As teachers we are always trying to find new and exciting ways to keep our kiddos engaged. We need activities that are educational and fun. BUT…we also need activities that aren’t so teacher-centered. Sometimes we need our kids to be able to complete an assignment without us being actively involved. Enter Color by Code! Here are my reasons why I LOVE color by code resources.
Why Should I Use Color by Code?
Color by Code is such a great activity that can be used for so many different lessons. It is super beneficial for the kids, and they always love completing them. I love that they are practicing and reinforcing skills when working on an activity without even realizing it.
#1 Reign in the Excitement
I’m specifically talking about holiday excitement here. You know what I mean! All of that boundless energy the kids have before a special holiday like Halloween, Christmas or Valentine’s Day. The kids are so excited about what is to come that it can be hard to keep them focused. I have found color by codes to be great for this. Just incorporate a seasonal element into that math lesson that you already have planned. You get to teach your lesson and the kids get to celebrate their holiday. It’s a win-win!
#2 Fast Finishers
As a teacher you want to be pushing your students to reach the next level. Using extra time with your fast finishers is a great way to do that. You don’t want to fill their time with fluff and busy work. Instead, you want something productive that will reinforce skills, something that will help them to be more confident. You also need the activity to be something that can be done independently. Color by code activities work well for fast finishers because they can be adapted for all lessons.
#3 The Perfect Morning Work
In the mornings you are occupied doing things like the lunch count, answering emails, and taking attendance. Your kiddos need to be able to walk into your room and get busy. This is why morning work is such an important part of your day. However, morning work can be tricky to set up. There are so many things to consider. The work must be on the students level so that they can complete it on their own. It must be something that they can start and stop on different days. It can even be something that they can finish at home if they want. Color by Code activities meet all of these!
#4 Amazing Bulletin Boards
Who doesn’t love an activity that can double as a cute classroom bulletin board? Sign me up! These 3D Color by Code activities not only make a great bulletin board, but since they are 3D they really pop! Simply add a title and some border and you’ve got yourself an amazing bulletin board display.
Students love to see their work displayed, too. It’s like an unwritten message that says “you did such a great job I’m showing this off to the world!” I don’t know about you but that message sure builds self-esteem and confidence. If we can play a part in doing that just by creating a bulletin board then I’m all in!
#5 Make it a Challenge
Kids love opportunities to earn things or collect things. Whether it’s trading cards, kids meal toys or accomplishment badges on a video game, the opportunity to collect a set intrigues kids. Use this to your advantage with these 3D Color by Code Characters. They can collect one of each of the 5 different characters and even choose seasonal characters to add to their collection! Let them display their characters in their cubby or on their locker. One of the characters can even live on their desk to keep them company as a desk pet.
You can also incorporate their new “friends” into other classroom activities. Let students choose one character to join them in centers or silent reading time. The character could even become the main character in a writing activity too!
#6 Student Choice
Student choice is a big deal! In fact, it has turned unengaged, anxious and disinterested students into active learners. It creates huge buy in when they feel like their wants are taken into consideration. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not advocating for student run classrooms. Instead, have a plan but build in choice. Working on sight words – let students choose whether to write them on a dry erase board or on paper using different colors. The goal is the same, but the students get a choice.
You can easily build in student choice with Color by Code activities too! Color by codes are easily adaptable to become a student choice activity. Just provide them with different versions on the same topic! Easy peasy!
#7 Differentiated Instruction
Differentiated instruction just might be one of the most important things we can do in the classroom. But . . . it can also be one of the most time consuming. It can take so much time to create different levels of the same assignment. There’s simply not enough time in the day to create a new activity, for each skill and concept for every student.
But there are things we can do to save time and provide quality differentiated activities. These Color by Code Bundles make it super easy for you do this. With over 100 color by code worksheets in the bundle you can find just what you need for each student.
#8 Following Multi-Step Directions
While academic skills and concepts is at the forefront of our instruction, we often build in other important life skills into our lessons and activities too. One of those important skills is following directions. By the time they enter school, most students can follow simple one and two step instructions. But it can be difficult finding ways to move beyond that. These 3D Color by Code activities are more than just a coloring worksheet. Once students are finished, they turn this worksheet into a 3D stand-up character. Students can work on following directions independently by using the instruction prompts on the page. When completing the activity your kids will solve a problem, match a color, cut, fold, and glue. And they’ll do it all independently!
#9 Fine Motor Skills and Hand Strength
As a primary teacher we know the importance of fine motor skills. In the early grades we incorporate lots of activities to help students build up the important hand muscles. Coloring, cutting, and using glue all help to develop fine motor skills and build hand strength. It is so important to find ways to fit this into your curriculum. These Color by Code activities do it all! In addition to academic skills practice, students will be coloring, cutting and gluing. All activities that use control with those key hand muscles.
Check Out My Color by Code Activities!
As you can tell I absolutely love these fun color by code activities. I wanted you to be able to experience all 9 reasons to use color by code so I want you to try them out in your classroom! Grab this free resource to work on odd and even numbers and get 8 of these cute 3D Color by Code characters.
If you are ready to add some 3D Color by Code fun to your classroom then head over to Teachers Pay Teachers and check out all the options!
Save these Color by Code Ideas and Activities
Be sure to save these fun Color by Code activities and ideas by pinning this to your favorite classroom Pinterest board.
