Indoor Activities for Grades 5–6

Indoor Activities for Grades 5–6

Here are some indoor recess games for 5th and 6th graders.

1. Quiet Writing or Drawing Time

Let your older kids explore their creativity with time for free writing or art. Though coloring books will likely seem babyish to this set, many kids will love writing in a journal or sketching and drawing on scratch paper.

2. Heads Up, Seven Up

This game is a favorite for students of all ages. To start, choose seven students to stand at the front of the class. Have the rest of your students put their heads down on their desks by saying, “Heads down, thumbs up!” The seven students will walk around the room, and each one will choose a student by touching them on the thumb.

Have the seven students stand at the front of the classroom, and then say, “Heads up, seven up!” The seven students who were touched will stand up and try to guess who chose them. Those who guess correctly replace their choosers as one of the seven, and the game continues!

3. Guessing Games

Play a common guessing game with cards and headbands. Each kid receives a card with a picture of a familiar object. The card goes into a headband so that others can see it, but the student who has it cannot. Then, students must ask for clues from others to figure out what pictures are on their cards. You can also teach your students to play Charades. To add an educational twist, have students act out characters from books they’ve read, figures from history or even concepts from science class.

4. Movies or Shows

Older students will likely be happy to sit quietly and watch a movie for indoor recess. The beauty of this activity is that most movies are longer than recess time, so if you know you’ll have a string of bad-weather days, you can plan to watch a movie in installments. You can also stream shows. To incorporate some learning, try a science or nature show.

5. Exquisite Corpse

This activity works with drawing, writing or both. Write a fun sentence at the top of a piece of paper, and then fold the paper down so the first part of the sentence is hidden.

Pass the paper around the room and have each student contribute a new line to the story without reading what has been folded down at the top. Afterward, read out loud what’s likely to be an absurd story. You can also create a drawing in this way, or a combination of writing and pictures.

Have Fun With Indoor (and Outdoor) Recess!

There’s no need to fear an extended stretch of rain or snowy weather! Indoor recess doesn’t have to be dreaded. With luck, some of these fun indoor recreational activities can help you create enjoyable, educational indoor recess plans. Whether your students are drawing or painting, playing games or dancing to a video you choose, they’ll be having a good time while preparing themselves for more instruction. And who knows — teachers might end up enjoying themselves as well!

Of course, when the weather turns nice, your students won’t be able to wait to play outside on their favorite equipment. Consider having your school invest in quality, customizable equipment to keep your kids healthy and happy when the weather is right for outdoor play. Miracle® Recreation offers a free customized design process. Contact us today to discuss what would work best for your school.