technology! They love working on it and engaging well with it. These slides give great ideas for incorporating critical thinking with technology usage. Have students complete tasks that use deep thinking, like designing something from scratch.

Learn More: ER Integration

28. Current Events

Students need to know what is going on in the world. They need to understand how to process this information and seek out credible news sources. Responding to current events is a great warm-up activity because it gives students a link to the real world.

Learn More: AES Education

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28 Great Warm-Up Activities For Your Middle School Students - Teaching Expertise

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Before beginning any lesson, it is always great to have a warm-up activity prepared as well. Students can take a few minutes to get their thinking organized and their minds cleared and ready to learn new information. It is smart to plan a warm-up that pairs with your lesson plan and is easy for you to prepare.

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Gergely Dudás' viral works of art feature adorable cartoon animals and whimsical drawings. But they also challenge people to pay attention to details with hidden images.

He's released three books of brainteasers: one of holiday puzzles called "Bear's Merry Book of Hidden Things," a Halloween-themed book called " Bear's Spooky Book of Hidden Things," and his latest, " Bear's Springtime Book of Hidden Things."

His drawings are a great activity for people of all ages stuck at home. With schools across the country closed amid the coronavirus pandemic, simple puzzles like Dudás' can keep kids occupied while testing their perception.

Here are 16 of his puzzles. Can you solve them?

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These 16 brain-teasing puzzles stumped the internet - see how many hidden objects you can find

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Gergely Dudás creates whimsical drawings featuring hidden objects. They're a great activity for kids or families stuck at home.

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Intriguing Times images stripped of their captions — and an invitation to students to discuss them live.

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The importance of building relationships with students has been well documented in research. A strong teacher-student relationship can mean the difference between an engaged learner and a disengaged learner. There are several ways to build relationships with students, but the easiest is to actually get to know them and take an interest in their lives.

Whether you're teaching elementary, middle school, or even high schoolers, social-emotional learning and relationship building are major topics of interest and often come up in professional circles. However, you don't have to do time-consuming or high-prep lessons to fit it all in!

If you've been wondering how to build relationships with your students, here's an easy way to get started.

Create a morning routine that includes a morning meeting. This routine offers three significant benefits:

1. It helps you learn more about your students.

2. Connects your class with one another & builds community.

3. A great way to integrate speaking & listening standards.

It can be helpful to have some days be less structured, but you should always have conversation starters planned to help students get talking if they struggle to get going.

Download the entire list of discussion questions for free.

50 Discussion Questions to Build Relationships with Students & Foster Classroom Community

Since you have enough to do, I've created a list of over questions you can use when you don't have time to come up with your own. They were selected to be engaging, foster classroom community, and help you build positive relationships with your students.

I've broken the questions into categories to make them easier to find.

"Would you rather..." Questions

go camping or stay in a hotel

visit the mountains or the ocean

go to the zoo or an aquarium?

get up early or sleep late?

play an individual sport or a team sport?

eat at home or eat at a restaurant?

have indoor recess or outdoor recess?

have art or PE?

stay up late or go to bed early?

go to a movie or a play?

play video games or play outside?

text your friends or get together?

ride a bike or a scooter?

People of Interest Questions - If you could meet...

any celebrity, who would you like to meet?

anyone from history, who would you like to meet?

a character from a book, who would you meet?

an athlete you admire, who would meet?

any musician or group, who would you meet?

a cartoon character in real life, who would you choose to meet?

a Disney character, who would you meet?

any superhero in real life, who would you pick?

Travel & Adventure Questions

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

...go anywhere in our state; where would you visit?

...travel anywhere in our solar system, where would you go?

...go anywhere in (YOUR TOWN or A NEARBY CITY) for the day; where would you go?

...travel back to any point in history, where would you go?

...move anywhere in the world/country/state, where would you move?

"Just one question" Questions - If you could...

ask the president one question, what would you ask?

meet (CHARACTER FROM BOOK YOU'VE READ); what is one question you would ask him/her?

ask (HISTORICAL FIGURE) one question, what would it be?

get (FAMOUS INVENTOR) to answer one question; what would you ask?

ask your principal just one question, what would you ask?

get (INSERT TEACHER NAME) to answer one question; what would it be?

ask (CELEBRITY) just one question, what would it be?

ask your family pet one question, what would it be?

