Wacky Wednesday is a teacher tradition that you may not have heard of before, but this is something that you are definitely going to want to incorporate into your classroom.
This teacher tradition creates a positive atmosphere within the classroom, and it is a great way to keep the energy levels of the class up as the week drags on.
Here, we are going to talk about what exactly Wacky Wednesday is – and why you should start implementing it within your classroom. Trust us when we say that you and your students will love it!
What Are Fun Wacky Wednesday Surprises?
Wacky Wednesday is a teacher activity that takes place every Wednesday during the school year, and it is all about having fun with students in the classroom.
It is a time when teachers can get creative and try out some new ideas for teaching, while also getting their students involved in the process.
This idea was created by Dr. John Taylor Gatto, who was an educator at a public high school in New York City.
He noticed that his students were always complaining about how boring and monotonous the lessons they had to learn were, so he decided to come up with a different approach.
Instead of just focusing on learning facts from textbooks, he wanted to create a more engaging environment for his students.
He came up with the idea of Wacky Wednesday, which has been used by many other educators since then. The idea behind Wacky Wednesday is to make sure that each day is full of excitement and surprises.
As the teacher, it is totally up to you what surprises you incorporate into your Wacky Wednesday – you know your class the best, and you know what they will find super fun and exciting.
You want the surprises to inspire and motivate your class, and you want them to be something that they can look forward to.
Teachers will often use this time to do activities that are completely unexpected, such as making jokes or playing games. They may even take the opportunity to teach things that they normally would never teach.
It is important to note that Wacky Wednesday is not meant to be a replacement for regular lesson plans. If you are looking for ways to spice up your curriculum, then Wacky Wednesday is definitely worth trying out.
However, if you are looking for a way to teach specific subjects, then you need to stick to the lesson plan that you already have.
Here are our top three fun Wacky Wednesday surprises:
Decorating your classroom to mirror the theme of Wacky Wednesday.
Adding character to your classroom objects – add socks to your chair legs and hats to lights or fans.
Come in dressed for the occasion – depending on the theme, you can wear an outfit that matches up to this!
Why You Should Start Implementing Wacky Wednesday In Your Classroom: Easy Craft Ideas For Your Class To Enjoy
There are several reasons why you should implement Wacky Wednesday in your classroom. First of all, it is a great way for you to stay engaged with your students throughout the entire week.
When you are bored with the same old routine, it is easy for your students to become bored too.
By incorporating Wacky Wednesday into your schedule, you will be able to ensure that there is always something exciting happening in the classroom.
Another reason why you should start using Wacky Wednesday in your classrooms is that it helps to build relationships between yourself and your students.
Many people believe that one of the best ways to engage students is through humor, and Wacky Wednesday provides you with plenty of opportunities to use humor in your classroom.
You can also use this time to help your students develop skills that they might not otherwise be taught.
For example, when you play a game of charades, you can teach your students how to think creatively and problem solve.
You can also use this method to teach them how to work together effectively.
Your class will also have fun developing their craft skills – and you can think of fun ways to engage your students.
For instance, you can switch out the paint brushes for other resources – you could use toothbrushes or different shaped vegetables and you can get your students to make fun and original prints.
Our top three Wacky Wednesday craft ideas:
Give your class free-range, supply all the craft goods and let them get creative.
Using fun supplies to paint and draw in class.
Using technology to help with the craft – get your students to follow along with an online tutorial and see what they create.
Important: Incorporating STEM Activities Into Wacky Wednesdays
While Wacky Wednesday is a time to have fun, it is also very important to keep the focus on the students.
This means that you must avoid doing anything that could potentially distract your students from what you want them to learn.
For example, you cannot go around the room asking questions, telling random jokes, and laughing hysterically.
Doing this will only cause your students to lose interest in what you are teaching them.
Instead, you should try to find a way to incorporate some sort of activity that requires everyone’s attention and refers to a specific topic.
If you are worried that your students will get distracted during Wacky Wednesday, then you should consider having a designated teacher who will lead the class.
The teacher can ask the students questions about their favorite subject while he/she teaches them about another topic. Then, at the end of the session, the teacher can switch roles with the student who was leading the group.
This will allow the students to see that learning does not have to stop just because someone else is teaching them.
It will also give them an opportunity to practice leadership skills.
Alternatively, you can try and find other ways to get your students excited about developing their STEM skills during Wacky Wednesdays, and you can take this opportunity to make science as fun as possible.
You can switch up the predictable STEM activities, and use Wacky Wednesday to surprise your students with some fun chemistry experiments.
Our top three Wacky Wednesday STEM ideas:
Have fun with biology – learn about the fun animals in the world, and get your students to make profiles for the animals.
