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Kami Blog > Engaging Activities for High School Students

Inspiration

Engaging activities for high school students.

Student engagement strategies and active learning are key to learners bringing their best selves to the classroom. It’s important to use diverse fun activities in your lesson plan to maintain active learning. We’re here to help you make sure you don’t run out of ideas. Check out our engaging activities for high school students:

Here are 5 icebreakers to start the lesson

Have a daily riddle that the class solves before the lesson starts. They can break into small groups to brainstorm or call out answers for the whiteboard. Check out a collated list here to help you with riddle ideas.

Foster the habit of writing by giving a visual stimulus, such as an interesting photo, and asking your students to write something about it. Use this image generator to inspire the entire class and give them specific parameters about what you want to explore. Do this every day to develop their writing skills.

3. Discussion

Add all the questions you want to cover with your students to this editable spin wheel and give it a spin to start the class discussion.

4. Flash fiction

Flash fiction is about broad storytelling. Give your students a challenge to write a 6-word story. They can use any topic but stick to the parameters to introduce an idea, plot, and character. There are some fantastic examples here to get those creative juices flowing.

5. Human knot

This is a physical and fun activity to develop problem-solving skills. Ask the students to stand in a circle and join hands with two random people in the circle. This creates a human knot, and the goal is to untangle it. Make it competitive with larger groups by dividing students into smaller groups or pairs and seeing who can get untangled the fastest using those critical thinking skills!

10 Classroom activities to engage students

Now that everyone has warmed up review the below teaching strategies to spice up some learning activities with these ideas.

1. Host a Jeopardy quiz!

If you’re a fan of the tv show then put that fandom to good use and host a quiz on the topic you’re studying. This activity is ideal for when high school students need to get ready for a big test. Studies have shown that students that are quizzed are more successful. They can revise with index cards so they are really familiar with the topic beforehand. Divide the class up into two teams and draw a Jeopardy-style game on the board with titles based on the topics that will be covered in the test and quiz. Just like in the television show, each category should have points for each level of question. Keep it simple with 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25-point question levels. Give each team a buzzer from a board game or a bell for answering. The teams should consult with each other before buzzing in with an answer.

2. Play Guess Who

Learning who is who from history can get overwhelming so use this teaching strategy to help. Put those problem-solving skills to good use in history class (or others!). Describe a time, place, or person from history with only three clues. The entire class has to try to figure out who or what you are referring to, then race to the whiteboard to write the answer. The students can use their history books or clues around the room if they need to.

3. Journalling

Develop creative writing skills by asking each student to write a journal entry from someone else’s perspective. There are many famous diarists who provide key insight into life through history. You could allocate a different diary entry for each student and then ask them to read it in front of the class. For example, if studying the civil war you could allocate students to write as if they were soldiers, civilians, politicians, etc.

4. Entry tickets …and exit tickets

Put a stack of index cards next to your classroom door and write a question on the board. When your students come into class, hand out index cards, write down an answer to the question and hand it in —as their “entry ticket” to class.

The question should be something related to the day’s lesson, like “after last night’s homework assignment, what do you think about X?” or “after studying the material for today’s class, what are some areas you still need clarification on?”

Not only does this activity get your students engaged and interacting from the minute they walk into the classroom, but it also gives you valuable insights you can use to guide the day’s lesson plan.

When your students are getting ready to leave for the day, have them do the same thing—just with exit tickets (use Kami’s templates).

The same concept applies. Ask them a question about the day’s lesson, any questions they might have, or overall feedback—then collect their ticket before they head home. Reviewing their exit tickets will help you figure out where to adjust your lesson plan for the following day.

5. Brainstorming

Group brainstorming sessions are a great way to bring your students together to engage with whatever they’re learning. Instead of thinking about the topic alone at their desk, they get to expand their ideas with other students in small groups, which will help them be more engaged and gain a new perspective on the lesson. This is a fun way to develop helpful skills for high school students, especially around class discussion. Use Kami’s brainstorming worksheets for this activity idea.

6. Debate-style activity

Most students will have a view of what you’re learning. Use this to your advantage and create a school activity of debating the merits or detractions of whatever you are learning about. This is a good way to engage critical thinking skills as the best debaters will anticipate what the other person might say and be prepared. Get them to write down their main points on pieces of paper ahead so they can practice and be prepared for the debate. This can be done in front of the whole class and you can change the debaters each week.

7. Thumbs up / thumbs down

Thumbs up / thumbs down is a hands-on fun way to monitor if your students are following a story. Tell students to put their thumbs up if they agree with a statement or to put their thumbs down if they disagree. When students have a low energy level (maybe right after lunch?) Stand Up/Sit Down may be a better alternative.

8. Create a video lesson plan

Social media is a part of students’ lives, and those skills in making videos can be really helpful. Flip the tables and ask the students to put together a lesson on the specific topic. Ask the students to put together a video, and perhaps instigate a challenge to include certain vocabulary words you’re written on the whiteboard. This is a fun hands-on activity that could produce some great learning resources.

9. Think pair share

Think pair share can be used for a variety of topics; math problems, science processes, and reading. If you ask an open-ended question ask the students to think about it, then put them into small groups and let them discuss. Then ask all the students to contribute to the classroom discussion and share their thoughts in front of the class.

10. Roll the dice

High school students really respond to their learning when they feel engaged and part of it. Why not write down all the activities that you might have planned and number them? Then ask a student to roll the dice. Whatever number they roll is the activity you do for that lesson. You provide students with some potential impact on how they learn.

Student engagement strategies are a fun way to get the students learning and keep them engaged as their attention span might wane through the day (as might yours). It’s great to have lots of varied ways to engage the brain, body, and spirit. Please let us know on socials how you get on!

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9 end of the year activities for high school students

by mindroar | Nov 7, 2021 | blog | 0 comments

Are you facing down the end of the academic year with your high school students? Your students are probably tired, disengaged, and basically itching to get out of school?

And you are probably feeling stressed, overwhelmed, and also itching to finish all that marking before your break too!

Today we have nine end of the year activities for high school students. In this list, you are bound to find something that is a salve to that itch, for you and your students.

1. Adulting 101

The first activity we have today is awesome. No joke. Want to know what it is? This End of Year Activities for High School Students activity by OCBeachTeacher

It’s FREE and is perfect because it has several end of the year activities for high school seniors. Because they really dgaf about school right now.

But show them some activities where they have to think about their lives beyond school and you’ll have them hooked.

The download includes a student self-assessment of their adulting skills, writing prompts for real-world problems such as roommate problems, and an interview with an alumni/alumna.

2. Surviving Senioritis

The second of our end of the year activities for high school seniors is this Poetry Activities, Surviving Senioritis & End-of-Year, Traditional & Digital product by Julie Faulkner.

This bundle includes activities and projects for the following six poems:

• “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” Dylan Thomas
• “An Indian Walks In Me” By Marilou Awiakta
• “Walking Away” By C. Day-Lewis
• “If You Forget Me” By Pablo Neruda
• “The Dash” By Linda Ellis
• “Live Like You Were Dying” sung by Tim McGraw

The mini-unit covers the six poems over six lessons and can be used either in-class or digitally (using Google classrooms). It also includes printable versions of the poems and links to audio or visual versions of the poem.

3. Senior survival guide

The third of our end of the year activities for high school seniors is this End of Year Senior Survival Guide by Mr C Spills the Tea. This activity bundle has six activities for senior students to complete, including:

• Letter to a junior (year 11 student)
• Teacher tips
• Hashtag trending
• Overcoming obstacles
• Playlist essentials

The project is designed to be a ‘Senior Survival Guide’ booklet that a senior student completes and gives to a student entering their final year.

4. Last week of school activities

This product by The Daring English Teacher is a great end of year activity for high school students. But, it is geared towards younger high school and upper middle school students. The bundle includes fifteen activities to help students reflect on their year.

Included in this bundle of fun end of the year activities for high school students are:

• class survey
• class pennant banner (bulletin board banner activity)
• summer coloring page
• snapshot project
• my favorites of the year
• social media reflection
• survival list
• classroom commercial
• letter to incoming students
• letter to my future self
• thank you letter
• story rewrite
• classroom quilt (bulletin board activity)
• find someone who
• plot diagram

These activities are great because some give you feedback on how your students felt about your class and some give tips to students in your future classes.

Other activities encourage students to reflect on favorite memories from class and to thank those who have helped them throughout the year.

5. Escape room

In this fun end of year activity for high school students, students have to escape the room by completing six different secret missions. Created by The SuperHERO Teacher, this escape room focuses on encouraging a grown mindset, career readiness, and mindfulness.

Students have to complete six secret missions and tasks include:

• Creating a team mission statement and completing mazes and letter unscrambles
• Growth mindset vocabulary crossword puzzle and letter unscramble
• Comprehension questions based on an information text about Mona Patel and a blackout poetry task
• Analyzing three candidates for an art teacher job by looking at their cover letters and resumes and then answering riddles task
• Devising a solution to a ‘worst case scenario’ prompt and escaping, then using Morse Code to answer a riddle
• Student read about famous failures and anser questions, then use a Cipher Wheel to anser a final riddle

6. End of year games

These end of the school year activities for high school students were created by Carla McLeod. They are fun, engaging, and FREE!

Activities include:

• teacher appreciation/apology letters
• student-generated summer reading lists
• personal theme song activities
• end-of-year celebration ideas and more

7. End of year movies

Let’s face it – we’ve all been there. You have a hundred papers to mark, grades to enter, and a rapidly diminishing period of time to do it in. Don’t feel guilty , use a movie.

English with Ease has created these fun end of year activities for high school students that are common core aligned. The product includes 20 educational videos and 38 ELA task cards that are cover common core skills.

Included are:

• 20 educational video links to access the videos
• movie summaries and suggested activities for each movie
• 38 ELA Movie Test Prep task cards/powerpoint slides for each movie – each task card has a movie-based reading response prompt to be answered in paragraph or essay form, 5-point writing checklist/grading rubric, brainstorming section, and final draft section

Not only does this product help you keep students engaged in those final few classes, but it also helps them practice important common core skills. Bonus: it gives you some time to get that grading done!

8. End of year growth mindset reflection

Another fun end of the year activity for high school students is my product . This fun visual worksheet encourages students to think about the goals (academic or personal) that they have reached or missed during the year.

It also encourages students to think about why they may have reached or missed goals and what they can do differently next time.

The worksheets also ask students to reflect on the poems and texts they have studied during the year, and to think about which have stuck with them and why.

9. End of year fun activities

Career and Employment Prep has created a bundle of these end of the year activities for high school students. Included in the bundle are the following fun activities:

• a personal infographic
• an escape activity
• a year-end reflection card set
• and rebus puzzles

Another great idea to tackle that end of the year blah disengagement is to review skills your students didn’t quite get.

Great skills to review are those that they use in every subject – study skills and research skills.

See here to find out my favorite way to review study skills and here for a fast and easy way to review research skills.

13 Effective Brain Breaks for High School Students to Help them Refresh and Recharge

From my personal experience, high school years were challenging, and I was eager to leave them behind. This motivated me not to let my students feel the same way. I wanted them to enjoy their time at school by incorporating periods for relaxation and fun, which inspired me to write this article. The aim is for other teachers to read this and decide to include these breaks in their curriculum, offering students globally a more enjoyable experience than ours. By adding this small gesture to our lesson plans, I believe we can significantly enhance the mental health and well-being of future generations.

Brain breaks in our high school library pic.twitter.com/uDvRWJ7pmf — Krista Berger (@NBHSLibrarian) December 18, 2023

Below, I will tell you about 13 different brain break activities that I recommend starting with…

1. Activity Pages

2. would you rather game, 3. quiet ball activity.

Materials needed: A soft ball (like a foam or beach ball) that is easy to catch and throw.

The Quiet Ball Activity requires only a soft ball, such as a foam or beach ball, that is easy to catch and throw, making it a low-difficulty but engaging activity. The essence of this game lies in its combination of physical activity and the challenge of maintaining silence. Students are tasked with tossing the ball to each other quietly, with the primary objective of keeping the noise level to a minimum. Talking, throwing the ball too hard, or dropping it results in elimination from the game, and the last person standing is declared the winner.

4. The Atom Game

5. order game, 6. four corners, 7. back writing activity, 8. card tricks, 9. dance and music party, 10. rhythm activity, 11. figure eight game, 12. relay race, 13. short full-body workout, what is a brain break, benefits of high school brain breaks.

Even high school students enjoy @GoNoodle for brain breaks! ? @fortheluvoflang @YOUR_WCHS pic.twitter.com/YAvbXFyAtf — Christa Rinehold (@crinehold) September 16, 2019

15 Back-to-School Activities for Middle and High School

It’s time to go back to school! With the back-to-school season upon us, it is time to start planning back-to-school activities for the first week of school. Here are 15 engaging and fun first-day and first-week school activities for middle and high school students.

1. Student survey

After my students complete this survey, I keep them behind my desk organized alphabetically by class period in a binder. This survey is also included in my Back-to-School Stations and my  Back to School Activities for Secondary ELA pack .

2. One-word project

A one-word project is a fun and simple way to start the school year. I use 4×6 notecards and have students think of just one word they want to embody their school year. I provide students with markers and other art supplies and encourage students to fill out the entire card.

3. Stacking cup challenge

Have you ever played the stacking cup challenge? It is a fun way to encourage teamwork and collaboration. I usually complete this challenge toward the beginning of the school year. You can read more about my Teambuilding Tuesdays in this blog post .

4. Classroom quilt

When building a classroom community, one way to include everyone is to make a classroom quilt and display it on the walls. Everyone receives a quilt square, and then students decorate their squares with things that are important to them. The classroom quilt activity is available as a stand-alone resource or included in my Back to School Activities for Secondary ELA pack .

5. Classroom welcome slides

Another great way to welcome students into the classroom is by creating a welcome slide deck. Each student contributes their own slide to the deck, and once the final presentation is complete, you can share the deck with the classroom. I created this back-to-school activity as a way to help my students get to know one another.

6. Back-to-school stations

This resource includes four different stations that are absolutely perfect for the middle school and high school English classroom! In this activity, students will complete a survey, set up all of their class accounts, review the course syllabus, and complete a fun reading recommendations.

7. Growth mindset escape room

Escape rooms are always a fun and engaging activity to get students collaborating! From my experience, students are 100 percent engaged in the activity on escape room days. This growth mindset escape room is a great activity for the first week of school. It helps students learn about a growth mindset and includes famous failures as well!

8. Name cards

I don’t know about you, but I don’t always memorize my 180 students’ names during the first week of school. It is just….really challenging with such big class sizes. One way to help learn students’ names and more information about them is to have students complete a name card or a nameplate. Students write their names in the center in large, bold text. Then, they write one thing about them or one interest in each corner.

9. Growth mindset activities

This growth mindset resource includes a growth mindset survey, class exit tickets, assignment reflection forms, and so much more! You’ll be able to use this resource throughout the entire school year!

10. Letter to yourself

Having students write a letter to their future selves is another great way to start the year. Just like with the one-word project, you can provide students with a large notecard and have them write the letter to themselves on it. Better yet, have them write their letter on the backside of the one-word project and have them turn it into a postcard.

11. Class contract

Students perform best when they feel seen and heard. One way to start the school year is to create a class contract together. As a class, discuss what classroom rules and policies seem most fair, along with which ones will help students succeed. Yes, you’ll have some students suggest unlimited time on phones and complete access to music at all times in class, but this is a good time to teach students about digital citizenship and smart and responsible use of technology.

12. Email etiquette

I teach my students the ins and outs of email etiquette and how to write a professional email using this email etiquette lesson . My students love the presentation for the direct instruction portion of the lesson, and I love the emails I receive later in the year.

As an added bonus, my teacher inbox is a much friendlier place now!

13. Growth mindset banner

I really love decorating my classroom with my students throughout the year. One really great way to do that is by having students help create colorful decorations from day one! This free growth mindset banner is a perfect way to celebrate your new students and their aspirations!

14. Writing a personal statement

15. Classroom syllabus scavenger hunt

Finally, an enjoyable way to help students review the syllabus without boring them is by completing a classroom syllabus scavenger hunt. Rather than read the syllabus aloud with students, I have them complete a scavenger hunt by finding key information, like “do I accept late work?” “what is the restroom policy?” and things like that. Students find and write the critical information, and the students keep the scavenger hunt page in their binders. I have a classroom syllabus scavenger hunt activity available in my  back-to-school stations .

These are fantastic! The personal slides are not free when I click on them. Just thought you may want to know! Thanks for the freebies!

Hi. Thanks for letting me know. That was a free-during-Covid activity. I updated the blog post.

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42 English Activities For High School: Challenges, Writing Practice, Games, Discussions, And Resources

March 27, 2024 //  by  Jill Webb

Are you an English teacher looking for learning games and activities to help enliven your English language arts teaching? We know that sometimes teenage students can easily lose interest. So, don’t be a boring teacher—bring a few unique ideas into your lessons to keep them invested! Below is a list of fun and creative activities for high school students. It includes a variety of English language learning experiences—from poetry to writing and more! If you’re ready to engage your students while helping them increase their language skills, read on!

1. Paint Chip Poetry

This is a fun activity that’s easy to understand and set up. This game will challenge your students to use paint names to create beautiful pieces of poetry. A mix of paint chips, poetry prompts, and “variation cards” to keep things interesting makes for a unique way for your kids to experiment with words and poetry. It’s also great to add to your classroom party game stash!

Learn More: Amazon

2. Figurative Language Challenge

You already know that nothing beats repetition when it comes to helping your high schoolers grasp new concepts—but coming up with new ways to practice concepts can be time-consuming! This bundle includes simple challenges to get your students practicing different types of figurative language; it includes metaphors, similes, alliteration, and more. Editable worksheets and slides review the concepts for your learners—then, they task them with developing their own examples. These activities are great for inclusion classes because they work in stations.

Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers

3. Six-Word Memoirs

This writing activity sounds simple but is deceptively challenging: writing six-word memoirs. Explain to your students that briefer writing demands greater attention to each word. Then, reinforce this lesson by having them each write their own memoir—in only six words! This activity is an innovative writing challenge, a hands-on introduction to memoirs, and a surefire way to get to know your teens and help them connect with each other. Plus, you can display their final creations along with corresponding images of their choosing. 

Learn More: Six-Word Memoirs

4. The Break-Up Letter

Need a clever and relatable creative writing exercise ? Try this letter-writing activity with a hilarious twist. Rather than write a typical letter, your students will be asked to write a break-up letter! These printable prompts are a perfect way to get your teens thinking about how well they explain themselves in their writing.

Learn More: Presto Plans

5. Pop Sonnets

Here’s a fun way to fill some extra time with your teens—while also reinforcing their understanding of Shakespearean language. This clever book is full of familiar pop songs—rewritten the way Shakespeare might have penned them! “Translating” lyrics they already know will help your high schoolers practice and better grasp the language in Shakespeare’s plays.

6. Listening Skills

We all know it’s important to teach young kids how to listen; it can be easy to forget that your high schoolers still need guidance and practice to be good listeners! Be sure to emphasize this essential school and life skill with your teens—this blog post gives some concrete, tangible ways to teach and encourage active listening skills. Challenge your students to honestly complete a self-assessment of their own listening skills. Then, use these exercises to work together to improve their scores!

Learn More: The Secondary English Coffee Shop

7. Reading Bingo

A lot of the activities on this list are about class and group work—but there’s no getting around the value of good old-fashioned independent reading. Gamify your teens’ reading by distributing Bingo cards. Then, offer a prize for the first student to read all the books on the card or in a certain pattern! All you need to do is edit the cards to match your readers’ level and let the competition begin!

Learn More: Spark Creativity

8. Poetry Slam

Poetry can get a bad rap in high school—help your students get more engaged by making sure they know it’s not all love poems and sonnets! A poetry slam is an ideal way to expose your teens to a new medium. Inviting your high schoolers to perform their works for the class helps build their confidence and gives them a voice. You’ll be surprised when you see the smooth-talking skills of your kids!

Learn More: Teacher of Vision

9. Truth or Dare Grammar

If you need an easy lesson plan to review grammar, look no further. This fun game for your teenage learners will help get them invested in grammatical skills! You—and your kids—already know how to play truth or dare. This editable version is grammar-themed and school-appropriate. It’s a perfect activity to pull out at the end of the day when you still want to reinforce your kids’ learning.

10. Book Spine Poems

Have you heard of book spine poetry? It’s exactly what it sounds like; your students can arrange the text they find on book spines to craft surprisingly insightful poems! All you really need is a collection of books, but these simple worksheets will help your kids organize their work without having to carry around a stack of books. If you don’t have enough books on hand for everyone, never fear—turn this into an online game and allow them to “hunt” for titles online!

11. Soccer Ball Questions

You don’t need to be in the hot seat with questioning skills when teaching a lesson! Make one of these Socratic soccer balls—just add question prompts to a regular soccer ball. When it’s time to get your teens to practice their Socratic questioning skills, all you need to do is have them roll the ball and pose a question based on the first prompt they see.

