We have officially reached the double digits! Your 5th graders are ready for more challenging workloads, more responsibility, and more fun. Here are 20 classroom ideas to inspire creativity, social and emotional development, and learning. Try them out in your class today!
1. Growth Mindset
Whether you teach science, art, or any subject really, every classroom needs a little green. Show your kids the joy of nature and the importance of taking care of their planet by starting the first week of school by planting seeds as a class.
Learn More: Growing Minds
2. Desk of Dreams
You and your students spend a lot of time in and around your teacher’s desk. Make it special and unique by decorating it with personal touches and interesting things for your students to ask you about.
Learn More: Creative Teaching
3. Stock Up!
5th grade classroom supplies can be tedious to find and hard to maintain. Here is an ultimate checklist to see what you’ll need for the year and what can help your students learn and feel motivated to achieve.
Learn More: Must-Have School Supplies for Teachers
4. Bulletin Boards
These are amazing tools to use in various contexts and tasks. You can post updates, test results, events, inspiring pictures or quotes, or whatever you feel like on a regular basis.
Learn More: Brilliant Back to School Bulletin Boards
5. Welcome Packets
Why not welcome your fifth-graders to your class with a gift? You can add anythign to your welcome packs; why not include some pens or pencils, a notebook, and any other stationary that’ll be helpful through the year? Add in one of these free printable cards to complete the pack and you’re good to go! What a great way to start the year!
Learn More: Appletastic Learning
6. Get Crafty
No matter the subject or age, kids love it when you incorporate crafts into lessons. If they are learning about volcanos, make one! If they are learning fractions, use them to create something amazing! Get crafty and creative with these fun activities.
Learn More: 5th Grade Art Projects To Bring Out Kids’ Artistic Genius
7. Name Tags
A successful classroom is one where students feel seen and validated. One way to foster this healthy learning environment is to ask your students to make personalized name tags on the first day of school. This allows students to show off their creativity and personality and build connections with each other right away.
Learn More: Iroquois Art
8. Computer Connections
By 5th grade, in developed countries, most students are computer literate. They are learning how to type properly and find reliable resources and content. Give some extra computer time each week to teach your students how to maneuver this technology terrain in a safe and productive way.
Learn More: Brittany Washburn
9. Raise the Bar
Learning about graphs and charts is one of the lessons we begin to learn in 5th grade. Comparing different concepts does not have to be boring. Spice up your math lessons with these fun and creative graphing activities using candy, toys, and your own students!
Learn More: Mrs. Lee’s Kinder Kids
10. Excavation Time
Here is a 5th grade assignment about ancient civilizations that you and your students will love. History, culture, traditions, and more can be rediscovered and brought to life through art, trivia, and creating. Get your excavation hats on and go digging for knowledge!
Learn More: Teach Student Savvy
11. Library of Life
Every classroom needs a fully stocked library. There are plenty of lists you can find with popular books categorized by age and subject. You can also send a note home with your students asking for book donations and suggest to students to contribute their favorites to the classroom library so we can all share the knowledge.
Learn More: Brown Bag Teacher
12. Food Fridays
We all love food! Especially treats at the end of a long school week. Set aside extra time each Friday to enjoy some snacks with your students. Create a list and assign a student per week to bring in their favorite sweet or salty snack and get munching!
Learn More: PTO Today
13. Flash Cards
Flash cards are a great tool to help students remember a variety of content from any subject. You can use funny image cards for games, ones in assorted colors for making groups, or as a way to challenge students on prior knowledge for progress checks.
Learn More: Our Handcrafted Life
14. Behavior Chart
There are many ways you can reward students for good behavior and achievement. Here are some ideas to track progress and objective completion so your students have something fun and unique to motivate and unify them.
Learn More: Free Printable Behavior Charts
15. Bean Bag Corner
Spice up your classroom with some cute and fun seating arrangements you can move easily to organize students into different groups for activities. You can build a bean bag library, or set the space aside as a reward zone for task completion and good behavior.
Learn More: Prodigy Game
16. Secret Message
Kids love to solve secret codes and messages. A great way to solidify information in the brain is to associate it with different thoughts and brain activity. Try reviewing content with your students by asking them to solve puzzles or decipher secret codes in groups or individually.
Learn More: Kids Activities Blog
17. Creative Thinking
Our current world values creative thinking very highly. It is important to teach kids from a young age to think outside of the box and be innovative. Here are some problem-solving and scenario activity ideas to get you and your 5th graders inspired.
Learn More: Top Teaching Tasks
18. Pop of Color
Make your classroom and ideas stand out by involving your students in a fun decorating makeover. Students like to feel a part of their environment in order to express themselves and grow. Give them the artistic freedom to contribute to their surroundings with some paper and paint for giant class collaboration. You can hang their artwork on the wall for them to be proud of all year round.
Learn More: The Lemonade Stand
19. It’s Time Travel Time
Make your class an adventure with these unique and engaging ways to present time in history. You can talk about inventions and historical events, or relate them to science and how our planet works.
Learn More: Pinterest
20. Global Knowledge
Introduce your 5th graders to the bigger picture of the world around them by incorporating a globe or map in your classroom. These are great and informative decor that students can passively observe and learn from.
Learn More: We Have Kids
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