Whatever you call it: morning meeting, advisory time, or homeroom, as educators we know that it’s an important start to our students’ day. In the middle school classroom, it can be particularly important as it’s a time that can be used to teach necessary life skills like relationship building, self-esteem, grit, etc. Below are 33 of our favorite homeroom ideas that include simple and fun activities that’ll not only get your students excited for the day ahead, but will also foster a strong sense of community within the classroom. Comb through our collection to discover a plethora of ideas to incorporate into your advisory sessions this year!
1. Brain Break Bingo
Here we have a chart with ideas for small class brain breaks. Once the entire class completes 5 in a row, they earn a prize! The prize can be an extended brain break- something like meditating or extra recess time works well.
Learn More: Twitter
2. Tech Time
Most middle schoolers are fluent with technology, so here’s a digital activity that they’re sure to enjoy. Flipgrid allows you to form groups and choose a topic like Human Rights or Earth Day. Once your learners have been assigned a topic, they can get busy expressing their knowledge through video content!
Learn More: What Is Flipgrid and How Does It Work For Teachers and Students?
3. Whole-Class Journal
Whole class journaling is an interactive way for your students to share their writing. You’ll need to prepare different notebooks ahead of time; each with a unique writing prompt pasted to the front. Your learners can open any journal and begin to write about the topic. Then, they can then read other students’ work and even make comments on them or leave “likes”.
Learn More: Hanging with Mrs. Hulsey
4. D.E.A.R.
This activity requires no prep! Just put up the DEAR poster to let your students know that it’s time to, “Drop everything and read”. Add in some fun by bringing out special reading seating, letting them use personalized bookmarks, or having some magazines of interest available.
Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers
5. Speed Friending
Would You Rather is sure to evoke endless fun in your homeroom! Pose a question that tasks your students with picking between two different items (songs, foods, brands, etc). They’ll then have to choose what they’d rather do and respond by moving to the corresponding side of the room. An optional extension activity is to have them come up with their own questions!
Learn More: Little Ids Ideas
6. Would You Rather?
Would You Rather is sure to evoke endless fun in your homeroom! Pose a question that tasks your students with picking between two different items (songs, foods, brands, etc). They’ll then have to choose what they’d rather do and respond by moving to the corresponding side of the room. An optional extension activity is to have them come up with their own questions!
Learn More: Classroom Freebies
7. Birthday Jamboard
What kid doesn’t want to feel special on their birthday? With this activity, you can celebrate everyone’s birthdays by getting your pupils to write kind wishes or good memories on a digital jamboard. Let them write their notes during the advisory period to then share with the birthday boy or girl thereafter!
Learn More: Spotlight Classrooms
8. E-mail Etiquette
Here we’ve chosen an activity to help your middle schoolers craft professional emails. Using the digital or printable template, they’ll learn how to write and reply to emails in a formal tone; a useful skill for when they enter the job force or for simply applying to a holiday post!
Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers
9. Tell Me About
If you need icebreaker activities, this is a simple one to implement! This is a 2-4 player game that requires the sole use of dice and a printed game board. Your students will take turns rolling the dice and moving their pieces to land on a speaking prompt. They’ll then share their answers with their peers- getting to know one another in the process!
Learn More: Pinterest
10. Letter to Myself
We love a good time capsule activity! At the beginning of the school year or at the start of a new semester, task your students with scribing a letter to themselves. They’ll need to use the writing guide to provide insight into their goals and interests. Once they finish, they can place it in an envelope and hand it to you to hold onto. At the end of the year- pull out the letters and let your middle schoolers see just how much they’ve grown and changed!
Learn More: Create, Teach, Share
11. TED Talk Tuesday
Your advisory period is a great time to show inspirational videos like TED Talks! Use this open-ended graphic organizer on any video topic to let your kids explore the 4 C’s; connections, concepts, challenges, and changes. This engaging activity will spark some great classroom discussions!
Learn More: Mindful in the Middle
12. Doodle A Day
Dedicate a period of your advisory class to doodling! Doodle-a-day will present an image for each day of the month that your students will love to draw. They’ll be curious to know what the changing topic is each day, and excited to see their collection of doodles at the end of the month!
Learn More: Drawing Challenges
13. The Marshmallow Test
The Marshmallow Test was inspired by Stanford’s Marshmallow experiment in which they gave kids a marshmallow and asked them to wait to eat it. This interesting experiment, when conducted in your classroom, will teach your middle schoolers how to have self-control and enjoy delayed gratification; translating to what Stanford deems as being more successful in the future.
Learn More: Teaching in Blue Jeans
14. Fostering Failure
Have you ever heard the phrase, “When eating an elephant, take one bite at a time”? Perseverance is a skill that teaches your kids to keep going- especially when they want to give up! This group activity is a challenging puzzle that’s meant to be super difficult; teaching your learners grit as they work and fail together. They may take a whole week to piece together this giant elephant puzzle, but patience is key.
Learn More: On Lemon Lane
15. Minute to Win It
Here we’ve included 14 Minute to Win It games for you to implement during your advisory sessions! These challenges will aid in team building and will get your class cheering for their teammates to beat the timer! What’s great is that the games require nothing more than everyday items that you’re likely to already have on hand; making impromptu play a breeze!