Learn student favorites while you build classroom community

Students love to talk about their favorites. This is a great way to help students find commonalities amongst themselves, which goes a long way to fostering classroom community.

Try these questions on days when students seem a little unfocused or after issues arise between peers. They are great for reconnecting and reminding students of the positives.

Future-Focused Questions to build relationships with students

Understanding your students' goals and dreams for the future is a great way to build rapport and foster your student-teacher relationship.

Knowing students' goals and aspirations can help you connect them with resources and support them as they work toward that path.

What career are you interested in?

What do you think you'll be doing in 20 years?

Where do you want to go to college?

What are you most excited about doing as a teenager/college student/adult?

Where do you want to live when you grow up?

What goals do you have for yourself this year?

What are five things you want to do before you turn (AGE)?

Special Memories

Students love to share their special memories. These questions tend to take a little longer to answer, so you may want to use them for an entire week and have a few students respond each day.

This type of question can be a good conversation point between you and your students. Connecting to students and their background experiences is a big part of building a positive relationship.

you have from school that is special to you.

that was a special experience you had with your family.

of a special experience you shared with a friend.

about a time someone was extra kind to you.

Describe the most...

amazing thing you've ever seen in real life.

beautiful place you've ever been.

excited you've been about an upcoming event.

Community Building & Social Skills Questions

These questions are designed to get your students talking about character traits and social scenarios. This can help you better understand the dynamic between students and can help support you in building positive relationships with your students.

Why do you think it is important to have rules in school?

What is one rule we have in school that you think is unfair?

What is the most important rule we have here at school?

Why is it important to show respect to others?

Do peers deserve the same respect as elders?

How can you show respect to others?

What does kindness look like?

How do you prefer others to show you kindness - hugs, notes, time together, etc?

If you could change anything about our school, what would you change?

Get the list of discussion questions to help build relationships with students
Ready to download the list to build relationships in your classroom?
This printable checklist is great for helping you organize circle time discussions or for daily quick writes!

Get more tips on relationship building in the classroom.

Whether you use these as part of your SEL questions for high school students, as do now questions for middle school students, or as part of your morning circle in elementary school, I hope you'll love these fun discussion questions.

If you want more easy-to-implement tips for fostering teacher-student relationships this school year, check out this article on ways to connect with your class.

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20 Questions to Get Kids Talking & Build Community

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A daily discussion question is a great way to build relationships with students and foster classroom community. Instead of wasting time coming up with questions, check out this list of 50+ discussion questions perfect for the elementary classroom.

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If you are noticing that you are have been using breathing exercises to help you stay calm and focused, then more than likely your students need the chance too! Consider how you feel after you take a few deep breaths. You may feel calmer, more focused, relaxed, less anxious. Adults have a better understanding of how to self-regulate, where students need to be taught the skills and when would be an appropriate time to take a deep breath.

Breathing exercises are a powerful way to teach social emotional learning (SEL), support a healthy immune system and to find those times within your daily schedule to incorporate some calming activities. Consider trying out a few of the following 25 Breathing Exercises to Calm and Focus Your Students.

Balloon Breathing (or Belly Breathing)

Place your hands on your belly and take a deep breath in through your nose, blowing up your belly like a balloon. Hold the breath and then slowly exhale out of your mouth, deflating the balloon in your belly.

Snake Breathing (FOCUS)

Take a deep breath in, filling up your whole body. Pause and breathe out slowly and smoothly, making a hissing sound for as long as you can. Repeat for three to five rounds, feeling yourself slow down and become calmer each time.

Bunny Breathing

Sit comfortably and take three big sniffs in, one right after the other. Then exhale in a long release out.

Elephant Breathing (ENERGIZE)

Stand with your feet wide apart. Link your hands and dangle your arms in front of you like an elephant trunk. Inhale through your nose as you raise your arms high above your head and lean back. Exhale through your mouth as you swing your arms down through your legs.

Birthday Candle Breathing

Breathe in deeply. Imagine seeing your birthday cake with all its bright candles, and blow them out, breathing out strongly through the mouth. As you inhale through your nose, stretch the arms up and out. As you blow out strongly through your mouth; bring them back together at the center of your chest.

Tension Release

You want to focus on each part of your body working from your toes up. Take a deep breath in and hold it as you curl your toes for about five seconds. Then release your breath all at once, immediately relaxing your toes. Then work our way up to tensing your ankles while you take your next deep breath in. Release the tension and breath. Continue working your way home tensing each muscle and releasing.

