Classroom transformations are a great way to add instant student engagement during rigorous content or test prep. Planning a classroom transformation can be as simple or as elaborate as you wish. Here are a few classroom transformation ideas for upper elementary classrooms.
1. Beach Themed Book Bites
✳️ Supports Standards: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.3.4, RF.4.4 & RF.5.4
A beach themed book bites classroom transformation is a great way to help students discover new books and new genres. When students find books and genres they like, they are much more likely to pick up a book and read. Frequent reading leads to better fluency and better comprehension.
It’s the perfect transformation to incorporate at the start of the school year or as an end of the year transformation to get students excited about choosing a book or two to read over the summer.
2. Parts of Speech Grammar Boot Camp
✳️ Supports Standards: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.3.1, L.4.1 & L.5.1
Many of the language standards require students to know the names of the different types of words used in writing as well as categorizing them. Creating a boot camp classroom transformation is a fun way to get students moving while reviewing the parts of speech.
It’s a perfect to use at the start of the school year for 4th and 5th graders to review some of the most common parts of speech before moving on to more complex terms. It can also be incorporated at the end of the year as a fun review before standardized testing.
3. Subject & Predicate Ninja Transformation
✳️ Supports Standards: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.3.1, L.4.1 & L.5.1
Helping students identify subjects and predicates in sentences helps them create complete sentences when they write. It also helps support them when they are looking to make subject-verb agreements. Creating a ninja transformation when teaching and assessing students provides them with an engaging a memorable lesson as students who pass their test walk away with a “black belt.”
This classroom transformation is one of the easiest to set up. Most of the engagement comes from you being a “sensei” and students receiving a “black belt.”
4. Punctuation Italian Restaurant
✳️ Supports Standards: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.4.2.B, L.4.2.C, L.5.2.A, L.5.2.B, & L.5.2.C
There are so many uses for commas in the English language. By the end of 5th grade, students are expected to be proficient in most of the ways to use it. After introducing and reviewing the different uses for commas, an Italian restaurant themed classroom transformation is a great way to have students apply what they’ve learned.
It also offers a great way for you to assess students’ understanding.
5. Winter Wonderland Review Transformation
✳️ Supports ANY Standard
Coming back from a two or three week winter break can be difficult. Sometimes it seems like students forget what you’ve taught them the first 2 quarters of the year. Instead of getting frustrated, set up a Winter Wonderland classroom transformation to review skills and standards you previously covered.
This is a great way to avoid the frustration of “How did you forget? We’ve already learned that.” It brings the information buried in the brains back into the forefront.
6. Opinion Writing Courtroom
✳️ Supports Standard: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.1 & W.5.1
It seems like we spend the entire year teaching 4th and 5th graders how to write an essay. By the time the test in nearing, everyone is tired of writing, editing, and rewriting. Setting up an Opinion Writing Courtroom classroom transformation allows students to collaborate and support each other in a fun and engaging way.
It is a perfect last hurrah to writing just before the statewide writing test has to be administered. Students love collaborating instead of having to write just “one more essay.” They also love addressing the teacher as “Your Honor.”
7. Affixes Surgery Room
✳️ Supports Standard: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.3.4.B, L.4.4.B & L.5.4.B
There are so many surgery room ideas going around the internet. I find it to be one of the most complex to set up, but I have to say it’s always my students favorite, and for good reason. They walk into a classroom that looks like a hospital and they get to be the doctors. In the Affixes Surgery Room classroom transformation, students work together in groups of 4 to “save patients” by putting words together based on their meanings and affixes.
This transformation is extremely rigorous and is a great review of prefixes, suffixes, and root words.
8. Idioms T-Shirt Fashion Show
✳️ Supports Standard: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.4.5.B & L.5.5.B
Idioms is definitely one of the students favorite things to study. I mean, who doesn’t love silly sayings, right? It’s also one of the most important standards to cover if you have students who are non-native English speakers. An Idioms T-Shirt Fashion Show is a great hands-on way of getting students to understand and master idioms.
This transformation allows students to assess their knowledge of the different idioms. It’s a fun transformation after a unit on idioms or towards the end of the year once you’ve covered most idioms of the week.
9. Basketball Grammar Review Transformation
✳️ Supports Standard: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.3.1, L.3.2, L.4.1, L.4.2, L.5.1 & L.5.2
Test prep season is the best time to implement rigorous yet easy to set up transformations. A Basketball Grammar classroom transformation allows students to review the many language standards right before a standardized test.
It is a great and engaging alternative to worksheet based reviews. It can be set up as a whole group lesson or made into small group assignments. It’s extremely versatile but so much fun.
10. Football Context Clues Review Transformation
✳️ Supports Standard: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.4.4, RL.5.4, L.4.4, &L.5.4
Sports themes are such great classroom transformation ideas because they are involve games which students love. They are also easy to set up. You can basically do it with any set of task cards, a basket or goal of some sort, and a ball. It can even be crumbled paper. A Football Context Clues classroom transformation allows students to practice a using their skills to understanding the meaning of unknown words.
This theme works well in February during Super Bowl season or at the end of the year during test prep.
11. Soccer Text Structure Review Transformation
✳️ Supports Standard: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.5
Getting to shoot or kick a ball is an engaging way to get students to practice any skill. Incorporating a Soccer Text Structure classroom transformation allows students to practice answering standardized style test questions in an engaging manner.
This transformation works well as test prep, after a study of text structures, or during the World Cup season.
12. Golf Main Idea and Supporting Details Review Transformation
✳️ Supports Standard: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.2, RI.4.2, & RI.5.2
Who doesn’t love playing mini golf, right? Imagine bringing this concept into the classroom. A Golf classroom transformation works well with just about any lesson. I enjoyed creating it around a main idea and supporting details skill review. This standard is always so difficult for students to understand especially when introduced in test question formats.
This theme is great after a study on main idea and details or as a test prep review.
The previous three classroom transformation ideas work well too as a test prep week of sports before statewide testing.
Classroom Transformation Ideas Reminder
Classroom transformations can be fun for students and teachers as well. Just a quick reminder, that it is important to make sure you including standard based resources with the transformation. You want to make sure the transformations are rigorous and valuable.
I hope these classroom transformation ideas for upper elementary classrooms have helped inspire you to try some in your classroom. They really don’t have to be elaborate, but if you do enjoy going above and beyond, they definitely do lend themselves to it.