Learn More: Rhody Girl Resources
16. Setting Intentions
Intentions are desires that you want to bring into your day. With this in mind, class meeting time is a great time to set them up. Use this activity to have your students write daily, weekly, or monthly intentions. Once they determine what they want to achieve, their completed posters will serve as perfect reminders of their goals!
Learn More: Jessica Swift
17. Favorites
An easy “get to know you” activity for the beginning of the year can effortlessly be derived from this favorites chart. Pair your students up and ask them to work through the chain of questions to connect with their peers; identifying both similarities and differences.
Learn More: Elena Stroganova
18. Note Taking
Note-taking is an important skill that your students will find useful to summarize information throughout their class and later learning sessions. An advisory meeting is a great time to teach note-taking skills. Simply choose an easy topic or text that all of your students are familiar with and start teaching the strategies!
Learn More: Reading and Writing Haven
19. Differing Perspectives
Middle school can be a trying time if it’s filled with bullying and misunderstandings. This wonderful activity will teach your students how to tolerate others while showing empathy for the differing perspectives of their peers. Introduce this lesson with a video clip or a book that explores a challenging relationship dynamic- and later have your pupils apply it to their real-life conflicts.
Learn More: Literacy in Focus
20. Poetry Slam
Looking for an activity that nurtures creative writing and speaking skills? Why not host an in-class poetry slam where your students can express themselves! They’re sure to build confidence as they write and perform original poems for their peers.
Learn More: Read Poetry
21. Class Newspaper
Turn your classroom into an active newsroom! Your students can harness their journalism skills by reporting on what’s going on around the school. Start by dividing your advisory students into collaborative groups before giving them pieces to contribute to the newspaper; articles, creative writing, advice columns, comics, interviews- anything that will chronicle their school life works well.
Learn More: Australian Curriculum Lessons
22. Kindness Rocks
Here’s an activity that will easily spread joy around your campus. Guide your students through painting inspirational messages and uplifting designs onto rocks. Then, have them hide their colorful rocks around your school grounds for others to find; creating a ripple effect of smiles and positivity!
Learn More: YouTube
23. Vision Boards
A vision board is an awesome activity that promotes self-reflection! Get out the old magazines, some scissors, and, glue and have your middle schoolers create personal boards showcasing their hopes, dreams, and goals. This can be done by cutting out meaningful words and images and pasting them onto poster boards- creating an inspiring collage to keep their eyes set on their future.
Learn More: Crafting A Fun Life
24. Class Murals
This is an activity where your students will leave their mark on the school. Have everyone work collaboratively to plan, sketch, and paint vibrant murals to decorate your school’s walls. Their teamwork will create beautiful additions to your shared environment while also building community amongst one another.
Learn More: Palo Alto Online
25. MakerSPACE Challenges
Pit critical thinking against creativity by having advisory teams rotate through makerSPACE stations. In these friendly competitions, use the provided materials to have your kids engineer solutions for various challenges- like building the tallest tower or designing a chain reaction.
Learn More: Falling Flannel Boards
26. Advisory Shark Tank
Problem-solving and public speaking are two skills that we know middle schoolers need practice in! In this lively event, your students will work in teams to invent ingenious solutions to real-world problems. They’ll then be asked to confidently pitch their ideas before a panel of teacher and student “investors” in a fun, Shark Tank-style competition.
Learn More: Bend Bulletin
27. Advisory Instagram Takeover
We know your middle schoolers are all over social media- so why not engage them to use those platforms in an informative way? This activity will promote digital literacy and community by allowing a student team to manage your school’s Instagram account during advisory time
Learn More: Buffer
28. Gratitude Journals
We want to incorporate teaching life skills into our lessons, and mindfulness and self-awareness are two that we don’t want to neglect. Gratitude journals will help your students keep their lives in perspective. By maintaining an ongoing reflective journal, they’ll be able to detail things, experiences, or people that they’re thankful for.
Learn More: The Dimple Life
29. Relay Race Series
Here’s an activity that’s sure to bring some extra energy into your advisory session! Build classroom unity by hosting a series of lively relay races that require teamwork and communication. Your students might have to pass objects, give clues, or complete mini-challenges against other teams as friendly competition ensues!
Learn More: Strawberry Days
30. Rubik’s Cube Tournament
In this head-to-head Rubik’s Cube-solving tournament, you’ll engage spatial reasoning and strategy between advisory classes. Provide cubes for teams to strategize and compete against each other to determine who can solve the cubes the fastest.
Learn More: Frederick News Post
31. Advisory Olympics
Let the games begin as your advisory class hosts the next Olympics! Let classes go for gold during a day of Advisory Olympics featuring non-athletic games like cup stacking, Jenga, board games, and more.
Learn More: The Tam News
32. Career Expo
Let your students showcase their dream careers at a career expo! Start by having them research the daily job duties, industry trends, necessary education, expected salaries, and more. Then, have them transform your classroom into a showcase of knowledge by setting up informational booths; allowing different classes to come in and learn about the wealth of unique career opportunities!
Learn More: WWAYTV3
33. Chain Reaction Challenge
In this physics and engineering challenge, your student groups will select various items like dominoes, ramps, marbles, or blocks to collaboratively build elaborate chain reactions. Designing complex sequences drives critical thinking; a necessary skill for them to foster that can easily be used as an advisory activity!
Learn More: Twitter
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