Learn More: Building Bo o k Love

12. Black-Out Poetry

Here’s another great activity for your lower-intermediate learners—this black-out activity will challenge your students to use a page of a book to create a poem by blacking out specific words. Surprisingly, the rigid constraints are a creative way to help your teens who may struggle to find inspiration or with writer’s block. If you have early finishers, ask them to find fun images to pair with their fresh poem.

Learn More: Arapahoe Libraries

13. Review Game

A quiz challenge is a great way to review all the material for key lessons. In this fun game your learners will play a “Let’s Make a Deal” game—based on the popular game show. You’ll act as the game show host and make deals with the teams. This downloadable resource includes editable elements so you can customize the game and prizes for your own classroom.

Learn More: The Hungry Teacher Blog

14. Balderdash

Balderdash is a class board game for a reason. This small-group game will get your high schoolers laughing as they try to trick each other with made-up definitions for uncommon words. It’s a fun, unexpected way to teach new vocabulary while getting your students thinking critically and creatively! You can use a regular version of the game or just create your own using online resources.

Learn More: Boardgame Geek

16. NYT Crossword

A classic—and much beloved—game in the US is the New York Times daily crossword! Did you know there’s also a student version? Printing off one of the puzzles is a great, no-prep language exercise for your more advanced English classes.

Learn More: The New York Times

17. Inklewriter

Inklewriter is an innovative tool that can be used to get your students working individually on their creative writing. The free app makes use of interactive writing—sort of like a classic Choose-Your-Own-Adventure story made high-tech. The prompts and questions will guide your teens while still challenging them to flex their creative muscles as they create their own unique stories. 

Learn More: Inkle Writer

18. Book Raffle

A book raffle tradition will help to get your lower-level class invested in reading—especially if your students don’t have many of their own books. All you’ll be doing is inviting your kids to compete for the chance to read specific books; creating excitement around a fundamental language activity in the process—independent reading! To get started, simply select a few books—they can be new or ones already in your class—and introduce them all to your learners. Then, your readers can enter their names in draws to win reading rights to their favorites. Once you have a few book raffles under your belt, feel free to modify the process to make it work for you and your teens!

Learn More: Brown Bag Teacher

19. Writing Prompts

Writing prompts are a classic classroom tool to jumpstart creative writing. Provide your students with this list of enticing prompts that are sure to help them produce literary genius. To get them started, you can let them pick their own from the list or assign them at random. Either way, you’ll have a low-prep way to get great results from your high school writers. 

Learn More: Small World

20. Vocab-Zee

This language-themed twist on the classic game of Yahtzee is a great rainy-day activity or sub plan for your class. Put your students in groups and provide them with copies of the game instructions. Then, they’ll take turns rolling the dice and performing vocabulary-based actions based on their roll. 

Learn More: Go Sadlier

21. Body Biographies

Help your pupils become masters of character analysis by assigning these eye-catching body biographies. Prompt your young writers to examine the different characteristics of each character—both tangible and intangible—and use them to create a character analysis. The visual aspect of the posters makes this activity more engaging than a written description and encourages your kids to search for different elements of character roles in the text. Not only will your students love doing this, but you’ll also be able to display their body biographies for reference. 

Learn More: Study All Knight

22. Podcast Pairings

Consider pairing relevant literary podcasts with your classroom texts/discussions. Introducing a different medium into your teaching toolbox is an excellent way to change up your methods and better engage auditory learners. These podcasts are sure to give your students different perspectives on the topics and ideas that are introduced and discussed in your classroom texts. 

Learn More: Building Book Love

23. Keyhole Book Scene

This is a clever visual way to emphasize the importance of different characters’ points of view. Having your students create a keyhole book scene gives you the opportunity to check your students’ understanding and comprehension of a story. Ask your learners to illustrate a scene from one of the texts they are reading—from the perspective of someone looking into the room through a keyhole. You can base the assignment on a specific character’s point of view or let your kids choose the perspective themselves. They should be encouraged to include different text elements and imagery to show what exactly the specific book scene “looked like” in their minds. 

Learn More: The Room Mom

24. Crime Stories

Have you ever considered engaging your high school literacy students with creepy crime stories? Your teens can pick a real-life criminal and use their investigative skills to determine motives and other crime components. Then, have them choose a medium—blog, podcast, research paper, etc.—to present their perspective. The real-world aspect makes these narratives particularly compelling—and your learners will be so engaged in the crimes that they won’t realize how much hard work and learning they’re actually doing!   

Learn More: Besp o ke ELA

25. Song Lyrics to Teach Paraphrasing

What teenager doesn’t love music? Here’s a great way to use this to your advantage! Print off lyrics to popular songs that your students will love. Then, challenge your kids to go through the lyrics and attempt to paraphrase what the song is saying, using their own words. This will help them get a better understanding of what their favorite songs are about as well as give them practice in their rewording skills.

Learn More: Mondays Made Easy

27. Selfie Fingerprint Poem

Poetry can be a tricky topic to introduce—and a particularly hard one to get your high schoolers excited about. With this fun fingerprint poem, your students can use colors and stanzas to create a poem that represents themselves and is as unique as their fingerprints. This is a great way to get your students excited about introducing themselves and things that they consider to be important. 

29. Funny Short Story Study

Looking for something to break up the heavier literary units you have planned this year? This diverse bundle of hilarious short stories is perfect for teaching your students short and sweet literary concepts such as sarcasm, irony, foreshadowing, etc. 

Learn More: Hopefully Home

30. Thought Bubble

Do your students need help delving into the thoughts of the characters you’re reading about? This simple thought bubble exercise will get your high schoolers engaged in deeper-level thinking. All they have to do is imagine what a character in a book, a short story, or even an image is thinking. Then, they can write it in a thought bubble on a sticky note. Getting into the habit of considering characters’ inner thoughts will encourage your readers to pay more attention to the text and make stronger connections with the stories.

Learn More: The Thinker Builder

31. Escape Rooms

Make learning fun for your high school English students by incorporating escape room activities in your classroom! You can download an escape room kit online that incorporates concepts from books your students are reading in class—or design your own! An escape room is an interactive way to encourage teamwork among your kids and enhance their understanding and application of the texts you’ve covered. 

Learn More: Teach Nouvelle

33. The What If Game

The what if game is sure to get your students’ creative juices flowing! This group activity is fun and easy to set up. You’ll start by dividing your learners into groups of four to five, giving every group three cups—one for characters, one for settings, and one for actions. The groups will begin by brainstorming examples for each category and placing them in the cups. Then the real fun begins! Have your kids take turns drawing papers, one from each cup, and combining them in “What if?” questions. The last step is to use their what if question as a story prompt, being sure to fully explore the character, setting, and action they’ve drawn. Your high schoolers will enjoy the mix of group brainstorming and individual writing—and produce their own literary masterpieces in no time!

Learn More: Bespoke Classroom

34. Hexagonal Thinking 

Hexagonal thinking is another dynamic group brainstorming activity—and a great way to help your students think critically about texts and make broader connections. After reading through a story with your class, separate your students into groups. Then, give each group a series of blank paper hexagons and have them fill in various themes, characters, quotes, and even simple drawings. Once they’re done, task your kids with working together to arrange the hexagons in a web—in a layout based on logical connections between the cards.

Learn More: Now Spark Creativity

35. Mock Trials 

Help your students examine a text through mock trials. After reading through a story, pick a student to be the prosecutor (or a group of students to be a team of prosecutors) and a student to be the defendant (or team of defendants). Give your kids time and tips for drafting their arguments, and then select a jury from their classmates. When everyone is ready, it’s time for the trial! You can be the judge, critiquing your students’ logic and powers of persuasion. Your teens will have so much fun playing their roles that they won’t even notice the preparation and research involved!

36. Graphic Essay

Looking to shake up your students’ essays? Graphic essays are a clever way to introduce visual elements into a traditional writing assignment. Your students will use pictures and symbols to convey certain portions of the story. It’s a helpful way to engage visual learners and encourage all your kids to think and express themselves in new ways. They’ll appreciate the chance to inject their work with their own creativity—and the break from normal essay writing! 

Learn More: Living in the Layers

37. Elements of Fiction Stations

Get your class up and moving around the room with these informative stations that teach the basic elements of fiction. At each station, your learners will delve deeper into elements of fiction such as setting, conflict, characters, point of view, and plot structure. You can have your kids visit these stations during certain time periods or even different class periods. 

Learn More: Hey Natayle

38. Figurative Language Tasting

Who doesn’t love to eat tasty snacks while learning? Get your students actively involved in your delicious and savory lesson using a few snacks. Explain to your kids that the objective of this lesson is to practice using different figurative language elements to describe both the taste and feelings of snacks. Then, let the fun begin! Distribute the snacks to your young gourmets—along with prompts that challenge them to describe the tastes using various types of figurative language. It’s sure to help your high schoolers develop a taste for descriptive writing!

Learn More: It’s Lit Teaching

39. Explode the Moment 

Are your kids having trouble expanding their thoughts and ideas during writing time? With this activity, your students will be challenged to expand or “explode” the moment they are writing about. For example, if your learner writes “The park was fun,” they’ll be prompted to explain the entire moment at the park, using sensory imagery. This is a relatable method to encourage your high schoolers to consider the “who, what, where, when” portions of their writing.

Learn More: Raise the Bar Reading

40. Figurative Language Sort

Even though this activity was created with younger children in mind, that doesn’t mean your high school students won’t be engaged and excited to participate. You’ll need to prepare for this activity by collecting some interesting pictures and writing sentences about them using different types of figurative language that you’ve studied in class. To begin, give your high schoolers (individually or in a small group) one of the pictures, along with the related sentences. Then, task them with categorizing the sentences based on the type of figurative language. Lastly, encourage those who finish quickly to come up with their own examples for each category!

Learn More: Teaching with a Mountain View

41. Movement in the Classroom

One way to make learning especially memorable for your students—and re-energize them if they need it—is to get them moving and actively participating in the engaging lesson. This doesn’t have to be complicated or require a lot of prep; you can find simple ways to add movement to work you’re already doing. For example, don’t just give your high schoolers a list of discussion questions; print out the questions and place them around your classroom. This will get your kids up and moving as they talk to each other! 

42. Literary Puzzle Pieces 

Sometimes a simple visual can give your students a new perspective on their work. Help them understand literary themes by comparing them to jigsaw puzzles—drive the point home by having them create their own paper puzzle pieces as they discuss the themes in your texts. First, put your high schoolers in small groups and give each group large paper puzzle pieces. Explain that each puzzle piece represents an element in your book; as they fill in the pieces they’ll be “solving the puzzle” of understanding your text. You can use this activity in different ways depending on the needs of your class, combining group discussion with independent work. It’s an ideal, hands-on discussion prompt to help your kids better grasp the subject material.

Learn More: Learning in Room 213

8 First Day of High School Activities to Get to Know Your Students

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The first day of high school is full of excitement and nerves for students and teachers alike. Teachers will be asking themselves how do I make my high school class fun? Students might be thinking what do you do on the first day of high school? You can put your students at ease right away by enthusiastically welcoming them to your class and greeting them at the door with a smile, an introduction, and a handshake.

The first day will inevitably involve some logistics, like going over the class rules and reviewing the course syllabi. However, you can make your students' introduction to your classroom stress-free and positive by adding these fun first-day-of-high school activities.

Would You Rather?

Help the teens in your class relax with a fun round of Would You Rather, the game in which you pit two choices against each other. Sometimes the choices are serious; other times they’re silly. Occasionally, neither is a good option, forcing students to choose the lesser of two evils.

Get started with these Would You Rather prompts. Would you rather...

• Live in the mountains or on the beach?
• Be a famous author or a famous musician?
• Have the ability to read minds or be invisible?
• Spend the day at an amusement park or the mall?
• Have a private jet or a fancy sports car?
• Live somewhere that is always warm and sunny, or somewhere that is always cold and snowy?

After you ask each question, instruct students to move to one side of the room if they’d choose the first option and the other if they’d prefer the second.

If you’d rather keep everyone in their seats, provide students with different color choice markers (e.g. colored paper plates, paint stir sticks, etc). Students hold up one color for the first choice and the other color for the second.

Two Truths and a Lie

Get to know your students and help them get to know each other with the classic icebreaker game Two Truths and a Lie. Tell the students to share two true facts and one lie about themselves. After a student shares their facts, the other students should guess which statement is actually a lie.

For example, a student might say, “I moved here from California . My birthday is in October. And, I have three brothers.” The other students then guess which of the three statements is untrue until the first student reveals that they are an only child.

You can start the game by sharing two truths and a lie about yourself, then go around the room until each student gets a turn. 

Letter to Yourself

Begin the school year with this introspective activity. Invite the students to write a letter to their future selves. Provide a list of questions, writing prompts , or sentence starters and instruct students to answer the questions in complete sentences. Try some of the following:

• I am wearing…
• My best friend is…
• What I’m looking forward to most this year is…
• What is your favorite subject?
• What are your favorite songs, TV shows, books, games, or music artists?
• What are your hobbies?
• What is your favorite way to spend your free time?

Provide envelopes so that students can seal their letters once they’re complete. Then, the students should turn in their sealed letters to you for safekeeping. Return the messages to the students on their last day of school .

Tell Me About Yourself

Get to know your students with an engaging questionnaire. Write five to ten questions—some lighthearted, a few thoughtful—on the board or provide a printed handout. Ask questions such as:

• What is one of your favorite memories?
• Are you an introvert or an extrovert ?
• What qualities does a great teacher have?
• How do you learn best (examples: quiet environment, hands-on, listening, reading)?
• If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Students should turn in their finished questionnaires to you. Use this activity as an opportunity to gain insight into their personalities.

Pop Culture Quiz

Take a break from the first-day-of-school stress with a pop quiz — a pop culture quiz.

In advance, create a list of 10-15 questions about current pop culture, from music to movies. Then, to begin the game, divide the class into multiple teams. Distribute paper and pens/markers or personal whiteboards to each team.

Stand at the front of the room and ask one question at a time. Give the teams time (30-60 seconds) to confer quietly about their answers. Each team should write down their final answer on a piece of paper. Once the time is up, ask each team to hold up their answer. Each team that answers correctly earns a point. Record the score on the board. Whichever team earns the most points wins.

Anonymous Responses

Create a sense of community and connection in your classroom through this activity. In advance, prepare one or two questions to ask the students. Here are some examples:

• What makes you most nervous about the new school year?
• What is one thing you wish everyone at school knew about you?
• What is your biggest goal this school year?

Write your question(s) on the board, and pass out an index card to each student. Explain that they should write down their answers without including their name, and assure them that their responses are completely anonymous (but that they will be shared with the group). Give the class five minutes to complete the activity. When time is up, instruct students to fold their cards once and place them in a basket or bin at the front of the room.

Once everyone has turned in their index cards, read the responses out loud. Many students may be surprised to find out how similar they are to their classmates. To extend the activity, moderate a brief discussion about the students' reactions to hearing their classmates' responses.

Teacher Multiple Choice Quiz

Give your students a chance to get to know you through a silly multiple choice quiz. To create the quiz, come up with a list of fun or surprising facts about yourself. Then, turn them into multiple-choice questions. Be sure to include some funny wrong answers.

After the students have finished the quiz, go over the correct answers and have the students "grade" their own quizzes. This activity often generates fun, engaging discussions, as many students are curious to hear the backstories behind some of the facts you included on the quiz.

Classmate Interviews

Divide the students into pairs and pass out a list of interview question prompts. Tell the students to be on the lookout for things they have in common. Then, give the students 10 minutes to interview their partners. When time is up, each student should introduce their partner to the class using the information they learned during the meeting. Each presentation should include a fun fact and a newly-discovered commonality.

This activity is an excellent way for students to get to know each other. In addition, many students find it less intimidating to speak to the class about someone else rather than themselves.

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15 Fun Poetry Activities for High School

April 8, 2019 //  by  Lindsay Ann //   3 Comments

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High School Students + Fun Poetry Activities

If you’re an English teacher, looking for fun poetry activities for high school or middle school students, I’ve got you covered. I’m opening up my poetry toolbox and sharing some of my favorite (and most successful) poetry games and activities!  Whether you’re looking for a stand-alone lesson or something more, there’s something here for everyone.

Pop Sonnets

The creation of pop sonnets is one of my favorite poetry activities to use in conjunction with the reading of a Shakespearean play, but it can be used as a stand-alone lesson. The hook is that modern-day songs have been turned into Shakespearean sonnets. You can study one of Shakespeare’s sonnets and ask students to modernize it. Then, work in reverse by re-working a modern-day song as a sonnet. Or, just use this as a “hook” to help students feel more comfortable with Shakespearean language.   Take a look and thank me later.

Songs as Poetry

Studying modern-day songs is a great way to teach about figurative language and poetic devices while studying poetry. Try reading the lyrics, but omitting or re-writing the metaphors and talking about the change in message/meaning. Look for examples of imperfect rhyme in one of Eminem’s cleaner songs. Study poems as paired texts . Analyze lines from a famous soundtrack. Ask students to bring in their favorite songs and discuss. So. Many. Options!

Here are 12 great songs to analyze if you aren’t sure where to start:

• “Across the Universe” by the Beatles
• “Angel” by Sarah McLachlan
• “Blank Space” by Taylor Swift
• “Chasing Pavements” by Adele
• “Infinity” by Mariah Carey
• “Stereo Hearts” by Gym Class Heroes
• “Counting Stars” by One Republic
• “It’s Time” by Imagine Dragons
• “Imagine” by John Lennon
• “Mad World” by Gary Jules
• “Zombie” by The Cranberries
• “Letter to Me” by Brad Paisley

Slam Poetry

Students need to know that poetry is not dead. It’s living. It’s breathing. It’s storytelling. It’s cool. In April, my classes come alive with the magic of slam poetry as students become authors and performers. They re-discover wonder and learn to let down their guard. They learn that there is intersectionality between their story and the stories of others. They are appreciated. They appreciate others. When I use this fun poetry activity for high school students , my classroom really becomes a true community.

Grab my slam poetry “mini” unit to get your students started with slam poetry!

Not sure which slam poems are school-appropriate and engaging? Here are 40 of my favorite slam poems !

Paint Chip Poetry

This poetry writing activity is FREE if you’re willing to grab some paint chips from your local hardware store, preferably ones with multiple colors in one. Or, Amazon sells an awesome paint chip poetry “game.”

• Have students use one of the color names as the title for a poem.
• Have students write poems in stanzas, using each of the color names as inspiration.
• Have students use all of the color names somewhere in a poem.
• Have students choose two contrasting colors and make a poem of contrasts.
• Have students choose two complimentary colors and make a poem.
• Have students choose a color and write an identity poem.

Blackout Poetry

This is an oldie, but goodie poetry writing exercise for high school students. Copy a page or two from a whole class novel. Or better yet, choose a completely divergent text, maybe a science textbook or page from a dictionary. Students string together words on the page to form a poem, and black-out the rest of the words. If they want to go above and beyond, they can create an original illustration to accompany their blackout poem.

Book Spine Poetry

Take your students to the library (or have them browse a site like Goodreads) and challenge them to create poems from book titles. Each title becomes a line in the poem. An optional challenge: have students choose (or randomly draw) a theme, and their poem has to relate to their chosen theme. If you’re looking for some FREE templates, I’ve got you covered: Click Here !  I created these templates as a quick fun poetry activity for high school sophomores after my librarian told me that having my classes pull so many books would be a pain to re-shelve.

Poetry Tasting

A lot of teachers are loving my reading progressive dinner stations . Poems are short and accessible texts that always rock when used with this activity.

Here are some options for poetry stations, a fun group poetry activity: 

• Choose a certain kind of poem or a certain poetic movement to explore at ALL the stations, i.e. the ghazal or Imagist poetry.
• Choose different kinds of poems or movements to explore at each station.
• Choose poems related to ONE thematic idea.
• Choose poems written by teenagers.
• Choose “famous” poems.
• Choose slam poems.

Poetry Transformations

If you’re studying word choice and tone in poetry, why not have students transform a poem, switching from one tone to another? Then, have students write a reflection analyzing why they made 4-5 important changes.

Found Poems

This poetry activity is exactly what it sounds like. Have students choose / cut-out words from magazines to form “found” poems. Or, have students listen to a TED talk or story, writing down a certain # of words they hear. Then, ask them to use these words + ones of their own to write an original poem.

Easter Egg Poems

If ’tis the season, you might as well use those plastic easter eggs you may have lying around. Put “poetry inspiration” in each egg. At the very least, I suggest a word or phrase. If you want to go “all-in,” create a combination of the items below:

• Random household objects, i.e. a piece of string, a bead
• Newspaper/magazine clippings
• Words/phrases
• Famous first lines
• A “mentor” poem, copied and folded up

Tell students that their challenge is to write a poem inspired by these objects. Or, if you prefer, have students incorporate words / ideas from each object in their poem.

Favorite Poem Project

If you’ve never seen the site “ Favorite Poem Project ,” I suggest checking it out as a poetry unit resource. The site’s goal is to interview a variety of different people about their “favorite poems.” In each short video, an individual shares a personal connection to his/her poem and reads the poem out loud.

