Sometimes the best way for kids to learn creative problem solving is to discover that the answers may not pop out in front of them, but in fact are all around them! That's the creative approach that inspired us to design classroom Scavenger Hunts for our educators and subscribers to use in their teaching environments. We created custom Scavenger Hunts for classroom use that cover a wide variety of subjects - from Birds and Butterflies to Colonial America and the Human Body! Now you can bring the excitement of this educational game to your students, using an approach that both reinforces classroom material and engages your students to be "detectives" in search of the answers. Let the game begin! Here's how it works:
A Scavenger Hunt is quite simple for the teacher to set up and explain to the students. For example, if a teacher chooses to do a Bird Scavenger Hunt activity with his students, he would need to print out a set of fact cards, cut them along the dotted lines, and hide them around the classroom. Examples of good hiding spots might include: the back of the classroom door; laying flat on the bookshelf; on the side of the computer monitor; or on the chalkboard. Students then receive a copy of the bird questions worksheet and are prompted to search the room for all of the fact cards to answer the questions. After they have completed the question sheet, the teacher can go over the answers together with the class.
Of course, for a successful Scavenger Hunt, it is always helpful to have a game plan ahead of time. That is why our Scavenger Hunt activities, as well as the other classroom games and activities we offer, include a "Management Tips" section for teachers. Here we offer suggestions such as: making the Scavenger Hunt a silent activity so students don't share answers with each other; having the kids work alone or with a classmate; and having a plan for students who finish early.
Incorporating a sense of adventure into classroom learning through an activity like the classroom Scavenger Hunt helps our students to understand that we want them to make new discoveries and find the answers all around them!
Are you ready to send out your search party?
S.T.W. has over a dozen printable scavenger hunts. Try them with your students and let us know what you think. https://www.superteacherworksheets.com/scavenger-hunts.html