Inhale through your nose, pause for three seconds. Exhale out of your mouth for three seconds.

Sigh the Blues Away

Similar to the tension release exercise, you inhale deeply and tense up your muscles. This time you let out a deep sigh while you are exhaling.

The Deep-Dive Breath

In four- or five-second intervals for each section, have students inhale through their nose, hold their breath, and then exhale through their mouth.

Breathing Colors

Now with each 'in' breath imagine that you are breathing in a relaxing color. Just choose a color that you find relaxing. For most people it is usually a blue, a green or a purple. So with each breath you are breathing in that color. Feel it traveling all around your body, relaxing you as it goes.

As you exhale imagine you are breathing out the color bright red. Feel this color red leave your body with each 'out' breath, and with it you are exhaling any stress or tension that you have built up during the day.

Continue to do this for several minutes, keeping the eyes closed.

4 - 7 - 8

Prepare by resting the tip of your tongue against the roof of your mouth, right behind your top front teeth. Inhale through the count of 4, hold your breath to the count of 7 and exhale to the count of 8.

Bubbles

Deep inhale in through your nose and then exhale like you are blowing bubbles through a wand.

Pinwheel

Inhale through your nose and exhale controlling your breath like you are blowing to spin a pinwheel.

Dandelion Breath

Imagine a dandelion flower. Take a deep breath in and slowly blow the air out sending the seeds into the air.

Shapes Breathing

Choose a shape in your mind like a square, triangle or star. Trace the shape with your finger while you are breathing in and out. Trace up one side of the shape while you breathe in and continue tracing as you exhale.

One-Nostril Breath

Place a finger over one nostril of your nose. Breathe in deeply and exhale slowly. Switch nostrils and repeat.

Breathing Buddies

This exercise requires an individual to have a stuffed animal or light object. Lie down on our back and place the object on top of your stomach. Inhale deeply for the count of three and watch the object rise up. Exhale for the count of 4 and the object will lower. Continue for 5 to 10 rounds.

Rainbow Breath

With your arms by your side, turn the palms of your hands forward stretching your fingers. Slowly float your arms up wide from your side up over your head in the arc of a rainbow filling with air. Exhale moving your arms back to your side.

Inhale deeply through your nose and exhale making a buzzing or humming noise.

Five Finger Breathing

Open the palm of one hand wide. With the pointer finger of your opposite hand slowly trace your fingers while breathing. Start breathing in slowly and tracing up your thumb on your open hand. Exhale and trace down the side of the thumb towards the pointer finger. Inhale deeply while moving up the pointer to trace back down while exhaling. Continue for the remaining fingers.

Shoulder Roll Breath

Don't be afraid to add some movements in with your breathing. Roll your shoulders up towards your ears while you inhale deeply. Breathe out through your mouth and roll your shoulders down and back.

Mountain Breathing

You may approach this exercise in two variations. First option is to imagine a set of tall mountains. Inhale deeply while you trace up one side of the mountain, hold your breath at the top of the mountain and exhale while you trace back down the side of the mountain. Second variation is to incorporate movement. Inhale through your nose and raise your arms high above your head. Imagine you are as tall as a mountain. Exhale through your mouth bringing your palms together in front of your chest.

Dragon Breathing

Take a deep breath through your nose. Sticking out our tongue you are going to exhale like your mouth is "on fire" or you are "breathing out fire like a dragon".

Taco Breath Cool Down

First you want to curl your tongue up like a taco. Take a slow deep breath in through your mouth. Hold the breath for a few seconds and slowly exhale out of your nose. This is a great exercise for calming down.

Sounds Breaths

For this exercise you can incorporate various sounds that you may be working on. Take a deep breath in through your nose. Exhale making the sound you are focusing upon. You can choose a variety of options including short vowel sounds, long vowel sounds, digraphs or consonants.

If you have enjoyed some of these Breathing Exercises to Calm and Focus yourself, imagine how your students are going to feel! Besides incorporating some of these practices within my own classroom I also love to pair it with academics and literacy. Below are a few wonderful and highly recommended books that coordinate with many of the exercises above.

Help your students and yourselves become more relaxed, calm, and focused. Try one or more of these Breathing Exercises to Calm and Focus Your Students and take note of the results that you see in your classrooms. Now more than ever, it is very important that we are focusing on self-care, and the well-being of our students.