After being a fan of this site for some time, I decided to have my students make their own “favorite poem” videos . They explored, chose a poem that they liked “best,” and created videos on Flipgrid discussing their thoughts about the poem and reading it aloud. These videos were then viewed by classmates. Everyone enjoyed this a lot!

Metaphor Dice

Poems as Mentor Texts

Using mentor texts for writing is a powerful strategy for poetry instruction, yet one that I find myself “skipping” because there isn’t time. I have to remind myself to “make” the time because it’s important. If we’re going to spend time analyzing texts, it only makes sense to have students try to use those writing moves in their own writing. After all, students should be writing frequently, and not always for an assessment grade.

Here are 12 great mentor poems if you’re not sure where to start:

• “ We Real Cool ” by Gwendolyn Brooks
• “ Montauk ” by Sarah Kay
• “ This is Just to Say ” by William Carlos Williams
• “ Mother to Son ” by Langston Hughes
• “ My Father’s Hats ” by Mark Irwin
• “ Chicago ” by Carl Sandburg
• “ Entrance ” by Dana Gioia
• “ My Father is an Oyster ” by Clint Smith
• “ If ” by Rudyard Kipling
• “ Ode to a Large Tuna in the Market ” by Pablo Neruda
• “ The Bean Eaters ” by Gwendolyn Brooks
• “ The Summer I Was Sixteen ” by Geraldine Connolly
• “ Where I’m From ” by George Ella Lyon (As a bonus, students can submit their poems to the “I am From” project. ) p.s. If you’re looking for ready-to-use templates,  here you go !

Magnetic Poetry

A fun activity to fill extra class time, or just for fun: magnetic poetry . Give each student (or pairs of students) a handful of magnetic poetry pieces. See what they come up with. Take pictures and display around the room.

Interactive Poetry Bulletin Board

Sort of like magnetic poetry, but with a twist, it’s fun to set-up an interactive bulletin board as a fun poetry activity for high school students to try before or after class. You can do this in several different ways.

• Poem of the day + a “feel-o-meter” for students to rate the poem on a scale from “mild sauce” to “hot sauce.” You can have students use push pins to vote.
• Large scale magnetic poetry + a bulletin board becomes “push pin poetry.” You choose the words. Students move them around to form poems.

Hey, if you loved this post, I want to be sure you’ve had the chance to grab a FREE copy of my guide to stream l ined grading . I know how hard it is to do all the things as an English teacher, so I’m over the moon to be able to share with you some of my best strategies for reducing the grading overwhelm. 

Click on the link above or the image below to get started!

About Lindsay Ann

Lindsay has been teaching high school English in the burbs of Chicago for 19 years. She is passionate about helping English teachers find balance in their lives and teaching practice through practical feedback strategies and student-led learning strategies. She also geeks out about literary analysis, inquiry-based learning, and classroom technology integration. When Lindsay is not teaching, she enjoys playing with her two kids, running, and getting lost in a good book.

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100 Extracurricular Activities for High School Students

By Eric Eng

Exploring extracurricular activities is a pivotal part of the high school experience. It offers students opportunities to discover their interests, develop new skills, and enhance their academic and personal growth. The list of 100 extracurricular activities for high school students serves as a guide to help students navigate the options available.

Whether you’re passionate about the arts, interested in science and technology, committed to community service, or eager to develop leadership skills , there’s something for everyone. Engaging in these activities enriches the high school journey and prepares students for future success in college admissions and beyond.

1. Math Club

• Field : Mathematics
• Overview : Engages students in advanced mathematical theories, problem-solving, and competitions such as Math Olympiad or AMC.
• Importance to College Admission : Demonstrates analytical skills, problem-solving ability, and a strong interest in mathematics, which is appealing for STEM programs.

As part of the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students, Math Club stands out as an engaging forum for students passionate about mathematics. Members come together to solve challenging problems , prepare for mathematics competitions, and explore advanced topics not covered in the standard curriculum.

2. Science Club

• Field : General Science
• Overview : This club explores various scientific disciplines through experiments, guest lectures, and participation in science fairs or competitions like the Science Olympiad.
• Importance to College Admission : Shows a passion for science, collaborative research skills, and initiative in scientific inquiry, which are valuable for students pursuing STEM fields.

Within 100 extracurricular activities for high school students, the Science Club offers a dynamic platform for students interested in exploring science’s vast and diverse fields beyond the classroom setting. Activities include conducting experiments, guest lectures from professionals in scientific careers, and field trips to science museums or research labs.

3. Science Olympiad or Fairs

• Field : Science Research and Competition
• Overview : Participating in science competitions or conducting research projects to present at science fairs.
• Importance to College Admission : Strong aptitude for scientific research, critical thinking, and innovative problem-solving.

Science Olympiads or Fairs are pivotal in the spectrum of 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. They provide a competitive arena where students can showcase their scientific knowledge and innovative projects. Participants work individually or in teams to conduct research, design experiments, and present their findings on various scientific topics.

4. Debate Team

• Field : Debate and Public Speaking
• Overview : Prepares students for competitive debate on a range of topics, fostering skills in research, argumentation, and eloquent public speaking.
• Importance to College Admission : It indicates critical thinking skills, a commitment to understanding complex issues, and engagement in civil discourse.

The Debate Team is a cornerstone among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students, offering a structured environment for students to hone their public speaking, critical thinking, and argumentation skills. Members engage in structured debates on current events, ethical dilemmas, and various contentious issues, learning to construct coherent arguments and rebuttals

5. Model United Nations (MUN)

• Field : International Relations
• Overview : Simulates UN conferences, where students learn about diplomacy, international relations, and the art of negotiation and compromise.
• Importance to College Admission : Reflects global awareness, leadership, and public speaking skills, highly regarded by colleges, especially for students interested in political science or international affairs.

Model United Nations (MUN) is a distinguished activity among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. It simulates the UN General Assembly, Security Council, or other multilateral bodies. Students assume the roles of diplomats, researching and formulating the political positions of the countries they represent.

6. Robotics Club

• Field : Engineering and Technology
• Overview : Offers hands-on experience designing, building, and programming robots for competitions like FIRST Robotics.
• Importance to College Admission : Demonstrates technical proficiency, teamwork, and innovative thinking, appealing to engineering and computer science programs.

Among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students, the Robotics Club provides a hands-on experience where students design, build, and program robots to complete tasks or compete in challenges. This club combines engineering, computer science, and mathematics principles, fostering teamwork, problem-solving skills, and creativity.

7. Environmental Club

• Field : Environmental Science
• Overview : Promotes sustainability and conservation through school and community projects, awareness campaigns, and participation in environmental competitions.
• Importance to College Admission : Shows a commitment to environmental issues, leadership in community engagement, and the pursuit of solutions to global challenges.

The Environmental Club stands out among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students by promoting sustainability and environmental awareness within the school and the broader community. Activities may include organizing recycling programs, leading conservation projects, and advocating for environmental policies.

8. History Club

• Field : History and Social Studies
• Overview : This club encourages exploration of history through discussions, film screenings, museum visits, and participation in competitions like National History Day .
• Importance to College Admission : Indicates a strong interest in understanding historical contexts and events, critical thinking, and research skills.

Within the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students, the History Club offers enthusiasts a chance to delve deeper into historical events, figures, and eras that shape our world. Students enrich their understanding of the past through discussions, film screenings, museum visits, and participation in historical simulations or competitions.

9. Academic Decathlon

• Field : Multidisciplinary Academic Competition
• Overview : This is a team competition that tests knowledge across ten disciplines, including art, economics, music, and science.
• Importance to College Admission : Shows well-rounded academic strengths, teamwork, and dedication to intellectual growth across various subjects.

The Academic Decathlon is a prestigious multidisciplinary competition featured among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. It challenges participants in ten categories: art, economics, music, science, and social science. This competition promotes academic excellence, encourages teamwork, and allows students to excel in diverse intellectual pursuits.

10. Computer Science Club

• Field : Computer Science and Coding
• Overview : This club engages students in learning programming languages, developing software projects, and competing in hackathons or coding competitions.
• Importance to College Admission : Highlights technical skills, logical thinking, and a passion for technology, appealing to colleges with strong computer science programs.

The Computer Science Club is vital among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students, catering to those interested in exploring computing technologies, programming, and digital innovation. Members engage in coding projects, software development, and cybersecurity exercises, often participating in coding competitions and hackathons.

11. Literature Club

• Field : Literature and Writing
• Overview : Provides a forum for discussing literature, sharing writing, and participating in writing contests.
• Importance to College Admission : Reflects strong reading and writing skills, creativity, and a deep appreciation for literary works, attractive to liberal arts programs.

Literature Clubs are a vibrant component of the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. They invite those with a passion for reading and discussing literary works. Members dive into novels, poetry, and plays from various genres and periods, fostering a community of readers who share interpretations and critical analyses.

12. Economics Club

• Field : Economics and Finance
• Overview : Students explore economic theories and market trends and participate in simulations like the Stock Market Game or economics competitions.
• Importance to College Admission : Demonstrates an understanding of economic principles, analytical skills, and an interest in business or finance careers.

Among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students, Economics Clubs offer students an insight into economic theory, financial literacy, and current events affecting the global economy.

Through discussions, simulations, and competitions like the Stock Market Game, members apply economic concepts to real-world scenarios, developing a deeper understanding of economic principles and decision-making processes critical for informed citizenship and potential careers in business and finance.

13. Chess Club

• Field : Strategy and Critical Thinking
• Overview : This club offers students the chance to learn and play chess, improve their strategic thinking and problem-solving skills, and compete in tournaments.
• Importance to College Admission : It demonstrates intellectual engagement, strategic planning abilities, and a competitive spirit, showcasing a student’s ability to think critically under pressure.

Chess Club is a strategic and intellectually stimulating activity within the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students, challenging members to think several moves ahead and outmaneuver their opponents. This club fosters critical thinking, patience, and strategic planning, with opportunities for competition at various levels.

14. Art History Club

• Field : Art and Cultural Studies
• Overview : Explores art history through discussions, museum visits, and analysis of various art movements and works, enriching students’ understanding of cultural contexts.
• Importance to College Admission : Reflects a student’s interest in art and culture, analytical skills in interpreting artistic works, and a broadened worldview, appealing to liberal arts colleges .

Art History Club enriches the cultural and educational experiences among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students by exploring the history and appreciation of visual arts. Members engage in discussions about different art movements, famous works, and the impact of art on society and culture.

15. Astronomy Club

• Field : Astronomy and Space Science
• Overview : This club engages students in stargazing events, discussing space exploration and the universe, and participating in related competitions or projects.
• Importance to College Admission : Indicates curiosity about the universe, analytical skills, and participation in science outside the traditional classroom setting, valued by STEM programs.

Astronomy Club offers a gateway to the universe for students interested in stars, planets, and galaxies, making it a unique offering among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. Members explore the mysteries of the cosmos through telescope observations, visits to planetariums, and discussions on the latest space discoveries.

16. Business Club/ Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA)

• Field : Business Skills and Leadership
• Overview : Prepares students for careers in business through educational competitions, leadership development, and networking opportunities.
• Importance to College Admission : Demonstrates leadership potential, understanding of business principles, and an interest in entrepreneurship or business management.

The Business Club/Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) stands out in the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students as a premier organization for those interested in pursuing careers in business.

Through workshops, competitions, and leadership development programs, FBLA members gain practical business skills, network with professionals, and explore entrepreneurial opportunities, preparing them for success in the business world.

• Field: Business/Marketing
• Overview: DECA prepares emerging leaders in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management through competitions and projects.
• Importance to College Admission: Demonstrates business acumen, leadership in marketing projects, and an entrepreneurial mindset.

DECA is an integral part of the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. It focuses on preparing emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management. DECA members develop business acumen and professional skills through competitive events, community service, and leadership opportunities.

18. Investment Clubs

• Field : Finance and Investment
• Overview : Simulating stock market investing, learning about financial markets, and guest speakers from the finance industry.
• Importance to College Admission : Demonstrates understanding of economics and finance, analytical skills, and leadership in organizing events.

Investment Clubs are an integral part of the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students, designed for those interested in the stock market and investment strategies. Members learn about financial literacy, portfolio management, and economic principles through simulations and real-world investment exercises.

19. Journalism Club/School Newspaper

• Field : Journalism and Media Studies
• Overview : This position involves researching, writing, and publishing articles for the school newspaper, as well as developing skills in writing, editing, and understanding media.
• Importance to College Admission : Shows strong writing skills, the ability to meet deadlines, and engagement with the school community, appealing to programs in journalism, media, or communications.

Journalism Club/School Newspaper provides a voice for the student body and a vital learning experience within the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. Members practice journalistic writing, editing, and interviewing, covering school events, issues of interest, and news.

20. Philosophy Club

• Field : Philosophy and Critical Thinking
• Overview : This club provides a space for students to discuss philosophical questions, theories, and thinkers, enhancing their critical thinking and debate skills.
• Importance to College Admission : Reflects intellectual curiosity, the ability to engage with complex ideas, and strong argumentation skills, which are valuable for various academic fields.

Philosophy Club invites students to ponder life’s big questions, making it a thought-provoking choice among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. Through discussions on various philosophical topics and thinkers, members explore different worldviews, ethics, and the nature of reality.

21. Photography Club

• Field : Visual Arts and Photography
• Overview : This club allows students to explore photography techniques, participate in photo shoots, and showcase their work, fostering creativity and technical skills.
• Importance to College Admission : Demonstrates artistic talent, a keen eye for detail, and the ability to engage in and complete creative projects.

Photography Club captures the world through the lens, offering a creative outlet among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. Members learn about photography techniques, composition, and digital editing, sharing their work through exhibitions and publications.

22. Biotechnology Club

• Field : Biotechnology and Life Sciences
• Overview : This course introduces students to concepts in biotechnology through experiments, guest lectures, and projects, encouraging exploration of the life sciences.
• Importance to College Admission : Shows a passion for science, particularly in cutting-edge fields, project teamwork, and a proactive approach to learning beyond the curriculum.

Biotechnology Club stands at the intersection of biology and technology, providing a unique educational experience among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. Members explore the latest genetic engineering, cloning, and medical innovations through experiments, guest lectures, and field trips.

23. Engineering Club

• Field : Engineering and Design
• Overview : Engages students in hands-on projects that apply engineering principles, often involving designing, building, and testing structures or devices.
• Importance to College Admission : Demonstrates practical application of STEM skills, creativity in problem-solving, and the ability to work collaboratively on projects.

Engineering Club offers practical, hands-on experience in designing and building projects, distinguishing it among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students interested in engineering disciplines.

Through collaborative projects, competitions, and workshops, members apply engineering principles, fostering creativity, problem-solving skills, and an understanding of the design process, which is crucial for future engineers.

24. Political Science Club

• Field : Political Science and Civic Engagement
• Overview : Explores political theories, current events, and civic responsibility through discussions, debates, and participation in simulations like mock elections.
• Importance to College Admission : Indicates an interest in governance and public policy, strong debate skills, and a commitment to civic engagement.

Political Science Club engages students with interests in government, politics, and current events, making it a vital part of the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. Through debates, discussions on political theory, and participation in simulations like mock elections, members gain insights into political processes and the importance of civic engagement, preparing them for active participation in democracy.

25. Psychology Club

• Field : Psychology and Social Sciences
• Overview : Allows students to explore psychological theories, conduct simple experiments, and discuss the impact of psychology on everyday life.
• Importance to College Admission : Shows curiosity about human behavior and social sciences, analytical skills, and the ability to apply theoretical concepts to real-world situations.

Psychology Club delves into the human mind and behavior, exploring the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. Members study psychological theories, conduct experiments, and discuss applications of psychology in everyday life.

26. Archaeology Club

• Field : Archaeology and History
• Overview : This course introduces students to archaeology through simulations, museum visits, and studies of ancient civilizations.
• Importance to College Admission : It reflects a student’s interest in history and archaeology, research skills, and desire to understand human history through material culture.

Archaeology Club unearths the past, providing a unique blend of history and science among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. Through simulated digs, study of ancient civilizations, and field trips to archaeological sites, members learn about the methods and discoveries of archaeology.

27. Creative Writing Club

• Field : Creative Writing and Literature
• Overview : Offers a supportive environment for students to share their creative writing, receive feedback, and participate in writing contests.
• Importance to College Admission : Demonstrates creativity, writing talent, and the ability to critique and improve based on feedback, appealing to programs in English, creative writing, or the arts.

Creative Writing Club is one of the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students that offers a sanctuary for aspiring writers. It provides a space to explore narrative, poetry, and other forms of creative expression. Through writing workshops, peer reviews, and publication opportunities, members refine their writing skills and find their unique voices.

28. Soccer Club

• Field : Team Sports/Athletics
• Overview : Involves training, teamwork, and competitive play in soccer, fostering physical fitness and strategic thinking.
• Importance to College Admission : Athletic participation demonstrates teamwork, leadership, and commitment. It can also lead to scholarship opportunities, especially if the student excels at the sport.

Soccer Club promotes athletic participation as a popular choice among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students, promoting teamwork, physical fitness, and sportsmanship. Members improve their soccer skills through practice, games, and tournaments while learning the value of teamwork and perseverance, essential traits for personal development and collaborative success.

29. Swimming Club

• Field : Individual and Team Sports/Aquatics
• Overview : This club focuses on developing swimming techniques, endurance, and speed, with opportunities for individual and team competitions.
• Importance to College Admission : Shows dedication, discipline, and the ability to manage time between sports and academic responsibilities. Exceptional talent can lead to athletic scholarships.

Swimming Club dives into physical fitness and competition, making waves among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. Members train to improve their swimming techniques, endurance, and speed, competing in swim meets and building a community of swimmers.

30. Track and Field Club

• Field : Athletics
• Overview : This course engages students in various track and field events, emphasizing individual performance, personal bests, and team contribution.
• Importance to College Admission : Highlights personal discipline, goal setting, and resilience. Colleges value athletes who can contribute to their track and field programs.

Track and Field Club races into 100 extracurricular activities for high school students, offering a range of athletic disciplines from sprints to long-distance running and field events. Athletes develop their skills, compete in meets, and strive for personal bests, embodying the spirit of competition and perseverance.

31. Basketball Club

• Overview : This activity involves regular practice, teamwork, and participation in games and tournaments, focusing on skill development and strategic play.
• Importance to College Admission : Demonstrates teamwork, leadership, and perseverance. Successful athletes may be recruited for college teams.

The Basketball Club is a dynamic part of the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. It offers an opportunity to develop teamwork, physical fitness, and competitive skills on the court. Students practice dribbling, shooting, and defensive strategies, participate in intramural games, and possibly compete against other schools.

32. Tennis Club

• Field : Individual and Team Sports/Racquet Sports
• Overview : This club offers training in tennis skills, strategy, and competitive play, with singles and doubles matches.
• Importance to College Admission : Shows individual commitment, strategic thinking, and physical fitness. Accomplished players may attract interest from college coaches.

Among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students, the Tennis Club is a fantastic way to engage in physical activity while learning the game’s nuances. Members improve their forehand, backhand, serve, and volley, all while understanding the importance of strategy in match play.

33. Cross Country Club

• Field: Endurance Sports
• Overview: Focuses on long-distance running, endurance-building, and team competition, emphasizing personal improvement and stamina.
• Importance to College Admission: Indicates strong personal discipline, the ability to work as part of a team, and dedication to physical and mental health.

The Cross Country Club stands out in the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students by offering an endurance-based team sport that emphasizes individual performance and team support. Through rigorous training, students develop stamina, speed, and mental toughness, competing in races that challenge their limits.

34. Volleyball Club

• Field: Team Sports
• Overview: Engages students in volleyball training and matches, emphasizing teamwork, communication, and strategic skills.
• Importance to College Admission: Demonstrates the ability to collaborate, communicate effectively, and commit to a team’s success, qualities valued by colleges.

Volleyball Club spikes interest as a part of the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students, where members can develop their volleyball skills, understand team dynamics, and participate in competitive play. The club provides a platform for students to work on serves, digs, and spikes, promoting physical health, coordination, and teamwork.

35. Rowing Club

• Field : Team Sports/Endurance Sports
• Overview : Focuses on rowing technique, teamwork, and physical endurance, often competing in regattas.
• Importance to College Admission : Indicates strong teamwork skills, commitment to physical fitness, and the ability to balance athletic and academic responsibilities.

Rowing Club has made it onto the list of 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. It emphasizes teamwork, endurance, and synchronization. Students learn rowing techniques, water safety, and the importance of unity as they train in single or crew boats.

36. Golf Club

• Field : Individual Sports
• Overview : This club focuses on developing golf skills, understanding the game’s rules and etiquette, and participating in tournaments.
• Importance to College Admission : Highlights patience, precision, and a long-term commitment to improving one’s skill set, appealing to colleges with golf programs.

Golf Club drives a unique niche within the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students, offering a chance to learn golf etiquette, techniques, and the game’s mental aspects. Students practice putting, driving, and strategizing on the course, competing individually while being part of a team.

