{FREE} 5 Quick Activities that Keep Kids Learning During Transition Times

There are a few minutes of waiting time for students throughout the school day.  Turn waiting time into learning time! Having these quick and easy activities at your fingertips and ready-to-go will be a life-saver! They will keep your students learning even when they have to wait in line for lunch, during restroom breaks, or other transition times.

Use these quick activities any time you have a few minutes to fill.

MATH IN YOUR SHOES ?

Ask students to look at their shoes and the shoes of their classmates. Tell them you’d like to learn more about them – but, you want to get your information in the form of fractions. For example: What fraction of the class is wearing socks? What fraction of the class is wearing shoes with blue on them?

MEASUREMENT Q AND A?

Keep a meter stick or yardstick prominently displayed in your classroom – a ruler also can work well. I assign a “Measure Master” who carries it with us when we leave our classroom to go to other areas. When you’re in the hallways of your school, ask students how many yards (meters, feet, centimeters) long various distances or objects are. Your Measure Master can choose a partner to work with them to use the yardstick and find the actual distances. Discuss class estimates and actual measurements. If appropriate, allow your Measure Master to lead the discussion.

COINS IN MY HAND ?

Try this mental activity. (More Mental Math Here) Keep a container of play money somewhere that is easily accessible for you. Choose some coins from the container to keep in your hand or pocket. I use a small sticky note to write down the amount and number of coins. There are often interruptions and I may not remember by the time we get to play, so having it written just saves time. When students are waiting, announce that you have a certain number of coins in your hand and they are equal to a certain amount. Can they guess what the coins are? Allow students to ask you yes or no questions. For example: Do you have any nickels? Do you have 3 quarters?

WHAT’S THE DATE? ?

Ask students to name today’s date. Then ask a volunteer to name something mathematical about the date. For example:

• March 17 (3/17)
  • 17 is an odd number (prime number). March is the 3rd month of the year and 3 is also odd (prime).
  • If I double 17, I get an even number. If I triple it, I get an odd number.
  • When I add the month number, 3, to the date number, 17, I get 20.
• October 18 (10/18)
  • The factors of 18 are: 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, and 18.
  • When I add 1, 2, 3, and 4, I get 10.
  • If I divide the month number, 10, by the even number 2, I get the odd number 5.

TIME TO PICK ME ⏰

This activity works well when you need to choose a student to do a popular task. Tell students to close their eyes and raise their hand as soon as they think a minute has passed. Tell them to count quietly to themselves to help them judge the time. Choose the person for the task whose hand goes up closest to a minute.

These quick activities are adapted from: Brain-Boosting Math Activities: Grade 5

Click here to download these FREE Quick Activities as a printable from my Free Resource Library.

What quick and easy math activities do you use?

You can find more free activities that will turn waiting time into learning time in these posts:

• Early Finishers and Gifted – Turn Waiting Time Into Learning Time
• Meeting the Needs of Young Mathematicians

*This article originally appeared on SumMathFun.com.

And as always,