Scavenger Hunt in the Classroom: 3 Things You Need to Try

I have found that if you get kids excited about learning and have them physically moving around, you can turn anything into a game. Whether a scavenger hunt in the classroom consists of task cards or cut up pieces of a worksheet, it’s quite impressive how they rise to the occasion. You can place the cards around the room, in the hall or even outside, as long as you have proper supervision in all places.

Here are 3 things that I have learned (often the hard way!) about the best ways to manage these types of activities:

1) Placement of Task Cards Matters

It’s important to consider the height of your students. If you “hide” cards too well or too high up, they won’t see them. I also try to keep the abilities of my students in mind. Kids with attention or visual discrimination issues might not see a card that looks too much like its surroundings. Try to space out the cards so that traffic jams are not easily created. If you have a large class and the ability to safely go outside, you can spread the cards out even more. Also, consider the make up of your class. Do you have some quick movers who will likely find many cards quickly, but also some that need more time? Try to space out cards in a manner that provides more travel time for the fast movers. They get the movement that they need, and the kids who need a slower pace will be able to continue collecting cards during this time.

2) Count Your Cards!

Here’s another one I learned the hard way! You can either just simply count them and know how many you should have, or you can assign numbers to cards. Using cards with numbers can help you to ensure that students have found all of them. If a numbered card is missing, you and/or your students know to go try to find it. This way, you won’t lose any cards easily. For younger students, making sure that you have all cards can be a great way to practice counting and putting items in number order. You could also differentiate your cards by difficulty using different number or color, but this can get tricky unless you are placing cards for each group in a different area. If possible, it’s best to not tell students that cards are leveled by difficulty. Below, I’ve included an example of a phonics product (grades 1-3) with differentiated levels. Each level has different colored cards. I’ve also included an example of a task card product with numbered cards and a recording sheet. (grades 3-6).

3) Use Recording Sheets

I’ve included recording sheets/workspaces and answer sheets in some of the task cards that I’ve created. I find that using these helps students to be held accountable. It also helps me to hold myself accountable as a teacher, since I’m better able to assess what they know. This is especially helpful if you have numbered cards or have arraigned students into groups. Of course, there are times when you as a teacher need the assignment to feel more like a “game” and less like an assignment. So I encourage you to use your teacher judgement on this one. Below I’ve included two examples of task cards. My 8 Parts of Speech task cards are best for students in grades 4 and up, while my Uppercase and Lowercase Letter Match cards are great for Pre-K and Kindergarten.

Fun is the Main Point

Getting students engaged is the main idea of using a scavenger hunt in the classroom. And you know your students best. I hope that these ideas were helpful, but in the end, I encourage you to do what you feel is best for your students. I’ve included some of my reading and language arts task cards below for you to check out. Happy teaching!

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https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Reading-Ready-Skills

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Tutoring – Reading Ready Skills