37. Wrestling Club

• Field : Individual and Team Sports/Combat Sports
• Overview : Teaches wrestling techniques, discipline, and strength training, with opportunities for individual competition and team contribution.
• Importance to College Admission : Shows physical strength, mental toughness, and the perseverance to face challenges directly, qualities respected by many institutions.

Wrestling Club grapples with physical and mental discipline, making it a compelling choice among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. Participants learn various wrestling techniques, weight management strategies, and the value of resilience and determination.

38. Cycling Club

• Field : Individual and Team Sports/Endurance Sports
• Overview : Engages students in road cycling or mountain biking, focusing on endurance, technique, and sometimes competitive racing.
• Importance to College Admission : The candidate must demonstrate dedication to personal health, perseverance, and the ability to set and achieve long-term goals.

Cycling Club pedals into the diverse offerings of the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students, encouraging exploration, fitness, and environmental awareness. Members participate in group rides, learn about bike maintenance, and may compete in races.

39. Lacrosse Club

• Field : Team Sports
• Overview : Involves skill development, strategy, and competitive play in lacrosse, emphasizing speed, coordination, and teamwork.
• Importance to College Admission : Demonstrates athletic ability, teamwork, and commitment. Colleges with lacrosse programs may recruit strong players.

Lacrosse Club brings speed and strategy to the field as part of the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. Participants learn the fundamentals of the game, develop team strategies, and compete against other schools.

40. Cheerleading

• Field : Team Sports and Spirit
• Overview : This position combines gymnastics, dance, and stunts to support school sports teams, fostering team spirit, athleticism, and performance skills.
• Importance to College Admission : Demonstrates teamwork, leadership, and school spirit. Participation at a competitive level can also highlight athletic ability and dedication.

Cheerleading jumps to the forefront of the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students, combining athleticism, dance, and team spirit. Cheerleaders support their school’s sports teams, compete in cheer competitions, and develop routines that showcase their gymnastic, tumbling, and dance skills.

41. Skiing and Snowboarding Club

• Field : Individual and Team Sports/Winter Sports
• Overview : This club focuses on skill development in skiing or snowboarding, with opportunities for recreational participation and competitive events.
• Importance to College Admission : Indicates a pursuit of personal interests, resilience, and the capacity to balance recreational activities with academic obligations.

The Skiing and Snowboarding Club carve out a remarkable niche within the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. It offers adventures on the slopes for beginners and experienced riders alike. Members learn skiing and snowboarding techniques and mountain safety and enjoy trips to local resorts.

42. Martial Arts Club

• Field : Individual Sports/Combat Sports
• Overview : This club teaches discipline, self-defense, and various martial arts techniques, with paths to personal growth and competition.
• Importance to College Admission : Shows dedication to self-improvement, discipline, and respect for others, alongside the physical fitness and mental toughness developed through training.

Martial Arts Club balances physical discipline and mental focus, standing out among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. Students practice various martial arts forms, learning self-defense, respect, and mindfulness.

43. Junior State of America (JSA)

• Field : Politics/Civic Engagement
• Overview : JSA encourages participation in political processes, debate, and leadership through conventions and state-run governments.
• Importance to College Admission : Highlights interest in political science, public speaking skills, and engagement in civic issues.

Junior State of America (JSA) provides a unique opportunity among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students interested in politics, government, and civic engagement. Through debates, simulations, and participation in state and national conventions, JSA members delve into current events, public speaking, and democratic processes.

44. Engineering Internship

• Field : Engineering
• Overview : Offers practical experience in engineering disciplines, allowing students to work on projects, understand professional software, and gain insight into the engineering process.
• Importance to College Admission : Highlights a student’s hands-on experience in engineering, problem-solving skills, and apparent interest in the field, which benefits STEM-oriented programs.

Engineering Internships provide hands-on experience in engineering disciplines, essential for students listed in the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. Through these internships, students apply classroom knowledge to real-world projects, exploring various engineering fields and developing practical skills.

45. Business Internship

• Field : Business/Finance
• Overview : Exposes students to business operations, marketing strategies, financial planning, and other core aspects of running a business.
• Importance to College Admission : Shows initiative, understanding of business principles, and possibly entrepreneurial spirit, appealing to business schools and programs.

Business Internships stand as a bridge to the professional world for students exploring the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. Participants gain firsthand experience in business operations, marketing strategies, and financial planning, offering a glimpse into the corporate world.

46. Interact Club

• Field : Community Service
• Overview : Sponsored by Rotary International, Interact Club fosters service and leadership through local and international community projects.
• Importance to College Admission : Reflects a commitment to community service, global awareness, and leadership skills.

The Interact Club, sponsored by Rotary International, is a service-oriented group within the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students dedicated to making a difference locally and globally. Members plan and execute projects that address community needs, promoting service above self.

47. Thespian Society

• Field : Performing Arts
• Overview : The Thespian Society recognizes achievements in theater, offering students avenues to perform, direct, and stage manage.
• Importance to College Admission : Shows creativity, commitment to performing arts, and teamwork, appealing to programs valuing artistic talents.

The Thespian Society is a premier organization among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students, celebrating achievements in theater. Members participate in productions, earning recognition for their acting, directing, technical, and production contributions.

48. The National FFA Organization

• Field : Agriculture/Education
• Overview : FFA promotes agricultural education through hands-on learning, leadership development, and career readiness.
• Importance to College Admission : Indicates a dedication to agricultural studies, leadership qualities, and a practical understanding of the agriculture sector.

The National FFA Organization is a dynamic component of the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students, focusing on agricultural education. FFA members engage in hands-on learning, leadership development, and career exploration in agriculture.

49. Skills USA (formerly known as VICA)

• Field : Career and Technical Education
• Overview : Skills USA empowers students to excel in trade, technical, and skilled service occupations through competitions and certifications.
• Importance to College Admission : Highlights technical skills, professional development, and preparation for careers in trades and technical fields.

Skills USA, formerly VICA, provides career and technical education students with opportunities to excel in their chosen fields. Skills USA members compete in state and national competitions as part of the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students, showcasing their abilities in trades, technology, and skilled services.

50. Political Science Internship

• Field : Government/Politics
• Overview : Provides experience in political campaigns, legislative offices, or governmental agencies, offering insights into the political process and policy-making.
• Importance to College Admission : Indicates an interest in politics, civic engagement, and leadership abilities, appealing to colleges with strong political science, international relations, or public policy programs.

Political Science Internships provide a deep dive into government and politics, which is essential for students exploring the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. Participants engage in policy research, political campaigns, and legislative processes, gaining insights into political strategies and public policy.

51. Art and Design Internship

• Field : Arts/Design
• Overview : This program allows students to work with artists and designers or in galleries, gaining experience in creative processes, project development, and artistic expression.
• Importance to College Admission : Demonstrates creativity, artistic talent, and a commitment to pursuing a career in the arts, which is valuable for applications to art schools or programs.

Art and Design Internships carve out creative pathways for students, marking a unique opportunity among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. These internships allow participants to work alongside graphic design, fashion, architecture, and fine arts professionals.

52. Nonprofit Internship

• Field : Social Work/Nonprofit
• Overview : Involves working with nonprofit organizations, focusing on community service, project management, and advocacy work.
• Importance to College Admission : Shows a commitment to social issues, leadership in community service, and a desire to make a positive impact, attractive to colleges valuing civic engagement.

Nonprofit Internships are impactful learning experiences within the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. They offer a chance to contribute to social causes and community service. Students work with organizations focused on issues like education, health, environmental conservation, and social justice, gaining insight into the operations of nonprofit entities.

53. Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA)

• Field : Health Science Education
• Overview : HOSA provides future health professionals with opportunities for knowledge, skill development, and leadership in the health sector.
• Importance to College Admission : Demonstrates a commitment to pursuing a career in healthcare and leadership and technical skills in health sciences.

Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA) is crucial for those interested in health professions. It is a standout choice among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. HOSA offers resources, competitions, and leadership opportunities to students pursuing careers in healthcare.

54. Amnesty International

• Field : Human Rights Advocacy
• Overview : Engages students in campaigns and education on human rights issues, fostering activism and global citizenship.
• Importance to College Admission : Shows dedication to social justice, global awareness, and the ability to engage in advocacy and activism.

Amnesty International engages students in human rights advocacy, marking an important inclusion in the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. Members work towards justice, equality, and human dignity worldwide through education, awareness campaigns, and activism.

55. Latin American Student Organization (LASO)

• Field : Cultural Appreciation
• Overview : This organization celebrates Latin American cultures through events, food festivals, and educational activities, fostering a deeper understanding of Latin American heritage.
• Importance to College Admission : Demonstrates a student’s engagement with cultural diversity, ability to work within diverse groups, and interest in global perspectives.

The Latin American Student Organization (LASO) is a vibrant community celebrating Latin American countries’ rich cultures, histories, and traditions. It positions itself as a significant group among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students.

LASO organizes cultural events, educational workshops, and language practice sessions, fostering an inclusive environment for all students to learn about and appreciate Latin American heritage.

56. Spanish Club

• Field : Language and Culture
• Overview : Focuses on Spanish language proficiency through conversation practice, cultural events, film screenings, and cooking classes.
• Importance to College Admission : Demonstrates a student’s commitment to mastering a second language and understanding its cultural context, appealing to colleges looking for multilingual students and those with a global perspective.

The Spanish Club is an integral part of the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students, offering a platform to practice Spanish language skills and explore the cultures of Spanish-speaking countries. Activities include language games, cooking traditional dishes, and celebrating Spanish-speaking countries’ holidays.

57. Italian Club

• Overview : This club engages students in Italian language practice and cultural appreciation through cooking classes, film screenings, and Italian art and history discussions.
• Importance to College Admission : It shows an appreciation for Italian culture and dedication to language learning, which is valuable for students interested in art history, culinary arts, or European studies.

The Italian Club stands out among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students, drawing those interested in Italian language and culture. Members immerse themselves in Italy’s rich cultural heritage through cooking classes, film screenings, and language practice.

58. Portuguese Club

• Overview : This club focuses on Portuguese language acquisition and cultural events celebrating Lusophone cultures, including Brazilian, Portuguese, and African Lusophone countries.
• Importance to College Admission : Demonstrates a student’s initiative to learn a less commonly taught language and an appreciation for the diverse cultures where Portuguese is spoken.

Among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students, the Portuguese Club offers a unique opportunity to explore the Portuguese language and Lusophone cultures. Activities focus on language practice, cultural festivals, and culinary experiences, highlighting the diversity of Portuguese-speaking countries.

59. African American Culture Club

• Field : Cultural Awareness
• Overview : This club explores African American history, culture, and contributions through discussions, guest speakers, and community service projects.
• Importance to College Admission : Highlights a commitment to diversity, social justice, and an understanding of the African American experience, appealing to colleges seeking diverse and socially aware students.

The African American Culture Club is a critical forum within the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students, dedicated to celebrating and understanding African American history, culture, and contributions.

The club fosters a deeper appreciation for the African American experience through discussions, guest speakers, and cultural events and promotes dialogue on race, identity, and social justice issues.

60. Asian Culture Club

• Field : Cultural Exploration
• Overview : The center provides a space to learn about and celebrate various Asian cultures, languages, and traditions through cultural events and educational programs.
• Importance to College Admission : Shows active engagement in learning about and appreciating diverse cultures, promoting multicultural awareness and inclusivity.

The Asian Culture Club provides a window into the diverse traditions, languages, and histories of Asian countries, making it an enriching choice among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. Members engage in cultural celebrations, culinary events, and educational workshops, promoting understanding and appreciation of Asian cultures.

61. Mandarin Chinese Club

• Overview : Offers a deep dive into Mandarin Chinese language skills and Chinese culture through language practice sessions, cultural festivals, and calligraphy workshops.
• Importance to College Admission : Signals a student’s willingness to tackle challenging languages and an interest in one of the world’s most influential cultures and economies, which are valuable for programs emphasizing international relations or business.

The Mandarin Chinese Club is an educational and cultural enrichment activity among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. It focuses on one of the world’s most spoken languages.

Students gain valuable linguistic skills and cultural insights through language practice, calligraphy, and exploration of Chinese culture.

62. Japanese Club

• Overview : This club focuses on Japanese language learning and cultural activities such as origami, tea ceremonies, and anime discussions to deepen students’ understanding of Japanese culture.
• Importance to College Admission : Demonstrates a student’s interest in the Japanese language and culture, highlighting unique cultural insights and dedication to language proficiency.

The Japanese Club is a popular choice among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students, offering insights into the Japanese language, arts, traditions, and contemporary culture. Activities include language lessons, origami, tea ceremonies, and anime discussions, providing a comprehensive cultural experience.

63. Korean Club

• Overview : This club engages students in Korean language learning and cultural appreciation through K-pop dance workshops, cooking classes, and discussions on Korean history and society.
• Importance to College Admission : Shows enthusiasm for Korean culture and language, appealing to colleges looking for students interested in East Asian studies or international business relations with Asia.

Korean Club emerges as a cultural and linguistic exploration among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students, inspired by Korea’s rich heritage and modern cultural exports. Students engage deeply with Korean culture through language practice, K-pop dance, Korean cooking classes, and discussions on history and society.

64. Native American Heritage Club

• Field : Cultural Heritage
• Overview : The club aims to educate people about Native American cultures, history, and current issues while promoting cultural preservation and understanding.
• Importance to College Admission : Reflects a commitment to cultural heritage, advocacy for underrepresented communities, and an interest in American history from diverse perspectives.

The Native American Heritage Club is an important cultural and educational platform within the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students, focusing on the history, traditions, and current issues facing Native American communities.

Through discussions, cultural events, and collaborations with local tribes, members gain a deeper understanding of Native American cultures and contribute to raising awareness and promoting respect for indigenous heritage and rights.

65. International Relations Club

• Field : Global Awareness
• Overview : Encourages students to discuss global issues, participate in Model United Nations conferences, and understand international diplomacy and relations.
• Importance to College Admission : Demonstrates global awareness, critical thinking, and public speaking skills, which are valuable for students interested in international affairs, political science, or diplomacy.

The International Relations Club is a dynamic part of the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students, designed for those interested in global affairs, diplomacy, and international politics. Members participate in simulations like Model United Nations, debate global issues, and analyze international relations.

66. French Club

• Overview : Offers opportunities to learn about the French language and culture through language practice sessions, film viewings, cooking classes, and trips.
• Importance to College Admission : Indicates linguistic skills, cultural curiosity, and engagement in activities that foster a global mindset, appealing to liberal arts colleges and language programs.

The French Club is a vital part of the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. It offers a chance to immerse themselves in the French language and Francophone cultures. Students enhance their language skills and cultural understanding through conversational practice, film viewings, and culinary experiences.

67. German Club

• Field : Cultural and Language Learning
• Overview : This club engages students in learning about German culture, traditions, and language, including celebrating German festivals and participating in exchange programs.
• Importance to College Admission : It shows a dedication to language learning and cultural exchange, which is important for students pursuing international studies or language degrees.

German Club is one of the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students that provides an engaging opportunity to learn about the German language and culture. Through language practice, exploration of German traditions, and cultural events, members gain insights into the German-speaking world.

68. Russian Culture Club

• Field : Cultural and Historical Insight
• Overview : Focuses on Russian history, language, and culture, providing insights into Russian arts, literature, and societal contributions through various activities.
• Importance to College Admission : This demonstrates an interest in cross-cultural understanding and historical perspectives, which is valuable for international relations or Slavic studies students.

The Russian Culture Club is an enriching part of the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. It offers insights into the Russian language, literature, history, and arts. Members engage in language lessons, discussions on Russian novels and poetry, and cultural celebrations, deepening their understanding of Russia’s rich cultural heritage.

69. Middle Eastern Culture Club

• Field : Cultural Understanding
• Overview : Explores the diverse cultures, languages, and traditions of the Middle East through cultural events, educational activities, and culinary experiences.
• Importance to College Admission : Highlights an appreciation for cultural diversity, a desire to bridge cultural gaps, and engagement with global issues.

The Middle Eastern Culture Club is among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students that vibrantly explore Middle Eastern countries’ cultures, languages, and traditions. Students comprehensively understand the region’s diverse and rich cultures through cultural events, culinary experiences, and educational discussions.

70. Arabic Club

• Overview : Provides opportunities to learn Arabic language basics, explore the diversity of Arab cultures, and discuss historical and contemporary issues in the Arab world.
• Importance to College Admission : Highlights a student’s interest in Middle Eastern cultures and the Arabic language, showcasing an understanding of global diversity and geopolitical dynamics.

Arabic Club marks a unique opportunity within the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students to dive into the Arabic language and the rich tapestry of Arab cultures. Members learn basic Arabic, explore cultural traditions, and discuss contemporary issues facing Arab societies.

71. Caribbean Students Association

• Field : Cultural Celebration
• Overview : This association promotes awareness and appreciation of Caribbean culture, history, and issues through discussions, music, dance, and culinary events.
• Importance to College Admission : Reflects an engagement with and celebration of Caribbean heritage, promoting cultural diversity and inclusion within the school community.

The Caribbean Students Association stands out among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students by celebrating the vibrant cultures, traditions, and histories of Caribbean nations. This group fosters a sense of community and belonging among students from the Caribbean or those interested in its diverse cultures.

72. Digital Arts Club

• Field : Digital Media
• Overview : This club focuses on creating art using digital tools and software. Projects can include graphic design, digital painting, and animation.
• Importance to College Admission : A student’s proficiency with digital tools and ability to innovate and create new media, appealing to programs in graphic design, digital media, or animation.

The Digital Arts Club occupies a creative niche within the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students, catering to those passionate about the intersection of art and technology. Members explore various digital mediums, including graphic design, digital painting, and animation, using software to bring their artistic visions to life.

73. Ceramics Club

• Field : Fine Arts/Crafts
• Overview : This club allows students to explore the art of pottery and ceramic sculpture and teaches techniques such as wheel throwing and glazing.
• Importance to College Admission : Indicates a student’s interest in hands-on artistic creation and can showcase their ability to work with diverse materials and techniques.

Ceramics Club offers a hands-on artistic experience, making it a unique selection among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. Participants learn the art of pottery, exploring techniques like hand-building, wheel-throwing, glazing, and firing.

74. Sculpture Club

• Field : Fine Arts
• Overview : This club focuses on creating three-dimensional artwork using various materials and techniques. Members learn about sculptural design and participate in exhibitions.
• Importance to College Admission : It demonstrates a student’s ability to think and create in three dimensions, useful for applications to art and design programs.

Sculpture Club carves its place among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students by offering opportunities to engage with three-dimensional art forms. Members work with various materials, including clay, wood, metal, and found objects, to create sculptures that express their artistic visions.

75. Animation Club

• Field : Digital Media/Film
• Overview : This club allows students to learn about and create animated works using various techniques, from traditional hand-drawn animation to computer-generated imagery.
• Importance to College Admission : Indicates a student’s interest in storytelling and digital media, relevant for applications to programs in animation, film, or multimedia design.

Animation Club is a dynamic forum with 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. It appeals to those interested in bringing stories to life through animation. From traditional hand-drawn techniques to computer-generated imagery, members learn the fundamentals of animation, storyboard development, and character design.

76. Associated Student Body (ASB)

• Field : Leadership/Governance
• Overview : ASB represents the student government, where students take on leadership roles to organize events, manage budgets, and represent student interests.
• Importance to College Admission : Demonstrates leadership skills, initiative, and the ability to work collaboratively, qualities highly valued by colleges.

The Associated Student Body (ASB) is a pivotal leadership group within the 100 high school extracurricular activities, embodying the student population’s voice and governance. ASB members are responsible for organizing school events, managing student funds, and fostering a sense of community and spirit within the school.

77. Student Government

• Field : Leadership
• Overview : Participation in student council or holding a position in student government.
• Importance to College Admission : Evidences leadership skills, initiative, and the ability to work collaboratively in a governance structure.

Student Government provides a foundational experience in leadership and governance, ranking highly among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. Participants learn about the democratic process, represent their peers, and work on initiatives to improve school life.

78. Key Club

• Overview : Engaging in volunteer activities focused on serving the community, developing leadership skills, and building character.
• Importance to College Admission : Shows a commitment to service, leadership qualities, and the ability to work as part of a team.

Key Club is an international, student-led organization focused on service and leadership development. It is a significant presence among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. Members participate in projects that address community needs, fostering a spirit of volunteerism and compassion.

79. Scouting ( Boy Scouts , Girl Scouts )

• Field : Leadership and Outdoor Skills
• Overview : Earning badges, participating in camping trips, and engaging in community service projects.
• Importance to College Admission : Demonstrates leadership skills, commitment to community service, and personal development through diverse activities.

Scouting, encompassing both Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, offers a comprehensive program of adventure, learning, and community service, vital to the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. Scouts engage in various activities that build survival skills, promote physical fitness, and encourage ethical decision-making.

80. National Honor Society (NHS)

• Field : Academic Excellence/Community Service
• Overview : This organization recognizes high school students’ academic achievement, leadership, service, and character. Members participate in community service projects and leadership development activities.
• Importance to College Admission : Shows academic excellence alongside a commitment to service and character, aligning with the holistic selection criteria of many colleges.