Written by: Christopher Olson

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25 Breathing Exercises to Calm and Focus Your Students

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If you are noticing that you are have been using breathing exercises to help you stay calm and focused, then more than likely your students need the

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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Ready to test your cognitive flexibility and concentration powers? Try this classic brain teaser, fun for kids and adults alike.
Quick! Say aloud what color you see in every word. Don't read the word - say the color 🙂
Tougher than expected, right? This brain teaser is actually called the Stroop Test and is often used in neuropsychological evaluations to measure executive functions such as cognitive flexibility, inhibition and self-regulation capability.
For more brain teasers and also visual illusions:

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Test your cognitive flexibility with this fun brain teaser - SharpBrains

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Ready to test your cog­ni­tive flex­i­bil­i­ty and con­cen­tra­tion pow­ers? Try this clas­sic brain teas­er, fun for kids and adults alike. Quick! Say aloud what col­or you see in every word. Don't read the word - say the color 🙂 Tougher than expect­ed, right?

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Printable Brain Teasers With Answers

The Science Behind Brain Teasers

Brain teasers are puzzles or problems that require creative and critical thinking to solve. They are designed to challenge our cognitive abilities and engage our brains in unique ways. While brain teasers can come in various forms, such as riddles, puzzles, or visual challenges, they all share a common goal of stimulating our thinking processes.

The science behind brain teasers lies in the cognitive processes they activate and the mental skills they target. Let's explore what are the benefits of playing the game:

1. Problem-solving: Brain teasers often present a problem or a situation that requires finding a solution. They prompt us to analyze the given information, break it down into smaller components, and apply logical reasoning to arrive at an answer. Problem-solving skills involve identifying patterns, making deductions, and thinking outside the box to find innovative solutions.

2. Creative thinking: Brain teasers encourage us to think creatively by challenging conventional ways of approaching problems. They push us to explore alternative perspectives, consider multiple possibilities, and generate original ideas. Creative thinking involves making connections between seemingly unrelated concepts and using imagination to find novel solutions.

3. Critical thinking: Brain teasers demand critical thinking, which involves evaluating and analyzing information in a systematic and logical manner. It requires us to question assumptions, assess the validity of arguments, and consider evidence to arrive at well-reasoned conclusions. Critical thinking helps us avoid cognitive biases and make informed judgments.

4. Memory and recall: Many brain teasers rely on our ability to remember information and recall it when needed. They may involve remembering details from earlier parts of the problem or recalling relevant knowledge from our memory. Memory and recall skills are essential for solving puzzles that require us to retain and retrieve information accurately.

5. Attention to detail: Brain teasers often contain subtle clues or hidden patterns that require careful observation and attention to detail. They train us to pay close attention to every piece of information provided and identify relevant details that can lead to the solution. Developing a keen eye for detail improves our overall observational skills.

6. Cognitive flexibility: Brain teasers can enhance cognitive flexibility by encouraging us to consider different approaches and adapt our thinking strategies. They challenge us to shift our perspectives, change problem-solving methods, and approach puzzles from various angles. Cognitive flexibility enables us to adapt to new situations and find creative solutions to complex problems.

7. Mental agility: Brain teasers are designed to be mentally demanding and require quick thinking. They help improve mental agility by stimulating neural pathways associated with reasoning, problem-solving, and decision-making. Regular engagement with brain teasers can enhance cognitive speed and efficiency.

Solving brain teasers provides several benefits, including mental stimulation, improved cognitive skills, enhanced problem-solving abilities, and increased confidence in tackling complex challenges. They serve as a fun and engaging way to exercise our brains and keep our minds sharp.

What Happens to Your Brain When You Do a Puzzle?

When you do a puzzle, your brain undergoes several changes and activations in various regions. Here's what happens in your brain when you engage in puzzle-solving:

1. Activation of multiple brain regions: Puzzles require the involvement of different brain regions, including the prefrontal cortex, parietal cortex, and temporal cortex. These areas are responsible for executive functions, attention, memory, problem-solving, and visual-spatial processing. Engaging in puzzles activates and coordinates the activity of these brain regions.

2. Increased dopamine release: Dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward, is released when we solve puzzles. The sense of satisfaction and accomplishment that comes from solving a puzzle triggers the release of dopamine in the brain, which enhances motivation and reinforces the behavior of puzzle-solving.

