Scavenger hunts are a lot of fun to do with your students, especially during the fall season. My students got so excited when they had the extra opportunity to be outside.
When you design the scavenger hunt, you can definitely address the required standards at any grade level. Be sure to pair a stronger reader with the students who might have trouble reading the questions. Guide the stronger readers ahead of time as to how to be a peer assistant.
When I worked as a special education teacher in a 3rd-grade classroom, the general education teacher and I established several questions related to the science curriculum. We were teaching the children observation skills. We worded the questions so the children would use their five senses to find items in nature.
For example:
- Find something that feels rough.
- Look for a red leaf from a deciduous tree.
- Name two items you saw that you can also smell.
- What is a sound you heard while you were outside?
- Name the liquid you drank before coming inside.
If you don’t want them to collect the items, give the children a clipboard and paper to record their responses.
Share your ideas for scavenger hunts in your classroom or outside.