Games, delicious snacks, face painting, prizes, and more…what’s not to love about a carnival? Kids are a carnival’s number one fans, so why not utilize it to teach important skills in a hands-on, engaging, and exciting way in the classroom? Let’s explore How to Plan a Classroom Carnival: A Guide to Project-Based Learning Success.
A full-classroom carnival project is a wonderful cross-curricular opportunity to merge math, writing, art, entrepreneurship, marketing, and creativity all in one way. A classroom carnival also promotes problem-solving, cooperative learning, critical thinking, and project management skills.
A classroom carnival sounds like such a fun project to undertake, but as a teacher, it can be a bit overwhelming. With organization and the right materials, it can become one of the easiest things you teach, because your students will be the ones taking the lead and doing most of the work. A classroom carnival is true project-based learning at its finest. What is more authentic than actually putting on a full carnival and learning all the skills throughout the process?
Let’s get started on how to put on a classroom carnival! Grab your ticket and enjoy the ride.
Inspire
Once you announce to your class that you’ll be working together to put on a classroom carnival, you will hear excited “Ooohs” and “Ahhs,” cheering, and maybe a “Yes!” or two. The word “carnival” is already awe-inspiring for students, but once the excitement wears off, it may seem like their ideas stall out like an old carousel.
That’s why I love showing my students all about Caine’s Arcade. It is the name of an inspiring story about a young boy named Caine Monroy from East L.A., California. In 2011, at just 9 years old, Caine used cardboard boxes and other recycled materials from his father’s auto parts shop to create an entire DIY arcade. He ingeniously crafted games like a basketball hoop and a claw machine, charging small fees for customers to play.
I show students the 10-minute mini-documentary all about his arcade. It is so neat to see Caine’s creativity and how his idea has sparked a craze of afterschool clubs, STEM projects, and scholarship opportunities.
Watch Caine’s Arcade here:
Just like Caine, students can dig deep for creativity and ingenuity and make something spectacular. In project-based learning, there are key characteristics that distinguish it from other pedagogy. The first characteristic of project-based learning is authenticity. This means that the project needs to lend itself to solving a real problem or creating a real venture, and this project definitely does that. Caine’s Arcade is an authentic example of inspiration as well.
Brainstorm
Once Caine’s Arcade inspires students, I have them do a little brainstorming. I give them the various jobs and roles they can have for putting on a carnival. From running a game to selling crafts, from putting on a parade to designing marketing materials, there’s a job for every student and their specific interests. As we explore these various jobs and what they entail, students’ ideas start to flow. I give students the option of working alone or working in a group. Because putting on an arcade is a project-based learning opportunity, choice is heavily encouraged.
As students choose their roles and choose how they want to go about it, there is still guidance that is needed or they may seem like carnival clowns with stage fright! Every student or group has certain requirements they must fulfill. No matter what job they choose, students have to create a display board, fill out the planning sheets, put together a booth, create their project (game, food, craft, fun house, etc.), display a kind attitude during the project and carnival, and complete a reflection sheet after the event.
As students brainstorm, they experience sustained inquiry, the second characteristic of project-based learning. Sustained inquiry is a continuous process of learning, developing, and applying information to answer problems. This characteristic of PBL is truly practiced in a carnival project.
Guidance through Graphic Organizers
Once the overall requirements are announced and reviewed, students have specific graphic organizers they fill out as they brainstorm, plan, and create. The graphic organizers guide students in the right direction, help them focus on the specific tasks their job entails, and ask them certain questions they may not have thought of such as, “What supplies are needed?”
*Speaking of supplies, a carnival will utilize a lot of craft materials, cardboard, construction paper, etc. This is why it’s important to send home a parent/guardian letter explaining the project and encouraging donations of supplies or even gift cards to Wal-Mart or Target to help pay for supplies. (If your school has a budget and utilizes your class carnival as a fundraiser, even better!)