Have fun with chemistry – this is where you can make sure that your students really pay attention, and really have fun. There are lots of easy and fun chemistry experiments that you can impress your class with.
Have fun with math – math is not something that all kids will love, but this is your chance to make it as fun as possible for them. You can do more than just working out on squared paper – you can get creative with the math activities.
Should You Dress Up For Wacky Wednesday?
This is something that is totally up to you as the teacher… if this is something that your class will find fun occasionally then it would be great to incorporate.
However, if this is not something that you feel will motivate or excite your class then this is not something that you need to worry about including.
You are going to want to plan out your Wacky Wednesdays in a way that will suit your class and the dynamic amongst the students in your class.
You are going to want your Wacky Wednesdays to encourage a sense of teamwork and excitement within your class – and as the teacher you can be the judge of how everyone works together.
When implementing Wacky Wednesday in your classes, you should make sure that you follow these steps:
Choose A Theme That You Would Like To Use For The Whole Week And Create A List Of Activities That Fit Within The Theme
This is really important because you will want your Wacky Wednesday to have some relevance to the work that you are covering in class – but you will want your lessons on this particular day to feel much more dynamic than usual.
For example, if you’re a science teacher, you may want to dress up as Albert Einstein.
Plan Out Which Day You Will Hold Each Activity
This is just helpful for you to get yourself organized and to get yourself ready for the week ahead. Being organized in the way that you work sets a great example for you and also sets a good routine for your students.
If your costume or any student’s costume is going to get in the way of the planned activities, it’s best to go without.
Be creative!
Don’t be afraid to try something different if you feel that it might benefit your students.
Wacky Wednesday does not have to be the only fun day in your classroom, every day of learning should be fun for you as the teacher and also for your students. Wacky Wednesday can just be the slightly more maverick teaching.
So, if you want to dress up, and you think it will grab your class’ attention, then go for it. Don’t hold back!
Keep Track Of The Activities So That You Know Exactly What Happened During The Week
And, you can rank the activities which the students have engaged with highly and then rule out the activities that the students did not enjoy so much. You can do the same for your costumes.
Wacky Wednesdays: How They Are Used In Other Schools
Wacky Wednesday is used by many schools across America as part of their curriculum. Some teachers even use it to supplement their regular lessons.
Here are some examples of Wacky Wednesday events that other educators use in their classrooms:
Teachers who want to teach their students how to write a book report.
Teachers who want to teach their kids how to create a website.
Elementary school teachers who want to teach their middle schoolers how to do research.
High school teachers who want to show their students how to design a logo.
Teachers who are trying to teach their students how important it is to read books.
Teachers who teach their students how to draw pictures.
Middle school teachers who want to help their high schoolers understand how to solve math problems.
Kindergarten teachers who want to teach kids how to count money.
What do all of these things have in common? They are not things that are educated on in an obvious manner in the classroom.
Having a Wacky Wednesday is a way to break past the ‘normal school day barrier’ and to give yourself and your students a chance to function as ‘real adults’.
This might seem like a step too far, but Wacky Wednesday pushes the boundaries of what is predictable in the classroom – and this is what keeps learning exciting.
In Conclusion
Overall, Wacky Wednesdays are a fun and exciting way to build a sense of community within your classroom.
The best part about Wacky Wednesday is that it allows you to make learning fun and interesting for everyone involved – you included!
The whole purpose of Wacky Wednesdays is to help motivate and inspire your students to power through the rest of the week and to just carry on working as hard as possible.
Wednesdays are pretty notorious for productivity levels being at an all time low…
The best thing about Wacky Wednesdays is that there are no set rules or guidelines.
Ultimately, Wacky Wednesdays are left to you as the teacher to get to grips with. And, you have the power of working out what exactly will work the best for your class.
After all, you are not going to want to come up with a day of activities that your class won’t engage in – you want your Wacky Wednesday to be fun and exciting.
And, this should be a day for you and your class to look forward to each week. This shouldn’t be something that feels stressful to arrange, it’s all about having fun, so just work out what is best for your class and stick with it!
Hi, my name is Helena Waters and I was a teacher for 40 years before retiring last year.
During my time as a teacher I dedicated the majority of it to making classrooms as fun as possible, with educational parties, fun activities, and low cost entertainment that made the children excited about learning.
I taught children of all ages, from preschoolers to high school students. Now, with the pandemic having uprooted everything that children once knew about school and learning, I think that the need for my ideas is bigger than ever.
That is why I created School Sparks, a place in which I can write down and share all of my ideas on how to get students excited about going to school again. I hope that you’ll find some useful within a school setting, even at home too!