3. Enhanced cognitive skills: Puzzle-solving engages and improves various cognitive skills. For instance:

Problem-solving: Puzzles present a problem or challenge that requires logical thinking, analysis, and deduction. Solving puzzles strengthens your problem-solving abilities and helps you develop strategies to overcome obstacles.

Memory: Puzzles often involve remembering and recalling information, such as patterns, rules, or previous steps. This exercises your memory and improves your ability to retain and retrieve information.

Attention and focus: Puzzle-solving requires sustained attention and concentration to analyze and process information accurately. It helps train your ability to maintain focus and ignore distractions.

Visual-spatial processing: Many puzzles involve manipulating shapes, recognizing patterns, or arranging objects spatially. Engaging in such puzzles enhances your visual-spatial processing skills, which are important for tasks like navigation and object manipulation.

Logical reasoning: Puzzles often require logical deductions and the application of rules or constraints to arrive at a solution. Regular puzzle-solving strengthens your logical reasoning skills and enhances your ability to think critically.

4. Neuroplasticity and brain development: Solving puzzles promotes neuroplasticity, the brain's ability to reorganize and form new connections between neurons. When you engage in puzzles, you challenge your brain to form new neural pathways and strengthen existing ones. This can lead to long-term changes in the structure and function of your brain, supporting overall cognitive development and resilience.

5. Stress reduction and relaxation: Puzzle-solving can have a calming effect on the brain. Focusing on a puzzle distracts you from stressors and worries, allowing your brain to relax. Engaging in puzzles can help reduce anxiety and promote a sense of relaxation and mental well-being.

Doing puzzles stimulates various cognitive processes, promotes neural plasticity, and triggers the release of dopamine, leading to enhanced cognitive skills, improved problem-solving abilities, and a sense of satisfaction. Regular puzzle-solving can contribute to maintaining and improving brain health throughout life.

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Brain teasers are puzzles or problems that require creative and critical thinking to solve. They are designed to challenge our cognitive abilities and engage our brains in unique ways.

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Range helps teams know what's happening, stay in sync, and actually feel like a team. It's thoughtfully designed software that helps teams share daily check-ins, track goals, and run better meetings.

This web application requires JavaScript. To find out more, visit: www.range.co.

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Icebreaker | Over 300 Free Icebreaker Questions

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Start your meetings and gatherings with over 300 questions designed to build trust, connectedness, and psychological safety. Icebreaker is totally free.

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Start your meetings off on the right foot with Hej.today a check-in generator created by Daresay

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There’s a saying that a picture is worth 1000 words. I have never really tested that theory, however a picture in math class can generate plenty of discussion. (see my post on watermelons).

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Would You Rather Math – ASKING STUDENTS TO CHOOSE A PATH AND JUSTIFY IT WITH MATH

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Teachers, sign up for my mini-workshop to learn about how to implement Would You Rather Math into your classroom routines. We will explore some sentence frames, what happens when things don’t go as planned, how to use the prompts in a remote learning setting, and much more. See you there!

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Slow Reveal Graph is an instructional routine that promotes sensemaking about data. This highly engaging routine uses scaffolded visuals and discourse to help students (in K-12 and beyond) make sense of data. As more and more of the graph is revealed, students refine their interpretation and construct meaning, often in surprising ways.

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Same But Different is a powerful routine for use in math classrooms. The images can be used for teaching a way of thinking: grayscale thinking, categorical thinking; helping students to build a network of ideas and an approach for learning and thinking about mathematics.

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How do I get started? 1 USE THE FREE MATH LESSONS Estimation 180 Tasks 3-Act Tasks 2 SUBSCRIBE Email Newsletter Podcast

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This is Which One Doesn't Belong?, a website dedicated to providing thought-provoking puzzles for math teachers and students alike. There are no answers provided as there are many different, correct ways of choosing which one doesn't belong. Enjoy!

Which One Doesn't Belong?

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This is Which One Doesn't Belong?, a website dedicated to providing thought-provoking puzzles for math teachers and students alike. There are no answers provided as there are many different, correct ways of choosing which one doesn't belong. Enjoy!

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This slide deck of revealing information through a graph could be really good as a "do now" . IT does cater to the curious mind as well

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Posts about addition strings written by Rachel Lambert, Kara Imm, and 20minutejava