The National Honor Society (NHS) is a prestigious organization that recognizes outstanding high school students for their achievements in scholarship, leadership, service, and character, placing it among the top 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. Membership in NHS is a mark of excellence, offering opportunities for community service, personal growth, and leadership development.

81. Habitat for Humanity

• Field : Community Service/Housing
• Overview : This organization involves students building homes for the underprivileged and engaging in various community projects to address housing insecurity.
• Importance to College Admission : Highlights a student’s willingness to engage in physically demanding work for a charitable cause, demonstrating empathy, teamwork, and a strong work ethic.

Habitat for Humanity engages students in hands-on construction projects to build affordable housing for families in need, marking a significant contribution to the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students.

By participating in Habitat for Humanity, students learn valuable construction skills, teamwork, and the importance of housing security while making a tangible difference in their communities.

82. American Red Cross Youth

• Field : Health and Welfare
• Overview : Offers opportunities to volunteer in areas related to disaster relief, blood drives, health and safety training, and international humanitarian law advocacy.
• Importance to College Admission : Reflects a commitment to health, safety, and global humanitarian efforts, showcasing a student’s broad concern for global and community welfare.

American Red Cross Youth is an integral part of the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students, offering the chance to be involved in various humanitarian activities. Students participate in blood drives, disaster preparedness programs, and health and safety training, contributing to the American Red Cross’s lifesaving mission.

83. UNICEF High School Clubs

• Field : Global Humanitarianism
• Overview : This organization focuses on educating, advocating, and fundraising for UNICEF’s mission of supporting the rights and well-being of every child.
• Importance to College Admission : Indicates a global perspective, leadership in advocacy and fundraising, and a commitment to children’s rights and welfare.

UNICEF High School Clubs empower students to advocate for the rights and well-being of children worldwide, making them a vital part of the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. Through fundraising, awareness campaigns, and educational events, members support UNICEF’s mission to provide aid and protect children’s rights.

84. Special Olympics

• Field : Inclusivity/Sports
• Overview : This program encourages student involvement in organizing and supporting sports events for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, promoting inclusion and community engagement.
• Importance to College Admission : Demonstrates compassion, leadership in inclusivity, and the ability to organize and mobilize community events.

Special Olympics offers a unique opportunity for high school students to volunteer and support athletes with intellectual disabilities. The organization emphasizes inclusion and respect within its 100 extracurricular activities. Students can serve as coaches, event organizers, or supportive buddies, contributing to an environment where everyone has the chance to compete and succeed.

85. Feed My Starving Children

• Field : Hunger Relief
• Overview: This program engages students in volunteer opportunities to pack meals for malnourished children worldwide, fostering an understanding of global hunger issues.
• Importance to College Admission: This essay highlights empathy, global awareness, and a hands-on approach to addressing critical humanitarian issues.

Feed My Starving Children mobilizes students to pack nutritious meals for children suffering from hunger in over 70 countries, highlighting a global perspective on volunteerism among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students.

Participation in meal-packing events offers a hands-on way to combat global hunger, teaching students about nutrition’s importance, humanitarian aid’s impact, and the power of collective action in addressing worldwide challenges.

86. DoSomething.org

• Field : Social Campaigns
• Overview : Encourages young people to participate in social change campaigns on issues they are passionate about, ranging from bullying and animal cruelty to homelessness and discrimination.
• Importance to College Admission : Shows initiative in social activism, ability to engage with contemporary issues, and a drive to effect change, signaling strong character and values.

DoSomething.org is a dynamic platform within the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students that empowers young people to initiate social change through national campaigns and community projects. This organization encourages students to take action on global issues such as poverty, environmental conservation, and human rights.

87. Rotary Interact Club

• Field : Community Service/Leadership
• Overview : This is a Rotary-sponsored club for young people ages 12-18 who want to connect with others in their community or school and take action to make a difference in the world.
• Importance to College Admission : Demonstrates a student’s commitment to community service and leadership on a local and international level, highlighting organizational and teamwork skills.

The Rotary Interact Club is a premier service organization among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students, sponsored by Rotary International. It allows students to participate in community service projects, develop leadership skills, and make international connections.

88. Leos Club (Lions Club Youth Program)

• Field : Community Service/Leadership Development
• Overview : This program provides the world’s youth with an opportunity for development and contribution, individually and collectively, as responsible members of the local, national, and international community.
• Importance to College Admission : Shows engagement in community improvement projects, development of leadership skills, and a global perspective on service and responsibility.

The Leos Club, part of the Lions Club Youth Program, plays a significant role in the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students by fostering a spirit of community service and leadership development.

Members organize projects that address the needs of their communities and the wider world, such as vision care, environmental projects, and aid for the underprivileged.

89. Technology Student Association (TSA)

• Field : STEM/Technology
• Overview : TSA focuses on technology education, offering students opportunities to compete in events, work on projects, and develop technical skills.
• Importance to College Admission : Shows a commitment to STEM fields, problem-solving abilities, and readiness for technology-related degree programs.

The Technology Student Association (TSA) stands out among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. It offers a platform for those passionate about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). TSA members engage in competitions, leadership opportunities, and community service, all centered around technology and innovation.

90. Music Bands or Orchestras

• Field : Music Performance
• Overview : Playing in a school band, orchestra, or smaller music groups, including jazz bands or chamber ensembles.
• Importance to College Admission : Highlights musical talent, dedication to practice, and ability to work within a team.

Participation in Music Bands or Orchestras is a harmonious blend of talent and teamwork, resonating deeply within the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. Through rehearsals and performances, students develop their musical abilities, read complex scores, and experience the discipline of practicing individually and as a group.

91. Yearbook

• Field : Journalism and Publication
• Overview : Contributing to the school’s yearbook, either through writing, photography, editing, or design.
• Importance to College Admission : Demonstrates writing skills, attention to detail, teamwork, and meeting deadlines.

The Yearbook Committee is a creative and collaborative project included in the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. It captures memories and milestones of the school year. Students involved in yearbook design, photography, writing, and editing learn valuable skills in project management, teamwork, and design.

92. LGBTQ+ Alliance

• Field : Social Justice and Advocacy
• Overview : Participating in or leading groups that support LGBTQ+ students and promote awareness and inclusion.
• Importance to College Admission : Reflects commitment to equality, advocacy, and leadership in social issues.

The LGBTQ+ Alliance provides a safe and supportive space for students, making it an essential inclusion in the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. This club fosters an environment of acceptance and advocacy, addressing issues facing the LGBTQ+ community through education, awareness, and social events.

93. Drama Club or Theater Production

• Overview : Acting, directing, or working behind the scenes in school plays and musicals.
• Importance to College Admission : Demonstrates creativity, collaboration, and the ability to perform under pressure.

Drama Club or Theater Production offers a stage for self-expression and creativity among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. Participants engage in acting, directing, set design, and costume creation, bringing stories to life through performance.

94. Peer Counseling

• Field : Mental Health and Peer Support
• Overview : Training as peer counselors to offer fellow students support, guidance, and resources.
• Importance to College Admission : Indicates empathy, leadership, and a commitment to the well-being of others.

Peer Counseling is a supportive service that ranks highly among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students, emphasizing empathy, active listening, and problem-solving. Trained student counselors provide their peers with guidance, support, and resources to navigate academic and personal challenges.

95. Dance Team or Club

• Field : Dance and Performance
• Overview : Participating in dance practices and performances, exploring various dance styles.
• Importance to College Admission : Shows dedication, teamwork, and the ability to balance artistic pursuits with academic responsibilities.

The Dance Team or Club moves rhythmically among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students, offering an outlet for expression through movement. Members learn various dance styles, choreography, and teamwork, preparing for performances and competitions.

96. Mock Trial

• Field : Law and Public Speaking
• Overview : Simulating courtroom trials to understand legal processes and enhance argumentative skills.
• Importance to College Admission : Highlights analytical thinking, public speaking skills, and an interest in law.

Mock Trial is an intellectually stimulating activity within the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. It simulates courtroom trials to provide insights into the legal process. Participants assume roles as attorneys, witnesses, and jurors, developing critical thinking, public speaking, and legal reasoning skills.

97. Animal Welfare Club

• Field : Animal Science and Advocacy
• Overview : I volunteer with local animal shelters, organize fundraisers for animal charities, and educate others about animal welfare.
• Importance to College Admission : Reflects compassion, initiative, and the ability to engage with community issues.

The Animal Welfare Club is a compassionate addition to the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students, dedicated to promoting the well-being of animals. Members work towards humane treatment, conservation, and rescue efforts through education, advocacy, and volunteer projects.

98. Fitness and Wellness Club

• Field : Health and Wellness
• Overview : Promoting healthy lifestyles through exercise, nutrition education, and wellness activities.
• Importance to College Admission : It indicates a commitment to personal health and well-being and leadership in encouraging these values among peers.

The Fitness and Wellness Club prioritizes health and well-being among the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. It encourages a balanced lifestyle through exercise, nutrition, and mindfulness practices. Members participate in workouts, wellness workshops, and health campaigns, promoting physical fitness and mental health awareness.

99. Cooking or Culinary Clubs

• Field : Culinary Arts
• Overview : Exploring cooking techniques, recipes, and culinary traditions worldwide.
• Importance to College Admission: Shows a passion for culinary arts, teamwork in preparing meals, and cultural awareness through food.

Cooking or Culinary Clubs serve a delicious blend of culinary skills and cultural exploration, spicing up the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students. Members experiment with recipes, learn cooking techniques, and explore the culinary traditions of different cultures.

100. Film Club

• Field : Film and Media Studies
• Overview : Members watch and discuss films, learn about film-making techniques, and sometimes create short films.
• Importance to College Admission : Shows creativity, analytical skills in interpreting media, and possibly technical skills in film production.

Film Club is one of the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students that offers a cinematic journey. It provides a venue for movie enthusiasts to watch, analyze, and discuss films. Members explore film genres, directors, and cinematography through screenings and discussions, gaining insights into storytelling and film production.

Why Are Extracurricular Activities for High School Students Important for College Admissions?

Extracurricular activities are pivotal in college admissions, serving as a testament to a student’s passions, leadership qualities, and time management skills beyond academic performance. Colleges seek well-rounded applicants who have engaged in activities demonstrating their interests and character.

Participation in extracurriculars from a diverse list, such as the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students, shows admissions committees that a student is committed to personal growth, community involvement, and pursuing interests outside the classroom. These activities can also highlight unique talents and experiences that set students apart, making them more attractive candidates for admission.

How Can Extracurricular Activities for High School Students Enhance Academic Performance?

Engagement in extracurricular activities can significantly enhance academic performance among high school students.

• Fosters Time Management Skills : Balancing schoolwork with activities from the 100 extracurricular activities for high school students teaches valuable time management skills. Learning to juggle various commitments effectively prepares students for the multitasking they’ll face in college and beyond.
• Encourages Effective Organization : Extracurricular Participation requires students to keep track of schedules, responsibilities, and deadlines, enhancing their organizational skills. This ability to organize tasks and manage time efficiently is invaluable in every aspect of life.
• Develops Prioritization Abilities : Choosing between conflicting meetings, practice sessions, and study times helps students learn the art of prioritization. Understanding what requires immediate attention and what can wait is a skill that benefits academic pursuits and personal life.
• Complements Academic Learning : Extracurriculars such as academic clubs and debate teams offer more than a break from the traditional classroom setting. They deepen their understanding of academic subjects through practical application, critical thinking, and problem-solving exercises.
• Improves Critical Thinking Skills : Activities that challenge students to think critically foster analytical skills applicable in all subjects and future career paths.

What Are the Benefits of Engaging in Extracurricular Activities for High School Students?

Engaging in extracurricular activities offers many benefits for high school students, enhancing their educational journey and personal development. Beyond academic enrichment, activities included in the list of 100 extracurricular activities for high school students promote social skills, leadership qualities, and emotional intelligence by providing opportunities for teamwork, communication, and community service.

Students develop a sense of belonging and self-esteem by exploring their interests and passions, which can lead to increased happiness and reduced stress. Additionally, extracurricular participation can spark new interests, forge lasting friendships, and provide valuable experiences that shape students’ future career paths and personal growth.

How to Choose the Right Extracurricular Activities for High School Students?

Choosing the suitable extracurricular activities from the vast array of 100 extracurricular activities for high school students involves self-reflection

• Align with Your Passions : Choose activities that reflect what you love or are curious about. Whether it’s a sport, an art, or a subject matter club, your genuine interest is critical to staying motivated and engaged.
• Consider Contribution to Goals : Consider how an activity could help you grow, whether developing leadership skills, enhancing your college application, or advancing your career aspirations; select activities that align with your plans.
• Balance is Key : Ensure you can effectively manage your time between schoolwork and extracurricular commitments. Maintaining a healthy balance is essential to avoid burnout and fully commit to your chosen activities.
• Experiment : Feel free to try new things. Exploring a variety of clubs, teams, or organizations can help you discover hidden talents or interests, contributing to your personal and academic development.

The list of 100 extracurricular activities for high school students offers a broad spectrum of options to cater to diverse interests, from creative arts and sports to academic clubs and volunteer work.

By selecting activities that resonate with their passions, contribute to their goals, and fit their schedules, students can ensure a fulfilling and enriching high school experience. As students engage in these activities, they’ll find themselves on a path to personal growth, academic enhancement, and lifelong learning.

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5 team-building activities for high school students, by: vocab gal.

In this article, you'll discover how team-building activities benefit high school students, ways to ensure team-building activities will be successful, and a variety of classroom-tested activities. Plus, download free printable team-building activities that can be used at the start of a new school year or new semester!

Benefits of Team-Building Activities for Students

Many students might groan and roll their eyes if asked to participate in these activities, but they do have significant benefits. Furthermore, many teachers might be loath to take the time to conduct these activities, although they bring with them enormous gains. Benefits of team-building activities for students include:

Provide a common experience among peers

Allow students to feel more comfortable in group settings

Require students to develop communication skills through conversations

Encourage students to learn academic content with and from one another

5 Fun Team-Building Activities for Students  

It’s critical to help develop students’ social interaction skills, which can easily be done in the classroom through team-building activities. When team-building activities are used routinely in classrooms, the classroom space becomes a shared, safe zone where students feel comfortable and ready to learn. These short games not only allow students to gain valuable skills but also develop empathy and often improve their self-esteem. 

Most activities should only take between five and ten minutes and can be used once or on multiple occasions. Classroom time is valuable, and these activities are designed to minimize time and maximize outcomes.

Activity #1– Make a Burger

Class time: 5–10 minutes, group size: 5–7 students, resources needed: burger template cut out into pieces, tape, skills focus: teamwork, trust-building.

This is a rather quick and silly team-building activity for high school students. Instruct the class that they are to work in groups to make a full hamburger that starts with a bun, and that has pickle, lettuce, tomato, cheese, meat, and another bun in that order. Tape one ingredient onto each student’s back and instruct students to work together to find all the necessary ingredients and then line up in order. The first group to do so correctly wins.

You can either play silently, or you can tell students to say what ingredient is on their backs, but instead only provide hints.

Academic Focus: Replay this game using vocabulary words and definitions, planet names, math problems and solutions, and so on.

Activity #2– Vocab Improv

Group size: any range between five students and a full class, resources needed: list of academic vocabulary to use, example video, skills focus: trust building.

Have students stand in a circle. The first student chooses a subject-related word and acts out a motion that corresponds with the word’s meaning in some way. The rest of the students in the group then echo the word and the motion together. The next student in the group chooses a new word and acts out a corresponding motion. The rest of the students then echo that word and motion, followed by the first student’s word and motion. This sequence repeats until all students in the group have their own word and motion and have reiterated everyone else’s word and motion.

To begin the game, the first student says his/her word and motion and then says another student’s word and motion. That student must say his/her word and motion and pick another student’s word and motion.

The game repeats until a called-upon student cannot recall another’s word and motion fast enough (three seconds) and is “out.” When only two people are left, both are winners.

Caveat: no student can reiterate the previous student’s word and motion.

Academic Focus: By creating motions tied to academic vocabulary and reiterating these words and motions numerous times, students develop deep connections to these words.

Try playing this game throughout the year, and have students use their peers’ previous words and motions to call upon them, as well as current words and motions.

Activity #3– Best Parts of Our School

Class time: 5–20 minutes (each part of this activity can take place on a separate day), group size: 4–6 students, resources needed: best parts of our school handout, skills focus: teamwork, leadership.

Often, students feel disgruntled about school, so this team-building activity for high school students encourages everyone to look for the positive, rather than the negative.

First, each individual should complete the top of the handout, listing three specific aspects of the school they like. Then, assign students to groups of approximately four to six, making sure that students work with people they do not know well, rather than simply working with friends. Have the students each share three ideas in their groups, and then work together to choose which ones to include in a group list of five positive aspects about their school. Next, each group selects a representative to go to the board to write down his or her group’s list.

Finally, the representatives work with the whole class in order to combine the top five lists into one class-wide top ten list. Try to post this list so students remember both working together and the positive aspects of school!

Academic Focus: Ask students to use academic vocabulary in their lists or to utilize strong writing techniques, such as action verbs or figurative language, when creating each point.

Activity #4– Create a Vocabulary Game Board

Class time: 10–60 minutes (each part of this activity can take place on a separate day), group size: 2–3 students, resources needed: activity directions, game board instruction sheet, two game board templates, game piece template, blank game cards.

Students love to play board games, so asking them to design their own provides them with a new and exciting challenge. Have students work together, possibly by formatively assessing their understanding of a concept and then grouping them in high-medium-low understanding groups. Alternatively, grouping them in like-understanding (all highs, all mediums, all lows) partnerships can also allow for thoughtful outcomes.

Have students discuss and agree upon an overall theme for the game, then complete each aspect of the board game including:

Activity Directions

Game Board Instruction Sheet

Two Game Board Templates

Game Piece Template

Blank Game Cards

Academic Focus: Take any unit that needs further review or understanding and ask students to create a board game that highlights various aspects of the concept.

Activity #5– Your Enigmatic Self

Class time: 5 minutes (spread out over multiple days), group size: 3–4 students, resources needed: enigmatic self handout.

Students write down three aspects of themselves that no one else knows. Assign students to groups of three or four and ask them to read their information to each other.

Each day, have one member of the group read all of the group’s fact sheets to begin the class and have the rest of the students guess which group member is which. Have students celebrate one another’s unique selves, and make sure to reiterate the need to respect each other.

Academic focus: Encourage students to use academic vocabulary when describing themselves.

How to Ensure Team-Building Activities Are a Success

In order for activities to be successful, classroom leaders must establish clear expectations.

INSIST ON A SAFE ZONE The most important aspect of team-building activities is that they demonstrate that the classroom is a safe zone. When working through the team-building activities with students, I emphasize my number one rule, which is mutual respect and acceptance. Students must remain positive and respectful toward their fellow learners, and that includes me!

ESTABLISH TRUST TO BUILD COMMUNITY In a classroom, a sense of community is vital in order for students to produce authentic writing, receive constructive feedback from peers, and have meaningful discussions. Emphasizing in each activity the importance of trusting one another, classroom leaders build a sense of classroom community.

EMPHASIZE EMPATHY AND ESTEEM These team-building activities encourage students to empathize with their classmates who may be different from them and will also help to build up their own self-esteem as they work with others. Classroom leaders must stress the need for students to learn from one another and to respect the similarities and differences that all of their classmates bring to each activity.

ENCOURAGE LEARNING I always like to ensure that there is an academic purpose to all aspects of classroom activities, so, as a classroom leader, I ask students to use academic vocabulary and utilize their prior learned knowledge during discussions.

(SOMETIMES) FRAME AS A COMPETITION Finally, if a classroom leader faces significant resistance from students, framing the activity as a challenge or competition can motivate them. Do remember to emphasize that the competition or challenge being carried out can be completed by everyone and that respect and ethical behavior are paramount, as some students may attempt to cheat in order to win.

The Best Time to Use Team-Building Activities

Team-building activities can happen throughout the school year. They can be used for a myriad of reasons and for a multitude of purposes.

Some classroom leaders may want to use these activities at the beginning of the school year in order to establish a classroom culture and then continue to use activities once or twice a quarter to re-establish concepts, review learning, or deepen rapport.

Other teachers may use them later in the year or at the start of the second semester in order to re-focus a classroom or for a specific unit of study.

Alternatively, classroom leaders can employ team-building activities at the end of the year to encourage more authentic peer review for assignments or as a new challenge for students.

In Conclusion

Team-building is fun and has a huge number of benefits, from developing classroom community to reinforcing academic concepts. Each of the five team-building activities allows students to learn with and from each other and deepens connections between peers.

As students become more and more disconnected from their peers and their learning because they spend much of their time on social media, team-building activities are a great way to reconnect students to their school and to their education and to have fun while doing so.

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5 Engaging Back-to-School Activities for High School Students

Planning the content and assessments for your semester is one thing; planning the first week of school is entirely different. Most of the time we have standards to meet and curriculum to get through. But during the first week, we’re pressured to establish procedures, build relationships, and set the tone for the rest of the year. Choosing your back-to-school activities can be so stressful!

