Are you looking for fun back to school math and reading activities? Look no further! In August or September, students are excited for the beginning of the year and are ready to head back to the classroom. How do you keep students focused during that time? By making learning fun! When you incorporate back to school games and activities into the classroom, it’s easy to keep learning standard-based. Students will stay on task with engaging back to school math and reading activities.
Back to School Math and Reading Activities for Elementary Students:
- Reading Back to School Games
- Kindergarten Back to School Games
- 1st Grade Back to School Games
- 2nd Grade Back to School Games
- 3rd Grade Back to School Games
- 4th Grade Back to School Games
- 5th Grade Back to School Games
Keep scrolling to see all the games in action and how to play each one!
Build a S’more Game
In this first back to school game, students race to build a backpack. Each time students answer a task card, they get to add part of their backpack school supply list to their mat. There are chance cards included too. You never know who’s going to win based on this twist. The first person to finish building their backpack with all the needed supplies wins.
Depending on which grade level students are in, the skill varies. There are 2 versions included: color and black and white. The color version is great for printing in vibrant colors. The black and white version is ink-friendly.
Back to School Error Analysis Game
In this second back to school math and reading game, students look at each card and decide if the question and answer are correct. Then, students put a check or an X next to each one to show their thinking. An answer key is included. Every grade level contains a different skill.
This is a perfect review activity before giving an assessment or as an extra practice supplement. You receive step-by-step directions so you know exactly what to do. A sub doesn’t need lesson plans when you have an easy-to-implement review game.
Multi-Player Back to School Math or Reading Game
In this third game, each time a student answers a card correctly, the student then chooses a circle card randomly. The circle card tells whether to go forward or backward. The first person to make it to the finish line wins!
The game is great for spiral review and is easy to set up and implement. This gameboard can be used for elementary children as a worksheet alternative, printables, in math stations, center rotations, math centers, reading centers, as enrichment or remediation, in small groups, as test prep, as worksheets, homework practice (send it home as a fun way to practice!), printables, and so much more! The math and reading activity is flexible so you can use it however you’d like in your classroom.
Back to School Math or Reading Sort
Students decide which classroom each kid belongs in. Students sort the cards according to the correct answers. A recording sheet and answer key are also provided. This game practices a different skill depending on which grade level you are in.
Back to School Reading or Math Activity
Students read each task card and solve it to find the answer. Once they find the answer, they know which room the teacher belongs in. They place that teacher at the correct door. For example, the purple teacher in the picture above teaches in classroom #5 because the answer to the equation is 5. Students practice a different math or reading skill in every grade level. Every grade level contains a different skill set students will practice in this game.
Back to School Math and Reading Puzzles
Puzzles are always a class favorite for my students! Incorporating back to school math and reading activities for elementary students into math or reading centers is very easy and a great collaborative activity. Students use their math facts knowledge to put together each puzzle. Each grade level comes with a variety of puzzles that practice different math or reading skills students will spiral review skills learned in the previous grade level. There are certainly plenty of puzzles for students to complete included in each math or reading game pack.
Every grade level comes with 48 puzzles for students to put together (and different skills for each grade level too!). They are easy to cut out and work perfectly for years to come if they are laminated or printed on cardstock. These are perfect for spiral review for any students in your classroom. These would work well for fast finishers or in math or reading centers.
Whole Class Back to School Game
In addition to the games we’ve gone over, these back to school math and reading activities for elementary students are perfect for math fact fluency or parts of speech practice! In this fun school-themed game, students get to race to see who can make the most apple matches! Students will get extra practice with counting, parts of speech, addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division facts while completing a fun team-building game at the same time. Students in kinder practice identifying numbers through counting pictures and ten frames. 1st and 2nd-grade practice addition and subtraction. If your students are in 3rd through 5th grade, both a multiplication and division facts version is included. What about if you teach reading? No problem! A part of speech version is provided in the reading pack. It’s the perfect way for students to get content practice while collaborating. And most importantly, students are learning!
Two Ways to Play:
•Way #1: Print and cut out all apples. Make sure all apples are cut in half. Randomly scatter the apples all over your classroom floor. Tell students they are trying to find as many matches as possible. Students hunt down apple halves that go together and collect matches. Set a time limit and let kids practice their math facts while playing!
•Way #2: Print out 2 sets of apples (red and green). Split kids into two teams. Scatter apples all over your classroom. The two teams race to find as many matches in their team’s color before time runs out.
Digital Hide and Seek: Editable Back to School Math and Reading Activities for Elementary
Next, we have a game that is SUPER easy to play! Have you ever wanted a FUN activity that is 100% editable and can be customized to any age level / any standard you are teaching? Do you need school-themed math and reading activities for elementary students that you can use with the whole class OR just a few students? Something that can be used over and over again without becoming boring? The answer has finally arrived! Every student I’ve ever encountered has LOVED the concept of hide-and-seek. Students find the hidden object by guessing answers to questions on the screen in this digital hide and seek game. School-themed slides are just right for any holiday celebration in the classroom!
Open Powerpoint to play Hide and Seek. Drag the object on the left behind any picture on the screen so it is “hiding”. Add in the object on each page so all 10 objects are hidden. Put the game in “Slide Show” mode to play! Have students “seek” where the object is by calling on students to say answers to the questions on the screen. Click to see if their guess is right. Then, when students click each picture, it’ll magically disappear to see if the student has “found” the object!
Whichever student finds the hidden object gets to come to the front of the room and call on students to guess on the next slide! Therefore, student engagement is high and students always want to come up next. Or, use the blank version to create whatever skill practice you’d like—math facts, letter recognition, spelling words…the sky is the limit!
To conclude, I hope you enjoyed learning about these back to school math and reading activities for elementary students and found some new ideas for your own classroom.
Click the picture below to find these math or reading games for your grade level (available for Kindergarten to 5th Grade).
You may also like to learn about how to do an Ice Cream Shop Room Transformation in your classroom here.
