You may be wondering how a simple whiteboard can be a useful tool for educating children. Whether your learners are attending school online or at a physical school building, many fun activities can be done using a whiteboard. You can create fun games for children to learn age-appropriate skills so grab your whiteboard markers and dry-erase board, and get ready to take notes and learn some unique teaching strategies that put your whiteboard at the fore!
1. Back 2 Back
This activity is a competitive game that challenges students to think fast using math. Back 2 Back is a team game that provides the opportunity for students in 2nd through 5th grade to practice math skills. All you need is a whiteboard, dry-erase markers, and enough students to play!
Learn more: Science and Literacy
2. Secret Speller
This educational game is a fun way for students to practice spelling and vocabulary. A small whiteboard will come in handy for this activity. Students will work in pairs to spell a set of words. A time limit can be added to raise the level of competition.
Learn more: Busy Teacher
3. Bingo
You can take Bingo to new heights by using dry-erase Bingo cards. This classic game is great for all grade levels and can be easily adjusted to suit your needs. These boards are reusable which is great for the environment and save paper in the process! Be sure to have plenty of erasable markers available for this game.
Learn more: Amazon
4. Dry Erase Map Game
This blank dry-erase map of the United States is a great way for students to learn geography. Activity ideas include having students label as many states as they can with a limited amount of time or allowing them to draw a picture to represent each state.
5. Magnetic Letter Game
This magnetic letter whiteboard game is perfect for students that are working on writing and spelling skills. It is important for students to learn to write letters properly. This activity encourages students to take their time whilst forming letters.
Learn more: Amazon
6. Alphabet Magnetic Activity Game
Magnetic letters allow students to interact in a hands-on way to create their own words. This exercise is great for students learning sight words and beginning to form sentences. Students can practice motor skills while manipulating these magnetic plastic letters.
Learn more: Oriental Trading
7. Honeycomb
Honeycomb is a creative whiteboard game for children that is designed to be played in teams. This game primarily focuses on word finding, recall, vocabulary, and spelling. This activity is also a popular game for students learning English as a second language.
Learn more: Guys With Games ESL
8. Clap and Catch
You will need a whiteboard, dry-erase markers, and a ball for this fun activity. Students will practice motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and focus with this game. They will have a ton of fun as the game progresses and gets more challenging with every round.
Learn more: Guys With Games ESL
9. Spider in a Web
Spider in a web is a fun alternative to the common whiteboard game, hangman. Students will practice spelling skills while having fun finding the correct letters. It is a very exciting game for students to play together in a classroom or group setting.
Learn more: TeachStarter
10. Rocket Blastoff
Rocket blastoff is another fun whiteboard spelling game that is similar to hangman. You will start withdrawing parts of a rocket and adding a new feature every time a student guesses an incorrect letter. This is a fun game that can be quickly played during transitions during the school day.
Learn more: TeachStarter
11. Dry Erase Puzzles
The possibilities are endless with these blank dry-erase puzzle pieces. You can use them for many different content areas. Meaningful activity ideas include story mapping, math equations, or a fun word-building game.
Learn more: Oriental Trading
12. Web Whiteboards
If you are looking for whiteboard activities for distance learning, you may be interested in web whiteboards. You can do all of the fun whiteboard classroom activities, using these web-based boards. I recommend using this to gauge student understanding through fun assessment games.
Learn more: Web Whiteboards
13. YouTube Drawing Lessons
YouTube is an excellent resource for aspiring artists. There are several drawing tutorials that help students learn to draw. Drawing is a great method of self-expression for children and also promotes creativity and concentration.
Learn more: Helpful Professor
14. Whiteboard Writing Prompts
Whiteboard writing prompts are fun ways to get students to enjoy writing. You can make this a game by having students sit in a circle after they are done writing and share their ideas with one another. The students can pick the sharing order by passing a ball.
Learn more: Pinterest
15. Dry Erase Paddle Games
Whiteboard paddles are a great tool to accompany a classic trivia game. Students can write their answers to trivia or test review questions without anyone seeing their answers. When they are ready to share, they can hold up the paddle for all to see.
Learn more: Etsy
16. Name Dash
This game can be played in small groups or pairs. You will start by creating a grid using only dots. Players will take turns connecting the dots with the goal of forming a box. The winner will be the person with the most boxes claimed on the grid.
Learn more: HMMagnets
17. Happy Homophones
Happy homophones is a fun game that is used for children to practice using homophones. The teacher will write a sentence on the whiteboard and the student’s job is to circle the homophone. You can add a timer to increase the rigor of this fun activity.
Learn more: HMMagnets
18. Magnetic Math Games
Students can play math games using magnetic numbers on a whiteboard. Learners can practice number identification, basic addition and subtraction, and creating number sentences using these colorful number magnets.
Learn more: Lakeshore Learning
19. Higher or Lower
Higher or Lower is a simple game in which students will work in teams to create a number chart on the whiteboard. The team will come up with a secret number and will respond “higher” or “lower” as the other team tries to guess the number.
Learn more: Science and Literacy
20. Outer Space Takeover
Outer Space Takeover is a whiteboard game for children ages five and up. The object of the game is to conquer your opponent’s planets. This would be a fun addition to any science or space-themed lesson.
Learn more: Love to Know
21. The Path Home
This game is designed for groups of two to four players, ages four and up. The winner of this game will be the first person to connect both houses using squares. It is key to use different color markers so you can easily see who drew the squares.
Learn more: Love to Know
22. Puzzle Set
This dry-erase puzzle set is perfect for elementary students. There is a word search, maze, and word puzzle included in this set. I love resources that are reusable as they can be stored in learning centers and then used time and time again.
Learn more: Student Supply
23. Dry Erase Geometry
This resource explores game-based activities for students to learn geometry using whiteboard tools. This list of games is very helpful to incorporate into geometry lessons for various age groups.
Learn more: Play the Game HQ
24. Connect Four
This whiteboard version of Connect Four is entertaining for all ages. This is a digital file that can be transferred onto a whiteboard with included instructions. This is another great reusable activity that students can enjoy with their friends.
Learn more: Etsy
25. I Spy: Travel Edition
This “I Spy” whiteboard game is a fun activity to keep children busy while traveling! You can use this on field trips with students, or vacations with family. What a great way to entertain the little ones and teach them to be aware of their surroundings.
Learn more: Etsy