How do you decide what to do? How do you balance “fun” with meaningful activities? In this post, I hope to offer a few ideas that will do just that! Many of these back-to-school activities can be used in any high school class, but they’ll work especially well for high school English courses. 

Want all of my best first-week getting-to-know-you activities and must-teach lessons? Check out my Back-to-school Activities for High School English Teachers Bundle!

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Back-To-School Activities #1: Classroom Scavenger Hunt

This is my favorite first day of school activity and you can use it for any high school class–not just English. 

The Classroom Scavenger Hunt requires a little bit of prep work . I go into detail on setting up your scavenger hunt in this post.

If you create ten or so labels for around the classroom, you’ll have a pretty good scavenger hunt! This is a great way to go over classroom procedures without lecturing students for the whole first day. 

Students get up and get moving, get to chat a little with their new classmates, and grow familiar with their new space. Plus, if you hand out some small treat for finishing the scavenger hunt, you’ll get some “favorite teacher” points from kids nice and early in the year!

How To Prep

For example, one item I label in my classroom is my pencil bucket. I have “Pencil Bucket” typed and centered in a large font. Beneath it, I describe my procedure for borrowing pencils: “This is the pencil bucket. You do not need to ask to borrow a pencil; just grab one! Be sure to return it at the end of class when you’re done.”

In order for students to correctly answer the question, they’ll need to move around the room, locate the pencil bucket, read the label with the procedures, and then write down the answer. 

On the student worksheet, I might have a question that reads something like, “True or false: you should always ask to borrow a pencil first.” 

If the classroom scavenger hunt sounds like fun, but the prep work doesn’t, you can grab my template for the labels and the worksheet for free right here!

Back-To-School Activities #2: Back-to-School Stations

Back-to-school stations pretty much single-handedly helped me deal with my own back-to-school anxiety . I hate having to lecture for an hour or read through a boring syllabus during the first week. What a lame way to start a year, right?

But then I started doing back-to-school stations. I t’s a way to get through all of the first week’s “must-dos” without losing momentum right away. Stations allow students to get up and move, gather information for the semester, and start getting to know each other (and you!). 

Plus, stations are super customizable! For my English classes, one station is looking through the classroom library to choose some interesting titles for independent reading. You can add whatever activities make sense for your content area. 

Check out this post for an in-depth how-to on back-to-school stations , or keep reading.

To prep your own stations, first, decide how many stations you’ll have . This will depend on how long your class periods are and how many things you want students to do. I recommend having at least three: a getting-to-know-you station, a getting-to-know-the-teacher station, and a preparing-for-class station. 

But you could of course have many more! 

Each station will need directions as well as supplies for each activity.

One of my stations includes reading a letter from me to the class, so I leave several copies of my letter at that station. After students read my letter, they are to write a letter in response to me. So there’s also blank paper and pencils at that station. 

Another station I do is a reading inventory questionnaire. Students must log into our Google Classroom and complete a survey through Google Forms. In my directions, I leave the classroom code. Not only do I get valuable information about what my new students like to read, but I get them all logged into my Google Classroom as well. 

You can create a station for anything you want students to do early in the year. If you’d like to try some back-to-school stations, but aren’t sure what kind to create (or simply don’t want to create any!) you can grab my Editable Back-to-School Stations right here!

Back-To-School Activities #3: “I Am” Poem

Having students write an “I Am” poem is an especially great first-week activity for English or Creative Writing classes. I personally hate fluffy getting-to-know-you activities; this one at least gets students doing some thinking and writing!

“I Am” Poems follow a very simple structure. Even students who hate poetry can write one easily. All they have to do is fill in some blanks about themselves. 

Once students have finished writing their poems, they can be displayed for everyone in the class to see. I have students hang up their poems (if they want to be anonymous, I let them). Then, I give all of my students several Post-it notes. 

They fill out positive comments or personal connections on the post-its and stick them to the corresponding classmate’s poem. (This gallery walk at the end of class is another way to get students up and moving during that first week!)

To prep for this one, you’ll need an “I Am” Poem graphic organizer for each student. You can grab mine for FREE right here!

You should also write your own “I Am” poem about yourself to share with students as an example before the day they write their poems. Not only does this provide some scaffolding for students through modeling and an example, but it lets them learn a little something about you!

Back-To-School Activities #4: Email Writing

As I said, I hate fluffy getting-to-know-you activities. Having students write an email to the teacher, however, is not fluff. It’s a great way to engage with students, establish communication, and set up procedures and expectations for communication.

During the first week of school, you can have students send you an email. Students can tell you about themselves, their prior knowledge in your content area, or even share information you may want to know–like their workload outside of school or their interests. 

Secretly, though, you can use student emails as a pre-assessment for their writing abilities. Are they capitalizing sentences and using end punctuation? Are they correcting spelling? Reading through student emails may offer a heads-up on essential skills that need to be reviewed. 

Before you assign an email to students, make sure you go over the email writing process . You’d be surprised by how little some of our students actually know about technology (even though they really should know better than us!).

You’ll want to go over expectations for sending emails to a teacher, as opposed to a friend . You may even want to go over the parts of an email. Formal emails should still include some kind of salutation and a sign off. And many students have no idea what the difference between “bcc:” and “cc:” is at the top of emails. 

Then, give students a reason to email you. Give them a topic or a questionnaire to fill out and send. (Students will never be able to say they didn’t know your email now!)

If you’d like to skip the prep of making this lesson (plus have a great handout for students!), you can grab my Email Writing Lesson right here!

Back-To-School Activities #5: “Why Grammar?” Lesson

This back-to-school activity is specifically for English teachers, but it’s a great first-week activity. If you plan on teaching grammar throughout the year or semester, it’s helpful if students first know why they should bother with conventions and mechanics at all. 

If students value clear communication and correct punctuation use, they’ll be much more likely to sit through grammar drills or sentence diagramming. 

You can approach trying to build up an appreciation for grammar within students a variety of ways. It’s good to discuss why students will want to be able to communicate clearly through writing. But showing them funny mistakes is an effective way to make the point. 

There are an endless amount of memes and gifs online that demonstrate how tiny mistakes can make for funny miscommunication. I recommend sharing some of these with students. 

You can even assign students with the task of finding and bringing in one of these memes to share with the class!

I always give students an unpunctuated letter that can be interpreted differently, depending on the punctuation. I let them try to punctuate it to the best of their ability before showing them different ways punctuation would change the meaning. 

If you’d like a done-for-you introductory grammar lesson like this, you can grab my “Why Grammar?” Lesson right here!

Knowing your first-week priorities is important for choosing your back-to-school activities. Is building relationships the most important to you? Setting expectations? Establishing the tone of the class? 

A great first week will incorporate a little bit of all of the above. But it will also show the class a little about you as a teacher. Be sure to choose activities and lessons that feel authentic to you, your teaching style, and what makes you passionate in your content area!

Want all of these activities and more for your classroom? Grab my Back-to-school Activities and Lessons for High School English Teachers Bundle and save a ton of prep time!

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Complete List of Extracurricular Activities: 100s of Examples

Other High School , College Admissions , Extracurriculars

How do you like to spend your time after school? Did you know that how you choose to spend this time could be one of the most important ways you shape your future?

Extracurricular activities are a critical component of your college application, and you need to impress colleges with your interests. But you might not know what good extracurricular activities look like or what you should be spending your time on.

We've got you covered here in our guide of hundreds of examples of extracurricular activities. Read on to get some inspiration for how to spend your valuable free time during high school!

What Is An Extracurricular Activity?

An extracurricular activity can be almost anything that isn't required for high school credit or paid employment that you do while you're in high school. These activities will become very important later, such as when you are applying to colleges, because they help you develop your talents, interests, and passions. They can also teach you practical skills like time management.

With so many options out there, all students should be able to find an extracurricular that they are interested in and can develop a passion for!

Remember that extracurricular activities do not have to be sponsored by your school, so you should also consider things that you do with your family or within your community as viable options.

Below I've listed many popular activities that you may not have thought of as extracurricular activities. Take a look at the list and see if your activities are already on the list, or if anything you hadn't considered before catches your eye.

Of course, this list isn't complete, because you can turn almost any interest into an extracurricular. If you are actively involved in something that you don't see here—meaning you spend a significant amount of time doing an activity that is allowing you to develop a talent or interest, be a leader, or help out your community—then you should definitely consider that an extracurricular activity, as well!

What doesn't necessarily count as an extracurricular? Any interest of yours that's very self-centered is probably not going to make the cut.

An extracurricular should be an activity that demonstrates a talent or primarily contributes value to other people. If you have to really contort to find justification for something being an extracurricular (my taking drivers ed will make the roads safer for everyone! Keeping my vaccinations up to date helps immunocompromised people!), then chances are, it won't count as an extracurricular .

There's a spectrum here, though—for example, improving your hair quality or braiding hair for fun isn't really an extracurricular. But starting a YouTube channel around beauty tips or creating a club for teen health enthusiasts definitely does.

But if you're still unsure if something counts as an extracurricular, or you need some inspiration, then read on for our complete list of extracurricular activities.

How Should You Use This Extracurricular Activities List?

Not sure how you should use this list of extracurriculars? Just follow the six steps outlined in this section, and you'll be on your way to choosing the best extracurricular for you!

Step 1: Brainstorm Extracurricular Ideas

What are your interests? Have you always wanted to try out something related to art, but weren't sure if it would be worth your time, or if it would be viewed favorably by a college admissions team? Keep in mind that colleges don't really care about what kind of activity you are doing—instead, they want to see that you are doing something that you are passionate about. So make a list of all of your interests—both things that you are already interested in and other areas that intrigue you and you'd like to learn more about.

Step 2: See Which Extracurriculars Fit Your Interests

Look through the list below and see if any of the activities match your interests. You may see some ways that you hadn't thought of before to pursue an interest! Keep in mind that there can be a lot of different outlets for each interest you have. For example, if you want to play an instrument, you can take private classes, play in your school's marching band, play in a community concert band, or work as part of the orchestra for your school's next musical.

Step 3: Research Different Extracurricular Options

Research to see if these activities are available at your high school or in your community. If there is something you are very passionate about that's not already offered, consider starting up a group of your own. But if you aren't sure that the interest will stick and you only want to try it out, it's probably best to find a different outlet for your curiosity.

Extracurriculars List by Category

This list is organized into categories to make finding an activity that matches your interests easier. However, we recommend at least skimming all the extracurricular options below, even if you think they're categories you're not interested in. You never know what might catch your eye!

Note: not all schools will offer formal clubs in all these categories. If you see something you're interested in that your school doesn't offer, try joining a community group or even a national or online group to explore the interest further! Many of these topics are available as summer camp activities, as well.

You can also consider starting a club at your school if you are looking for a way to get involved in something you are interested in while also showing leadership and initiative.

These activities are based on a certain academic subject, and include both clubs (groups to discuss and practice certain subjects) and competitive teams. Academic teams have competitions that take place at all levels, from local to national.

• Adopt-A-Physicist
• Architecture Club
• Astronomy Club
• Biology Club
• Chemistry Club
• Economics Club
• Electronics Club
• Engineering Club
• English Club
• Distributive Education Clubs of America
• History Club
• Life Sciences Club
• Literature Club
• Literary Magazine Club
• Mu Alpha Theta: Math Honor Society
• National Honor Society
• Peer Tutoring
• Poetry Club
• Physics Club
• Psychology Club
• Quill and Scroll
• Robotics Club
• Science National Honors Society
• Trivia and Quiz Clubs
• Web design/coding club
• Writing Club

Academic Competitive Teams

• Academic Decathlon
• Academic Triathlon
• American Mathematics Competitions
• American Regions Math League
• Caribou Mathematics Competition
• Chemistry Olympiad
• Clean Tech Competition
• Creative Communication Poetry Contest
• EconChallenge
• Educators Rising
• FIRST Robotics Competition
• High School Innovation Challenge
• Intel International Science and Engineering Fair
• Kids Philosophy Slam
• Math League
• National Academic Quiz Tournament
• National French Contest
• National History Bee
• National Spelling Bee
• Odyssey of the Mind
• Poetry Out Loud
• Questions Unlimited
• Science Bowl
• Science Olympiad
• Other Trivia and Quiz Competition Teams

These activities will allow you to express yourself artistically—on paper, through a lens, on stage, and through several other media. Unleash your creativity!

• Anime/Manga Club
• Art: drawing, painting
• Blacksmithing
• Fashion design
• Graphic Design
• Jewelry Making
• Photography
• High School Theater Program
• Community Theater Program
• Video Game Development Club
• Woodworking

Cultural and Language

These activities may help you reconnect with your roots, or allow you to get a taste of the world's diversity without ever leaving home. There are many other cultural and language-related activities that you can participate in. Some of the most common ones are listed below.

• African American Student Alliances/Clubs
• American Sign Language Club
• Chinese Club
• French Club
• German Club
• International Food Club
• Pacific Islanders Club
• Russian Club
• South Asian Student Society
• Spanish Club

These activities will allow you to get involved in your community.

• Community Festivals
• Do Something
• Habitat for Humanity
• Kids Helping Kids
• Mountaineers Club
• Sisters on the Runway

Interested in making a difference in your school, community, or on a larger scale, through policy? Try a government-related activity to see if this could be a career interest for you!

• Community Youth Board
• Student Council
• Student Government
• Community Government

These activities could be a fit if you're a natural leader, skilled at motivating, directing, and inspiring others.

• National Beta Club
• Peer Leadership Group

If you love writing and communicating, consider getting involved in a media activity to help bring news and information to your school or community.

• School or local magazine/journal
• School or local newspaper
• School or local radio station
• School or local television channel
• School or local web site
• Work on a movie
• Yearbook Committee

If you are interested in learning about discipline, teamwork, and leadership, then you may be interested in a military-based extracurricular activity.

• Civil Air Patrol
• Junior ROTC

If you want to try playing an instrument or singing, there are many opportunities to try music-related activities. These are usually available both in your school community and in your wider community.

• Any musical interest club
• School Chorus/Choir
• Community Chorus/Choir
• Church Chorus/Choir
• Chamber Music Group
• Concert Band
• Singing Lessons
• Marching Band
• Your own band
• Tri-M Music Honor Society

Performance Art

Love to ham it up? You'll find there are many outlets both in your school and in your community to get on a stage and make an audience laugh and cry.

• Comedy Club
• Choreography
• Classic Film Club
• Film Production Club
• International Thespian Society
• Slam Poetry Club
• High School Theater Group
• Community Theater Group

You can usually find these groups in your community.

• Church groups
• Fellowship of Christian Athletes
• Jewish Student Union
• Missionary work
• Youth Groups

Roleplaying/Fantasy

Did you know your love of fantasy can also be an extracurricular activity? Participating in one of these groups can show a dedication to many different creative skills.

• The Civil War Reenactors
• Dungeons and Dragons Club
• Gamers Club
• LARPing (Live Action Role Playing)
• Renaissance Faires

Social Activism

These groups may have chapters in your school or in your community. If there's a cause you're passionate about, seek out the local group that supports it.

• Amnesty International
• Animal Rights Club
• Breast Cancer Awareness
• Cancer Foundation
• Environmental Club
• Fair Trade Club
• Gay-Straight Alliance
• Girls Lean International
• NOW —National Organization for Women
• SADD —Students Against Destructive Decisions

Special Interest

You will often find these groups in your school or supported by the community. If you have a special interest in something that you can't find a local group for, consider creating one or join a national group. You can communicate with other people who have the same interest online, and attend meet-ups throughout the year.

• Equestrian Club
• Entrepreneurship Club
• Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA)
• Girl Scouts
• Horticulture Club
• Model Railroads
• Quilt Making

Sports and Recreation

You probably already know about the sports teams at your schools, but there are also many opportunities to participate outside of those. Try doing extramural sports, join a club league in your community, or consider coaching a youth team.

• Baseball and softball
• Bodybuilding
• Cheerleading
• Climbing Club
• Hiking Club
• Intramural Sports
• Martial Arts
• Ping Pong Club
• Quidditch Clubs
• Skate Board Club
• Track & Field
• Ultimate Frisbee Club

There are a lot of ways to make a difference in your local community. Look for volunteer groups in your school, your church, or elsewhere in your neighborhood. There are many websites, such as Volunteer Match , that can help you find a local community service project that is of interest to you.

• Adopt-a-Highway
• Animal rescue
• Best Buddies International
• Church outreach
• Hospital volunteer
• International volunteer program
• Red Cross Club
• UNICEF High School Clubs
• Volunteer Fire Department
• Work with a local charity
• Work with a local soup kitchen

If none of the above activities are for you, you're still in luck. Why? You can always create your own extracurricular activity!

Did you know that almost any hobby can be turned into an extracurricular activity?

Starting a business or a website, volunteering, or any unusual hobby can be turned into something that you can write about for college. And if it's unique enough to not be on this list, you can be sure that it will be something new for the college admissions committee, as well!

What matters most is that it's an outlet for your passion, creativity, and leadership.

So instead of thinking you don't do anything interesting, take the opportunity to find a new passion, or to turn something you already love into an activity you can share with the world.

If you think there's something we left off that you want to see something added to this list, leave a comment below.

What's Next?

Now that you know what extracurriculars look like, read about how to write about extracurriculars on your college application.

Did you know that you can use community service work to help pay for college? Check out our step-by-step guide on how to win community service scholarships.

Want your extracurriculars to really stand out? Check out our guide of three amazing extracurricular examples that are sure to impress colleges.

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Mary Ann holds a BA in Classics and Russian from the University of Notre Dame, and an MA from University College London. She has years of tutoring experience and is also passionate about travel and learning languages.

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Public Speaking Activities for Secondary Students

Read on for six public speaking activities. Then, sign up for a free download of the activities that you can hopefully use in diverse ways, even as public speaking games. 

I earned an endorsement in “speech” for my teaching license. (I’m in Illinois.) In college, I took extra communication courses and observed high school speech classes. Plenty of my extracurricular activities (plus my classes) required me to prepare and deliver speeches. When I started teaching, I had experienced public speaking activities as a student and a teacher observer.

Still, I felt underprepared to teach public speaking. I had zero speech activities for high school students. My first year of teaching, I thought materials were lacking on the Internet, from textbooks, from anywhere (and I searched). This was pre-TpT and I was sinking or swimming. My textbook for the class was about sixty years old, and I had no teacher edition.

That first year I did lots of paddling, but over the years I grew confident in teaching a speech class. I developed fun impromptu speech activities and other speech activities for high school students.

That isn’t to say that I didn’t make mistakes ; I made plenty. Through messy lessons, too-short of lessons, and confused students, I learned to provide structure for students without squashing them. I realized how much preparation was needed. I changed basic rubrics to rubrics that encouraged students to set goals and take ownership of their improvement. Scaffolding and modeling became part of my class.

So! I improved and reflected. After years of teaching public speaking, I crafted ideas for what would help young speakers. Hopefully, these activities help your speech classes too.

What are some ice-breaker exercises that can be used in a public speaking activity?

Some ice-breaker exercises that can be used in public speaking activities include “Two Truths and a Lie,” where participants share two true statements and one false statement about themselves, and “Would You Rather,” where participants are asked to choose between two options and explain their choice.

What about public speaking games?

Sometimes, structure helps young speakers, so I created these public speaking activities to address common areas of concern with high schoolers. Most students fear the nature of a speech class, use too many fillers when speaking, and focus on one area, such as volume and forget about the rest: non-verbal communication, tone, eye contact, etc.

Through coaching speech, spending many weekends at speech tournaments, and teaching public speaking, I created these public speaking activities. I’ve seen variations of these or adapted these from activities geared toward younger students. These speech activities should work well with high school students, but you can modify them for middle school or college speech classes.

These are included in my public speaking unit as well because they can be used numerous times.

Fillers can distract an audience from hearing a really well-developed speech. First, not all fillers are bad. We naturally pause and add fillers. The abundance of fillers, however, can be distracting.

Sometimes speech students are unaware that they use fillers. Other times, students become nervous, pause, and fill the empty time with a filler. Talk with students about the reasons why fillers occur and if they have a time they rely on one. Showing compassion and understanding about a common problem during speeches will relax students, and they will be more likely to work on eliminating an abundance of fillers.

After showing compassion, play public speaking games to address filler words.

Before starting, choose your topic and write a list of common fillers that don’t positively add to spoken communication: um, yeah, like, uh. Ask students to contribute to the list. I normally write the list so that students can consult it.

Instruct students to speak for 30 seconds (vary the time if necessary) and not use any fillers. Students should realize how easily fillers creep into their speech. NOW! Everyone uses some fillers, and fillers can make public speaking natural. However, too many fillers can distract audiences.

Each student will give a short speech for 30 seconds. The topic isn’t too important. You can choose one for the entire class or allow students to choose.

Students must restart their speech if they use a filler. Some students will try to pause and draw out the speech by not speaking, but most students speak at a normal pace. Overall, the audience is compassionate toward the speaker because everyone realizes the difficulty of not relying on these words.

This activity is perfect after the first formal speech. Students need to decompress, but they also need to eliminate fillers. When I ask students to write goals for their future speeches, eliminating fillers is a common goal.

