Estimation is an essential math skill students will need throughout their schooling. Set up an estimation station using any small items. Seeds, candies and bubblegum work well for this activity. Place a large amount of your item into a glass fishbowl and have students guess how much is in the container. Once every student has taken a turn estimating, reveal the true amount. With continued practice student's estimation skills will improve.
Phonics is the building block for reading. Use the phonics skills your students have worked on to create a treasure hunt around your school or classroom. Print picture cards for each beginning letter sound including long vowel sounds. Use the pictures to spell out words that tell your students where each treasure is located. For example, if the next treasure is located in the hall, place four cards down--one with a picture of a hat, one with a picture of an apple and two with pictures of lemons. Your students use what they know about beginning sounds to decode the pictures to spell hall. Continue until all the children have found each treasure.
Science experiments can get students engaged and excited about learning new skills. Set up a science experiment that your students can complete on their own. Place a bucket of water and several different items on a low counter along with a paper with pictures of each item. As students place each item into the water have them record whether the item floats or sinks. Once every student has completed the experiment, take some time to discuss the similarities and differences between each item that sank or floated.
The study of history can result in confusion for younger students. Finding something the children can relate with such as age can help children understand history. Take the time to discover the age of many different presidents at their inauguration. Color a graph that displays each president's age. Stock your classroom with books or charts that contain the ages of each president to help your students find the information easily. Researching and graphing the president's ages will encompass both history and a math concept.