Within the graphic organizers are math calculating sheets, in which students research the cost of supplies. For instance, if a student decides they want to run a food booth, they will then research the cost of their ingredients on the website of a local grocery store and calculate the total cost. Within every job, there’s an opportunity to incorporate math when calculating supplies.
Students continue to experience sustained inquiry which is the rigorous part of research, exploration, and application as they fill out graphic organizers. They also collaborate and experience choice. Collaboration can even be accomplished when a student chooses to work independently. They are still in a classroom full of peers and they can gain insight from a student that has a strength in a particular area they are exploring, discuss what they’re doing with a neighbor, and even collaborate with the teacher as well.
Create
Once the graphic organizers are filled out, students then get to work on the actual creation of their booth and their items, whether that’s a game, prizes, face painting menu, or tickets and flyers if they’re in marketing. This project takes about two weeks if one hour is dedicated each day to it. Of course, you must take into consideration the grade level and needs of your students.
The creation phase of the project can get messy, literally. Clean out a space in your classroom to house supplies. Don’t be afraid if your classroom transforms into a cardboard castle!
As students create and build their actual projects, the teacher is the facilitator. I would walk around the room and ask questions, inquire about the phase of creation the students are in, answer questions, problem-solve, put out fires, and more.
As students work through this phase of the project, keeping a daily journal about what was accomplished and will need to be accomplished helps students focus and break down their tasks. In this way, students are reflecting, critiquing, and revising, the fifth characteristic of project-based learning.
Put on the Carnival!
REWIND: Before beginning the project, work with your fellow teachers and principal to figure out what type of carnival this will be. Is it a grade-level carnival in which your class puts on the carnival and the other classes in your grade level will visit it for a fun afternoon? Will it be a whole-school carnival that raises money? Whatever type of carnival your class decides, when it’s about a week before putting it on, send out a letter to the carnival-goers explaining the logistics.
An example of a logistic that can be in the carnival-goer letter addresses tickets. When my particular school put on a carnival, a certain amount of dollars bought a certain amount of tickets that students could get to participate in the carnival. For instance, one dollar bought 20 tickets, and depending on the game, a student may pay 2-5 tickets to play. Deciding the ticket amount is addressed during the graphic organizer/plan phase when students figure out how many tickets to charge.
The last characteristic of project-based learning is presentation. Students’ presentations, in this case, involve the act of putting on the carnival and everything they planned for.
Reflection
Once the carnival is over, it’s important to reflect. In project-based learning, the fifth step is reflection and revision. As mentioned earlier, students will naturally reflect and revise as they think about their task. They will be able to reflect how best to design and create, change, and alter it to make it work. However, a final reflection is needed as well to think about what challenges they faced, what they learned, and what went well. This is why I always have students fill out a post-carnival reflection sheet.
Classroom Carnival Project-Based Learning Unit
If you are interested in putting on a classroom carnival, our project-based learning unit is a must-have. We have designed a FULL project-based learning carnival unit for the classroom. This unit includes all of the above-mentioned. Parent letters, graphic organizers, daily progress journal, and more. Let’s look at the list:
- Introductory PowerPoint inspired by Caine’s Arcade
- Comprehensive Lesson Plans & Directions
- Detailed Carnival Planning Sheets with Cost Calculations
- Price Boards
- Brainstorming Sheets
- History of Carnivals Article
- Daily Exit Slips
- Daily Progress Journal
- Final Rubric
- And more…
Conclusion
Putting on a classroom carnival is more than just a fun activity. It’s an incredible project-based learning opportunity for students to engage in meaningful, hands-on learning. They will remember it for years to come. By combining creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking, students gain hands-on experience in project management, math, and marketing, all while celebrating the joy of learning.
The excitement that comes from planning and executing a carnival fosters a sense of community and accomplishment. Students witness their hard work transform into a vibrant event. As you embark on this journey, remember that the process is just as valuable as the outcome. With the right resources and a little guidance, your classroom carnival can be a memorable adventure. Students will be inspired to think big and work together. So gather your materials, rally your students, and let the carnival festivities begin!