2. Nonverbal practice

Nonverbal communication matters. To help students experience that, ask them to perform an activity where the focus is nonverbal communication.

Students will line up in alphabetical order only using nonverbal communication. I have students line up by order of their middle names since they typically know everyone’s last names. They experiment with different forms of nonverbal communication and have fun. Most often they make a capital letter with their fingers. If some students know middle names, they will switch classmates around.

The real practice is when students realize many of them have a middle name that starts with the same letter. “A” is a common one. Then students must figure out how to communicate the second letters of Aarron, Ann, Alice, and Abraham. I will say I’ve never had a class line up correctly.

This activity is the perfect introduction to nonverbal communication. As students continue through the semester, they’ll be able to focus on purposeful movements that emphasize their points. This nonverbal activity breaks the ice as you start to work on nonverbal communication. I never plan on this nonverbal practice becoming a public speaking game, but it often does.

3. One goal

Speeches can overwhelm students. Help students focus on one goal. The best part about the “one goal” activity is that students choose their focus which creates less work for you and buy-in for students.

As students continue with class, ask them what area they see as the greatest potential for improvement. Brainstorm areas as a class. There is no right or wrong! Students normally list eye contact, proper volume level, appropriate nonverbal communication, and natural movement. Then let students decide what they desire to improve.

Students will individually decide what they want to improve in their speaking—they will each have a goal. Some students want to work on eye contact, others want to balance their volume, others want to stop fidgeting. Then I divide students into small groups. Students will practice the current speech they are creating, receiving constructive feedback when they need to correct an action to meet their goal. Their group will also tell them when they did well and moved toward meeting their goal.

(This is a bit like #1 but fillers are such a huge issue with high school orators that it gets its own activity.) I normally do this activity later in the year after students are comfortable with each other. I also don’t do this activity if I feel a class may not give meaningful feedback. Finally, I share with students that improving in an area is part of most jobs. In teaching, for example, teachers often record themselves and reflect on the video later. They then develop goals for improvement in their profession. (Sometimes it is a public speaking goal!)

This activity works well to meet individual goals and to build classroom community. My speech rubrics contain a spot for consideration on improvement of a goal. Plus, the art of reflection will serve students in any field or career, so I stress that message to them. This focused practice works well because it encourages students to work on a goal in which the teacher had very little involvement.

4. M&M/ Skittles

Who doesn’t like candy? With this fun exercise, students share information about a topic. You’ll get students talking in a low-stress, engaging way.

This candy activity is fun and quick. Bring a large bag of small candies like M&M or Skittles to class. Ask students to take as many pieces of candy as they like, but stress not to eat the candies yet. Pass the bag around. Then, students must tell a fact about themselves for each piece of candy. 15 pieces of candy? 15 facts.

This also works with review. 5 pieces of candy? Review 5 facts with the class concerning public speaking terms. After speaking, students may eat their candy. I’ve used a similar process in other classes to review material.

This activity works well as a review or as a first day of school activity. Students are publicly speaking in their speech class on the first day of school without any feedback or real regulations. Since the process is fun, their first experience in class is a positive one. Plus, the candy aspect lends itself to making a public speaking game.

5. Impromptu

Most speeches in real life are actually impromptu speeches. Interviews, business meetings, and proposal presentations require people to think quickly and to speak eloquently, all while proving their point. Body language matters too!

Activate prior knowledge with a bit of an anticipatory set. Ask students about a time they gave an impromptu speech (even though they did not probably label it “impromptu” at the time!). Most people can relate to the frustration of having ideas but not conveying them well. Many times, people think of what they should have said days later! Students probably face this frustration. Acknowledge that feeling, share they you’ve experienced it too, and supply a solution.

Thinking and speaking on your feet might come naturally to some people. With practice, even those who struggle to articulate their ideas under pressure can improve.

Have students organize a speech quickly by delivering an impromptu speech. Often I would ask a class to write a topic on a piece of paper. (Sometimes I would say that the topic needed to be persuasive or informative—but it always needed to be clean.) Students would write their topic, add it to a box, and draw from a box. The topics were great because I didn’t make them and because students knew they had the potential to draw their own.

After drawing, provide 30 seconds to outline their speech. Then, students will talk about the topic for one minute. As the school year continued, I would increase the speaking time.

Older students who have been in class for a bit will probably organize their speech with a general introductory statement, two concepts, and a concluding statement. (That varies, of course.) If students struggle with the format, create a quick outline they can apply to their topics.

Students enjoy creating their own topics and learn to speak on the spot in a mature, organized manner. At first, students groan about impromptu speaking. This area is actually where I see the most growth. Students gain confidence that they can think and speak quickly, and they start to enjoy the process.

Tone matters! Many adults don’t realize the tone that they convey shapes their communication. We should certainly work with our students concerning tone so that they are aware of its power. Not only can the wrong tone hurt speakers, but the right tone can also emphasize their message.

Define “tone” for students. Brainstorm times that students know their tone has affected them. (Normally students share stories about times they were in trouble with their parents for having the wrong tone.) Then think of times that the right tone conveyed the correct message. Students might struggle to come up with examples for best use of tone. Oftentimes, a tone that matches a speaker’s message doesn’t stand out, and that is probably because the tone was woven into the message so well.

Experiment with tone with students. Put students into groups, and assign a speaker. (Everyone will have the chance to be a speaker.) Give the speaker a list of emotions and a list of generic statements. Then ask the speaker to choose a question and an emotion that conveys tone.

Finally, the rest of the group must decide the speaker’s tone. This opportunity allows for discussion about intentional tone and miscommunication. You’ll want to circulate as students practice this.

Public speaking activities can be engaging and memorable. First, students might be nervous about giving speeches, so provide a variety of opportunities for them to practice. As you build a classroom community, these activities easily can become public speaking games.

To help nerves, work on material slowly and purposefully. By helping students see success with public speaking, they will gain more confidence in your speech class and in life. Soon, your speech activities for high school students will be personalized and fit your community.

As you incorporate these public speaking games and activities into your speech units, you’ll discover that they are easily adaptable. Plus, you’ll find the perfect timing for each exercise. Teaching public speaking requires experimentation and reflection. I hope these help!

Would you like these public speaking activities at your fingertips? Download these six lesson plans (plus many more!) when you sign up for library access.

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9 Career Exploration Activities High Schoolers Will Actually Want To Do

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Career Exploration Activities High Schoolers Will Actually Want To Do

Great college counselors and career advisors always strive to ensure that each student is able to develop a personalized roadmap for their future. Beyond creating a bridge between secondary school and postsecondary success, career exploration plays a critical role for students while in school and provides thoughtful reflection and self-examination as students choose their life path. High-quality career exploration helps give meaning to the learning students are doing while in school, provides focus for their decision-making and time, and inspires hope for where their learning and hard work can take them. 

Many schools and districts offer students annual or semi-annual career days and fairs as a primary channel for career exploration. Often times these events highlight individuals in the most common career roles or representatives from local businesses and business community organizations with brand recognition. Though these assemblies are important, they do not, on their own, impactfuly engage students in an ongoing process of deeper exploration necessary to drive meaningful questioning, engagement, and speculative research throughout secondary school.  

Because of the important role it plays, career exploration must be ongoing and interesting to students in order to effectively engage them and promote motivation and enthusiasm. Counselors and educators can play a key role in finding ways to embed innovative practices to help students explore possible careers, learn about a much broader set of potential career options, and receive sufficient time and guidance--all allowing students to deeply consider their postsecondary career paths.

Innovative, Engaging Activities And Practices

In order for career exploration activities to be meaningful and exciting to today’s high school students, they need to be interactive and relevant. They must involve opportunities for student voice and choice, allowing students to explore and discern what appeals to them and what does not. And, in order to work within a college and career readiness program, the activities need to be scalable and accessible for all students. 

Use Technology to Connect Students with Career Role Models

Today’s students are all 21st Century natives. They learned to read with books and apps. Video calls are just as common as telephone calls. They are used to using digital devices to connect with people near and far. Technology has made it much easier to connect students to information and resources beyond the school walls and get them excited about future career possibilities. Encourage students to explore websites that connect them with first-hand insights of professionals from around the world. 

• Career Village : This online community provides a forum for students to ask questions about career exploration and planning directly to current professionals. From “How much does a music producer earn?” to “How to find your dream job,” students are able to have their specific questions answered from real-life professionals working in the fields they are exploring.
• Job Shadow : At Job Shadow, students can read interviews from professionals working in a vast number of fields, including some more unique professions that might be of interest to students such as jobs in the arts, roles that involve work with animals, and “jobs you may not have heard of.” Students can also search for interviews based on compensation structure or work environment. 

Use Virtual Reality to Explore Career Options 

Hands-on, interactive, and dynamic experiences are important to engage students and give them a realistic window into what a career will entail. Some of the most innovative work in career exploration is utilizing virtual reality (VR) to provide immersive experiences for students to do jobs. Though internships, apprenticeships, and other immersive, real-world experiences are only possible for a small number of students, VR can provide access to the environments, tools, and opportunities in a wide variety of industries without leaving the classroom. 

• Oculus VR Career Experience : This free resource designed for the Oculus Go platform, the most popular consumer VR headset, provides students with the opportunity to learn the complex world of pipe fitting, HVAC, and welding. The application was designed by the International Training Fund of the United Association, an international union of plumbers, fitters, and technicians, to provide students with an immersive and realistic window into these jobs.
• ByteSpeed : ByteSpeed, available for a fee, provides students ranging from elementary school to higher education a wide variety of career VR experiences including agriculture, fashion design, health care, and engineering.

Partner with Local Chambers of Commerce and Beyond

A core piece of career planning needs to include job opportunities within one’s community. A local chamber of commerce is the perfect resource. Encourage the local chamber of commerce to have member businesses create YouTube videos spotlighting their work and different types of potential jobs for students. Some local business organizations have partnered with school districts to create sites geared specifically toward secondary students to share the types of jobs available and the skills needed to do those roles. You might also invite local businesses to provide teachers with recruitment, application, and training materials for students. 

• Career Explore NW : A school district in Spokane, Washington has partnered with local businesses and the public broadcasting station to create an impressive web platform that enables career exploration, promotes local agriculture and industry opportunities, and connects local businesses with students.  
• UpSkill Houston : In Houston, Texas, the Greater Houston Partnership has brought the school district into the workforce development process. Realizing that economic development requires a skill-ready workforce at hand, rather than importing it from other communities, the organization formed this partnership and site aimed at connecting high school students with relevant careers.   
• SchooLinks : SchooLinks provides an Industry Partnership Portal which assists schools and districts in nurturing partnerships. Providing student access, calendaring events, and empowering local businesses to connect to students helps create real-world opportunities for students to explore local career options.  

Include A Diversity of Voices

Students are more likely to deeply engage with career exploration activities when they can personally relate to or see themselves in career role models. It is vital that schools offer students exposure to a wide diversity of individuals representing possible career pathways. Expanding conceptions of role models for students both opens the minds of current students and works to upend historical stereotypes and barriers long-term. 

• Invite Recent Alumni: Consider offering students opportunities to talk with and learn from individuals still early in their career trajectory, rather than just focusing on those who have achieved long-term career success. You might invite recent alumni to talk with students about their experiences both in college or career training, applying for positions, and during their first weeks and months in a new role. This gives students much more relatable information and advice that likely feels more relevant to their current decision-making and thinking.
• Ensure Gender, Racial, and Ethnic Diversity in Role Models : Across fields, take special care to include representatives that fall outside often held gender stereotypes for particular careers. For instance, spotlight women working in positions from predominantly male STEM careers. And, have male representation from nursing or teaching positions, which are often female-dominated careers. The Career Girls website is a great resource geared at female students to provide them with empowering role models and tools to explore future career options. Ensure racial and ethnic diversity in connecting students with professionals as it is fundamental that all students have role models that they can personally identify with.

Honor And Value A Wide Array Of Career Pathways

Engaging career exploration also includes guidance and activities to help students expand their thinking beyond what they conceive of as likely career paths. Many times student career planning and exploration is constrained by what they know--either what their own family members do for a living, professionals they interact with in their own lives such as teachers, doctors, and coaches, or those they see on television and the internet. This leaves major gaps in student understanding of all the potential opportunities and fields that exist. Educators can have major impacts on postsecondary success by showing students the wide array of options that are possible and connecting those options with student strengths and preferences. 

Additionally, many career exploration curricula often default to college planning as a core component. However, in today’s economy, there are a myriad of good job options that do not require a four-year college degree. It does a disservice to students to only focus on career paths that extend from college completion. Career counselors can play an important role in helping students to see these different pathways--from straight to career, to technical education, to the military, to community college, to four-year degrees and beyond--as all potentially worthwhile to consider. This makes career planning and exploration accessible to students who do not think that college is right for them and helps all students understand their options as they make important life decisions.

Relevant And Productive Career Exploration For All Students

As you develop and plan your career exploration activities, take time to regularly survey students for fields they would like to explore, the kinds of activities that resonate with them, and for feedback on past activities and events. By aligning career exploration activities with student interest and choice, it is much more likely that students will engage more deeply and reflectively. 

When students do this, they are able to see connections between future career goals and their current learning; they are able to figure out the kinds of work they enjoy and those they do not; and, they are able to understand how their strengths and preferences map onto future possibilities. By deeply exploring career possibilities during secondary school and critically thinking about the associated realities, students are able to enter postsecondary life knowing they are making active and well-informed choices. Ultimately, if students are excited about these activities and thoughtfully engage with them, they are better prepared for the entire pathway to a career.

Centralizing career exploration activities in the same place as goal setting, college exploration and graduation plans can help students see the little, and big pictures. Check out how SchooLinks can consolidate it all for your district.

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Giving high school students hands-on STEM experiences

PhD student Kawther Rouabhi helping two high school students troubleshoot their camera.

Roaming outdoors with homemade multispectral cameras, high school students are getting a hands-on look at engineering remote sensing.

Tomoko Matsuo, an associate professor in the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder, is leading a special summer program giving 9th-12th graders a unique STEM experience.

“They’re going through a whole arc: building an instrument, a field campaign, data collection,” Matsuo said. “It’s great to be with these aspiring young students. They’re so curious.”

The module was developed as part of Matsuo’s National Science Foundation CAREER Award grant. This year it is offered as part of a CU Science Discovery Camp, an educational outreach program designed to connect public audiences with the STEM research happening at CU Boulder. Roughly two dozen teens are participating in the activity as part of a weeklong program exploring different aspects of science and engineering.

Matsuo’s day-to-day research is in remote sensing, the science of investigating aspects of the earth and space environment from a distance, typically using instruments aboard aircraft or satellites. It often involves monitoring conditions not visible to the naked eye. The teens in the camp are getting a basic primer with more easily accessible technology – digital cameras.

But these are not off-the-shelf Nikons. The project involves assembling do-it-yourself cameras consisting of an ultra-tiny Raspberry Pi Linux computer, batteries, a camera lens, and special multi-spectral filters to see beyond visible light into the UV and infrared spectrum.

Two high school students testing their multispectral camera on objects in nature.

While humans cannot perceive such light under ordinary circumstances, some animals and insects can. The camera makes it possible to view how the world appears through those eyes.

Assisting with the lesson was recent PhD graduate John Marino (ElEngr MS’16, AeroEngr PhD’24), who saw the project as an opportunity to build excitement for science and engineering.

“I hope one of the kids comes away learning something they didn’t know and wanting to know more. It’s nice to be able to generate programs like this for kids,” Marino said.

The camera originated as a personal side project of Marino’s. After demonstrating the technology to Matsuo and the ability to see things in UV and infrared, they adapted it into an educational module.

“I just wanted to see if I could build a multi-spectral camera for fun, but Tomoko saw the potential as an enrichment activity,” Marino said.

The experience included more than just assembling and using the camera. Kawther Rouabhi, a third-year aerospace PhD student led the teens step by step through one of her favorite activities: programming.

“They’re building the cameras, learning a little bit about their inner workings, and getting hands-on experience with the Linux command line and Python. Everything that makes it work. My first experience with programming was when I was about their age, and I really like solving problems this way,” Rouabhi said.

As a student in Matsuo’s lab, Rouabhi spends much of her time analyzing remote sensing data with machine learning, but she is thrilled to share her knowledge with teens.

“These types of programs were very important for me to get excited about STEM as a young person,” she said. “I want to make things like this more accessible. It’s been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember. Working with teens, they’re all super motivated and excited. It’s really fun.”

CU Boulder’s Science Discovery Camps are an annual series of weeklong summer programs open to K-12 students.  Find out more at the Science Discovery website.

PhD graduate John Marino working with two high school students in the lab.

Prof. Matsuo helping two camp attendees with their camera.

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How To Prepare for College: The Ultimate Guide for High School Students

You may not be a high school senior yet or feel like you have plenty of time before you graduate. But it never hurts to start preparing for college early.

Going from being a high school student to a college student is a pivotal transition that requires thoughtful preparation and strategic planning. It's not just about getting into college; it's about being ready to thrive once you're there. This guide aims to demystify the process and put you on a path to success, ensuring that when the time comes, you're not just college-bound but college-ready.

From understanding the significance of your GPA to mastering the art of time management, there are countless ways to enhance your college readiness. This guide will provide actionable steps and insider advice to navigate the college preparation landscape. Whether you're a freshman just starting to think about college or a senior amid application season, there's something here to help everyone get ready for the next big step.

College Prep Steps

Here's a college checklist to follow as you get ready for your freshman year:

Research Colleges You May Be Interested In

Researching potential colleges is the first step in the college preparation journey. Start by identifying what you're looking for in a college experience, including the size of the school, its location, available majors, and campus culture. Utilize college search tools online and visit college campuses, if possible, to get a feel for the environment. Remember, the goal is to find a college that aligns with your academic goals and personal preferences.

Understand Each College’s Admission Requirements

Each college has its own set of criteria, which can include GPA, SAT, or ACT scores, and specific course completions. Start by visiting the college's website or contacting the admissions office to gather this information. Early awareness of these requirements can guide your high school course selection and extracurricular activities.

Take Standardized Tests

Taking standardized tests like the ACT or SAT is a key component of the college application process. These exams are a requirement for many colleges and universities and measure your readiness for college-level work. Begin preparing for these tests well in advance by utilizing study guides, taking practice tests, and considering prep courses. Your scores on these tests can play a significant role in college admission decisions and scholarship opportunities.

Participate In Extracurriculars

Engaging in extracurricular activities not only enriches your high school experience but also strengthens your college applications. Colleges look for students who are well-rounded and have demonstrated commitment and leadership in activities outside of the classroom. Whether it's sports, music, volunteer work, or clubs, find activities that interest you and where you can make a meaningful contribution.

Take a Variety of High School Courses

Diversifying your high school course selection can significantly impact your college readiness. Challenge yourself with Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses if they're available. These classes can offer a taste of college-level coursework and may even earn you college credit. Balancing your course load with a mix of subjects also demonstrates your willingness to push yourself academically.

Save for College

Starting to save for college early is a practical step toward managing the financial responsibilities of higher education. Explore savings options like 529 plans or education savings accounts. Understanding the costs associated with college  early on can help you and your family plan more effectively and reduce the need for student loans.

Attend College Fairs

Attending college fairs and information sessions can provide valuable insights into the college search and application process. These events are great opportunities to meet with admissions officers, ask questions, and collect information about various colleges and universities. Make a list of questions beforehand to make the most of these events.

Talk to Your Guidance Counselor

Consulting with guidance counselors for college opportunities  can offer personalized advice tailored to your academic and career aspirations. School counselors have a wealth of knowledge about college admissions, scholarship opportunities, and other resources. They can help you navigate the college application process and make informed decisions about your future.

Round Up Application Materials

Preparing application materials and recommendation letters well in advance of deadlines is essential. Start drafting your college essays early, giving yourself plenty of time to revise and perfect them. Reach out to teachers, coaches, or mentors who know you well to request letters of recommendation, providing them with enough time to write thoughtful endorsements.

Consider Financial Aid Options

Exploring financial aid options is a critical step in the college preparation process. Research scholarships, grants, work-study programs, and federal student aid to understand what financial support you may be eligible for. Completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a necessary step for accessing federal grants, loans, and work-study funds.

Visit Campus If Possible

Visiting college campuses can give you a firsthand look at what life is like on campus. These visits can help you determine if a college is the right fit for you. Take tours, attend information sessions, and if possible, talk to current students about their experiences. Observing the campus culture, academic facilities, and housing options  can provide valuable insights into your potential college life.

Tips for Preparing for College

Even with a step-by-step guide, preparing both mentally and physically for school can be a bit overwhelming. To help you feel ready for this next step, here are some tips to follow:

Stay Organized

Creating a timeline and checklist can significantly ease the college preparation process. Break down tasks by year or semester to manage your time effectively. Include key deadlines for college applications, financial aid submissions, and standardized tests. This approach ensures you stay on track and can make the journey less overwhelming. Regularly updating and referring to your checklist will help you meet your college prep milestones with confidence.

