Have the students cut construction paper into 5 by 5 inch squares until there are 100 squares. Start by giving each student two squares and have them draw two pictures exactly alike. For instance, one child might draw two pink cats, while another might draw two blue cars. Continue until all squares have been completed with two of each by the same student. While other students are working on math problems, call one group of five students to the activity center. Set up five rows of four cards, using exact pairs that are mixed in each row. The student will begin by telling the teacher which two cards to turn over. If they match, leave them face up. If they do not match, turn them over again. Have the next student choose two cards to reveal and continue until all cards are facing up. The student who reveals the most matches wins. You can use different variations of cards for each group. When students get better at matching quickly, allow them to challenge another student who has finished his assigned math for the day.
Make enough copies of the map if the United States for each student. Have the students cut apart each state carefully. Construction paper works better than copy paper for this activity. Students will place all pieces of the maps into a zip-lock sandwich bag with his name on the bag. Students will trade bags with each other and attempt to reassemble the map of the United States. The first one finished is the winner. You could also have the students write the capital city on each state shape. Each time the students put the puzzles together, they will better recognize where each state is located on the map, while learning the names of each state capital.
Give students a list of 20 or more Christmas song titles and/or Christmas greetings that have been changed to similar meanings. For example, give the students the song title, "All of Us Hope You Have a Pleasant Celebration of the Birth of Christ." They must come up with, "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." Allow them to work in teams of three or four students. Give each team a thesaurus to use. Explain what a thesaurus is and how to properly use it. The team who correctly finishes first will be the winners.
Write a short story for the class, leaving all nouns, adjectives and verbs blank. Go around the room calling on students to give you nouns, as needed, to write into the blank. Ask for adjectives or verbs, as called for in the story. When the story is completed by filling in the blanks, read the silly story to the class. "Cars have plastic noses when they throw a cold. Maybe birds should yell when it is time to walk South for the dinner." Only the teacher has the full story, which has had all nouns, verbs and adjectives removed. Calling on one student at a time, the teacher asks for what is needed to supply the blank. The stories are hilarious, but students learn which words are nouns, which ones are verbs and which are adjectives.
The teacher gives the clues to the class; e.g., "I spy something rectangular." Students raise their hands to answer. Give one point for each correct answer and deduct one point for each incorrect answer. The teacher must look for objects that are round, triangular, perpendicular or have right angles, for instance. When a student gives an incorrect answer, give another student a chance to answer. The teacher may write the definitions for each word on the blackboard as a reminder for the students.