Build Good Study Habits

Establishing strong study and sleep habits early in your high school career can have a profound impact on your college readiness. Effective study techniques, such as time management and active learning, can improve your academic performance and reduce stress. Prioritizing sleep is equally important, as it affects your memory, mood, and overall health. Developing these habits now will prepare you for the rigors of college coursework and help you maintain a balanced student life  between school and personal life.

Take AP or Dual-Credit Courses

Enrolling in AP or dual-credit courses can provide a head start on earning college credits while still in high school. These courses challenge you academically and expose you to college-level material. Completing AP exams or dual-credit classes can reduce your college course load and potentially save on tuition costs. It's a smart way to get a jump on your college education and familiarize yourself with the expectations of higher education.

Practice Your Writing

Writing is a fundamental part of college coursework, from essays to research papers. High school is the perfect time to hone your writing abilities. Take advantage of English classes, writing workshops, and feedback from teachers to improve your clarity, coherence, and argumentation skills. Strong writing can also enhance your college applications, particularly your personal statement and supplemental essays.

Build Your Leadership Skills

Seeking leadership opportunities in extracurricular activities can set you apart in the college application process. Leadership roles demonstrate initiative, responsibility, and the ability to work with others. Whether it's captaining a sports team, leading a club, or organizing community service projects, these experiences can highlight your leadership skills and commitment to making a positive impact.

Ready To Start Your Education?

Discover the transformative education at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS), where students are prepared for a future in healthcare and life sciences. MCPHS offers a unique blend of rigorous academic programs and hands-on learning experiences, guided by experienced staff committed to your success. From day one, you'll be immersed in a culture of innovation and collaboration, setting the stage for a fulfilling career in the healthcare industry.

Whether it's through internships, clinical rotations, or research projects, you'll have the chance to apply what you've learned in real-world settings, guided by faculty who are leaders in their fields.

Our campus is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, a hub of healthcare, research, and education. The vibrant MCPHS campus is surrounded by some of the world's leading hospitals and research institutions, offering unparalleled opportunities for professional development and networking. You'll be part of a dynamic community of scholars and healthcare professionals, all dedicated to improving lives through innovation and care.

Our supportive community and extensive resources are here to help you achieve your goals and make a meaningful impact in the world of healthcare. Start your application today  and take the first step toward a rewarding career that makes a difference.

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Teenagers’ motivation dips in high school. But research shows supportive teachers can really help

Scientia Professor and Professor of Educational Psychology, UNSW Sydney

Scientia Associate Professor of Educational Psychology, UNSW Sydney

Disclosure statement

Andrew J. Martin sits on the Advisory Board of Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation in the New South Wales Department of Education. Funding for the research mentioned in this article was provided by the NSW Department of Education.

Rebecca J. Collie receives funding from the New South Wales Department of Education.

UNSW Sydney provides funding as a member of The Conversation AU.

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Adolescence is often characterised as a time of “ storm and stress ”.

Young people are dealing with physical and cognitive changes and, as they move from childhood, can become increasingly distant from the adults in their lives.

In academic terms, this time of major hormonal change is also accompanied by a well-known dip in students’ motivation and engagement at school. This often coincides with students’ going to high school.

How can schools better help young people at this time? In a new four-year study we looked at the role of teaching support. We were especially interested to know if teachers’ influence on students’ motivation and engagement grows or fades across the adolescent years.

Read more: Too many Year 9 students are missing school. What can parents and teachers do to keep them engaged?

Our study involved 7,769 Year 6 New South Wales government school students who were tracked annually into Year 9. The students were part of the NSW Department of Education’s annual “Tell Them From Me” student survey .

Students were asked questions about the teaching support they received, as well as questions about their motivation and engagement. They were given a 0–4 point rating scale (strongly disagree to strongly agree).

There were three categories of teaching support:

emotional support : did teachers support and care for students?

instrumental support : did teachers have clear expectations for students and did they make learning content seem relevant?

management support : were there clear rules and routines for the class?

Motivation was measured through students’ academic aspirations about the future and how much they valued school (or saw it as important). Engagement was assessed via students’ perseverance, efforts with homework, making school friends and whether they had any behaviour issues.

In our analysis we also accounted for students’ backgrounds, such as gender, socioeconomic status and prior academic achievement.

Our findings

Our findings confirm there is a decline in students’ motivation and engagement from Year 6 to Year 9 (around 18% in total). This is consistent with the known dip in early- to mid-adolescence.

But we also found in each of these four years, teaching support overall (and each of the three teaching support categories) was significantly associated with students’ motivation and engagement.

That is, more teaching support was linked to greater student aspirations, valuing school, perseverance, homework effort, connections with school friends and less misconduct at school.

Of particular note, we found the link between teaching support and students’ motivation and engagement strengthened each year. For example, teaching support was more strongly linked to students’ motivation and engagement in Year 9 than it was in Year 8. Taken together, between Year 6 and Year 9, there was a 40% increase in the role of teaching support in students’ motivation and engagement.

What this means

This is an empowering finding for teachers because adolescence is typically seen as a time when the influence of adults declines. Our results show students remain within their teacher’s orbit as they move further into adolescence.

What can we do?

Previous research suggests ideas for how teachers can provide emotional support , instructional support , and management support to students, including:

spending time getting to know students

respecting students’ individuality

listening to students’ perspectives

providing emotional encouragement when needed

ensuring content and tasks are interesting and meaningful to students

explaining how schoolwork is useful for other schoolwork, or things outside school (for example, world events or paid work)

having clear, consistent, and logical expectations about classroom behaviour

encouraging student input as classroom rules are developed.

There are also further practical ideas in a NSW Department of Education guide that accompanies our study.

With thanks to Mary Stephan, Anaïd Flesken, Fiona Halcrow and Brianna McCourt from the Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation, NSW Department of Education. The “Tell Them From Me” survey mentioned in this article is the intellectual property of education resources company, The Learning Bar.

• High school
• Adolescence
• Student engagement
• transitions
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42 Icebreakers for High School Students That Really Work

Get to know your students and foster classroom respect.

The first few days of school are so important—it’s a chance to get to know your new students and set the tone for the year ahead. But finding icebreakers for high school students can be a real challenge. Older kids can see the usual “getting to know you” activities coming from a mile away. And they don’t want to risk looking silly or awkward in front of their peers.

So in order to gain real buy-in, you’ll need to choose activities that are meaningful and fun. The key is to make them forget themselves temporarily because they’re so wrapped up in the game or challenge. We have a little bit of everything on this list, from speed-dating-inspired activities to snowball fights. Most of them make terrific icebreakers for middle schoolers too!

• Getting To Know You Icebreakers
• Setting Classroom Expectations Icebreakers
• Team-Building Icebreakers

Getting To Know You Icebreakers for High School Students

Here’s a tip: Before you ask kids to tell you about themselves, be sure to introduce yourself first! We’ve got a great list of ways to introduce yourself to students here , and a lot of these can be flipped for your students to use too.

Now you’re ready to ask kids to reveal a bit about themselves. This is an opportunity to find ways to connect with them in the months ahead and for them to find new friends too. Here are some high school icebreakers that really do help teachers and students get to know one another.

1. Unpopular Opinion

You’ve probably seen the threads and viral videos where someone shares an unpopular opinion like “Kittens and puppies are annoying, not cute” or “Ketchup is gross.” As students introduce themselves, ask them to share one of their own unpopular opinions. They might be surprised to discover that some of their classmates agree!

2. Would You Rather?

Would you rather … do math homework or go for a 2-mile run? Read a book or watch a movie? Wrestle a gorilla or swim with alligators? No matter what questions you ask, this is such a fun way for kids to mix and mingle. Pose your question, then have kids move to different sides of the room to show their answers. Give them a few minutes to chat about the topic before moving on to the next one. Check out the Would You Rather questions on this list to get started.

3. Classmate Bingo

Use this free bingo card generator to create your own Classmate Bingo cards. Give one to each student, then set them loose to find another student who can initial each space. If you have enough kids, make a rule that each student can only initial one space on any card. Offer small prizes to the first student to fill in a row and the first to fill their whole card.

4. Blobs and Lines

Students respond to prompts either by lining up (in order of height, birthday, alphabetical by middle names, etc.) or gathering in “blobs” (grouped by type of shoes, hair color, favorite ice cream flavor, and so on). It’s ridiculously easy, low-risk, and gives teens a chance to find out what they have in common.

5. Speed Meetings

The old “interview each other and introduce them to the class” bit is pretty played out. Try this twist instead, which is a lot like speed dating. Divide the class in half, and have them sit in two concentric circles facing each other. Ask an icebreaker question, set a timer for 60 seconds, and let each pair discuss. When the timer dings, the outside ring moves one seat to the left. Give the new pairs a new question, and set the timer again. You can continue this as long as you like. Tip: To increase engagement, have kids help you generate the list of icebreaker questions before you start.

6. What Do You Meme?

Find some popular meme images on the web, print them out, and post them in various places around your classroom. Start class by asking kids to find and stand by the meme that best represents how they feel about the subject you teach. Let them chat in groups for a minute or two, then pose a few more icebreaker questions for them to group together and discuss. ADVERTISEMENT

7. Collaborative Playlist

Music is meaningful to all of us, and the songs we love can be a window into our personalities. Ask each student to contribute one song choice to a class playlist, along with an explanation of why they love that song. (Depending on students’ ages, you can decide on parameters for lyrics and language.) Create the list on Spotify so all students can listen to one another’s songs. If you allow music in your classroom, add this playlist to your collection .

8. Toilet Paper Pass

Some kids may already know this one, but it’s still a classic. Pass a roll of toilet paper around and tell students to take what they think they’ll need for the day. Once everyone has a handful, explain that for each sheet they took, they must share an interesting fact about themselves.

9. Two Truths and a Lie

This one’s another classic icebreaker, and for good reason. Ask each student to share two facts about themselves and one lie, without identifying which one is untrue. Other students try to guess which one is the lie. Kids always have fun coming up with stuff to fool each other!

10. A Funny Debate

Debate team isn’t for everyone, but there is a way to make it fun for the whole class. The key is to pick a not-so-serious subject like what is the best pizza topping or whether or not clowns are scary. Then, watch as your students get into defending their positions. If you need ideas, check out these funny debate topics .

11. Word Clouds

The words we choose to define ourselves can be really telling, and word clouds are a fun way to see that in action. Kids can create word clouds by hand on paper, or try one of these free online word cloud generators instead.

12. Stand Up, Sit Down

This one is super easy, and it’s a perfect use for these icebreaker questions . Simply ask a question, and if students answer yes, they stand up. If no, they sit down (or stay seated). You can fly through questions quickly, or slow down to see what everyone’s answers are.

13. Paper Planes

Each student writes a get-to-know-you question on a piece of paper. (Encourage them to think creatively so you don’t wind up with the same question over and over again.) Then, they fold the paper into planes (Here are some free printable paper airplane folding directions .) and spend a minute throwing them across the room. Afterwards, everyone picks up a plane and they take turns answering the question on theirs.

14. Common Thread

Divide students into groups of four and have them sit together in these small groups. Give each group five minutes to chat among themselves and find something they all have in common. It could be that they all play soccer, or pizza is their favorite dinner, or they each have a cat. Whatever the common thread, the conversation will help them get to know one another better. Repeat this activity in new groups as many times as you like.

15. Show-and-Tell

You’ll need a little advance planning for this one, but it’s always a lot of fun. Ask students to bring something for Show-and-Tell on the first day of class to help their classmates get to know them a little better. They’ll feel oh-so-grown-up as they reminisce about how fun Show-and-Tell was when they were “young”!

16. Beach Ball Toss

Write some icebreaker questions on a beach ball. Start the game by tossing the ball to a student at random. Ask them to look at the question their right thumb landed on, then share their answer with everyone. Then, they toss the ball on to someone else. Continue until everyone has had a turn.

17. Say Hello!

Here’s a super-simple icebreaker for high school students. Sit in a circle (or at least in a way that makes it easy for everyone to see each other). One student stands up and says, “Hi, my name is [name].” The whole class responds, “Hello, [name]!” They sit down, and the next person does the same. This is a terrific way to learn names, and it gives kids a chance to help others learn to pronounce theirs if it’s a little tricky.

18. Favorite Quote

Give everyone a piece of paper and a marker, and ask them to write their favorite inspirational quote. You can give them a little time to do some web research; use our enormous collection of quotes to get started . Afterwards, use the quotes to decorate your classroom walls.

19. Candy Pass

Pass around a bowl of wrapped candy that comes in different colors, and ask every student to choose just one but not eat it yet. After everyone has theirs, tell them they each must answer an icebreaker question based on the color they picked. (For instance, if you picked red, share the best meal you’ve ever eaten. If you picked green, tell us your favorite joke.) Be sure to hide the questions until everyone has their candy in hand!

20. Find Me

Ask each student to write a unique fact about themselves on a note card. Gather and mix them up, then pass them back out randomly. Have students mingle and chat until everyone has found the person who matches the card they’re holding. You can repeat this over and over again so everyone has a chance to meet up and chat.

21. Fakebook Page

Your students may or may not use social media in real life, but they can all use this classroom-safe free online Fakebook generator . Kids can personalize these in ways that are appropriate for school. (This also gives you a good opportunity for a lesson on responsible digital citizenship .)

Setting Classroom Expectations Icebreakers for High School Students

Many teachers start the first day of school by sharing their classroom rules, assigning seats, and introducing the year’s agenda. Now, let’s be honest: Most kids tune out when you start sharing your rules. They’ve heard them all before, right? So, try giving your students some ownership over the expectations in your classroom . You’ll be surprised at how this can be a real game-changer.

22. Seating Plan Spin

In the beginning, any seating chart you create is pretty arbitrary. The main purpose is to have students in the same seat each day so you can get to know their names, right? So start out by letting students decide how the initial seating chart works (but they CAN’T pick “sit wherever we want”). They might suggest options like “alphabetical by middle names,” “grouped by birthday month,” and so on. Then, they vote to choose the winner. Finally, kids figure out how to get themselves into the right seats using the rules they chose.

23. Right or Wrong Skits

First, share your classroom rules and expectations. Then, divide kids into small groups, one for each rule. The group has 10 minutes to prepare short skits showing the right way to follow the rule and the wrong kind of behavior. Kids really have fun hamming up the wrong behaviors, and they’re all much more likely to remember your rules.

24. Classroom Constitution

By middle school and high school, students tend to know instinctively the rules they need to follow. Give them ownership by letting them draw up the class constitution. Brainstorm expectations for a good classroom, then create the guidelines they’ll need to follow to make that happen. Craft the language and have everyone sign. This is a project that can take more than one day, but it’s especially fun in social studies, history, and government classes. Get a free online lesson to walk you through the process here.

25. Shared Goals

From day one, you’ve got an agenda with lesson plans ready to go, of course. You’ve probably got standards to follow and routine projects you do every year. But that doesn’t mean you can’t take time on the first day to find out what your students really want to know. Post a few anchor charts around the room with the questions listed below. Have kids circulate and write their answers on the charts. Then, look each one over as a class and talk about the responses. Try these:

• What do you think you’ll learn in this class this year?
• What do you really want to learn in this class this year?
• How can your teacher help you learn and succeed?
• What are you most looking forward to in this class?
• What do you dread most about this class?

26. Blind Kahoot

Here’s another fun way to introduce your class to what they’ll be learning. Create (or find) a Kahoot that covers the basic fundamentals of your syllabus. Kids will likely moan and groan over each question, but it will give you a chance to learn what they already know, and help them discover what’s coming in the semesters ahead.

27. Student Expectations

Start by writing “Expectations” on a whiteboard. Then go around the room and have students do three things: They should introduce themselves, share their expectations of the class, and, finally, share their idea about the best possible outcome if their expectations are met. An example might be, “Hi, my name is Harper. I’m expecting to learn to see different perspectives. My wildest expectation is that if I knew how to do that, I would become more open-minded and make friends with more people.”

28. Rules Snowball Fight

Once you’ve gone over classroom rules and expectations, hand out blank pieces of paper to your students. Then, have them try to remember those rules and write one on their paper. Now for the fun part: Have them crumple up the papers and throw them inside the circle. Finally, have them grab any paper, read it, and elaborate on the importance of the rule.

Team-Building Icebreakers for High School Students

Team-building activities can be a lot of fun, though you’ve got to pick them carefully, especially with this age group. Be sure to debrief when you’re done—ask students to think about why you had them do this activity and what they learned from it. And if you’re choosing something physical, remember that not everyone in the class may be able (or willing) to participate, so think about how you’ll handle that in advance. Find a list of our favorite team-building games and activities here , which are great to use for high school and middle school icebreakers, or try some of the following ideas.

29. Tarp Flip Challenge

Spread a few tarps on the floor. Get groups of students to stand on them. The challenge? They have to flip the tarp completely over without stepping off of it. Other students can watch to help keep them honest!

30. Scavenger Hunt

There are so many ways to use scavenger hunts as high school and middle school icebreakers. Is this a new school for your students? Send them out to explore it. Want to show them around your classroom? Set up a hunt for different areas and resources. Just want a fun chance to get to know them? Do a hunt to see which group can produce various items (purple pen, hair scrunchie, breath mint, etc.) from their bags or pockets the fastest. The point is to get kids working together in groups and having a little fun. ( Grab our free collection of printable scavenger hunts here. )

31. Classroom Escape Room

If you really want to impress and engage your students, start off with an escape room. You can theme it to help them learn more about you, about the school, or the subject you’re teaching. Kids will have to work together to beat the clock, and each student’s individual skills will make the group stronger as a whole. Here’s how to set up your own classroom escape room.

32. STEM Challenge

STEM challenges are great high school and middle school icebreakers because they get kids thinking outside the box and working together. There are so many you can try, and they almost all only require the most basic of supplies. Looking for ideas? Find our big list of STEM activities for all ages here.

33. Perfect Square

This activity requires strong verbal communication and cooperation. Kids need to be blindfolded, so you may want to allow some students to opt out and be observers instead. Blindfolded students try to take a piece of rope and form a perfect square. It’s harder than it sounds, but if kids master it too quickly, ask them to try a harder shape, like a circle or a hexagon.

34. Classification Challenge

Prepare a tray (or a picture collage) with 20 unrelated items—for instance, a spool of thread, an eraser, a juice box, etc. Divide your class into groups and challenge them to put the 20 items into four categories that make sense to them. For example, they may put an earring, a glove, a headset, a sock, and a smile into the category “things you wear.” Have groups work quietly so that their ideas are kept secret. When each group is finished, give each one time to present their categories and their rationale behind each category.

35. Follow the Leader

Ask for a volunteer guesser and have them leave the room. While they’re gone, choose a leader and have the group stand in a circle. The leader begins a movement, which the rest of the group must mimic. (For instance, the leader might jump up and down or wave their arms over their head.) Invite the guesser back in to stand in the middle of the circle as the movements continue. Every so often, the leader changes the movement, and the rest of the group follows. The guesser must try to determine who the leader is by watching the group’s actions closely.

36. Game Day

Imagine your students walking into class on the first day to find a stack of board-game boxes! Games actually make terrific icebreakers, and lots of them help you with team building too. Try cooperative party games like Codenames, Herd Mentality, Pictionary, or Decrypto. Find more terrific classroom games here.

37. Balloon Tower

First break your class into small groups of four to six students. Then supply each group balloons in a variety of sizes and shapes, and a roll of masking tape. Give each group several minutes to brainstorm techniques before they actually start building. Finally, challenge each group to build the tallest tower they can. We love that this activity will get even the shyest of students talking!

38. No-Hands Cup Stacking

So simple and so fun! Students use a rubber band attached to pieces of string to pick up and stack cups into a pyramid. Want to make the challenge even greater? Don’t let them talk while they’re working, limit them to one hand only, or make the strings different lengths.

39. Password

One student sits with their back to the whiteboard while the other students sit facing them. Write the secret “password” on the board, and set a timer for 60 seconds. The other students must figure out how to get the player to say the word written on the board, without using it directly. Make this even more challenging by telling them they can’t talk at all.

40. Emoji Charades

Here’s a modern take on a classic game. Print a variety of emojis on cards, then mix them all up and place them upside down in a pile. One student comes to the front of the room and draws a card, then tries to act out the emoji for other students to guess.

41. Human Knot

Speaking of classic games, this icebreaker has been around for a very long time, but it’s still a popular pick. Students stand close together and put their hands in the middle, each grabbing two other hands at random and creating a giant “knot.” Without letting go, students must slowly untangle the knot until they’re standing in a circle (it’s OK if some people are facing forward and some are backward). It seems like an impossible challenge, but it can be done!

42. Silent Line-Up

This icebreaker helps kids get to know each other while also encouraging teamwork. As you call out each instruction, students must figure out how to line up properly without talking at all. Start out easy by asking them to line up by height. Move on to a more challenging task: lining up in order of birthdays (January at one end, December at the other). Tricky but fun!

What high school and middle school icebreakers do you use? Come share in our We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook!

Plus, get free 15-minute icebreakers here .

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Perfect for the first day of school. Continue Reading

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Viera High football video, hazing, students’ lewd behavior, coach relieved of duties: What we know

Video circulating on social media depicts members of viera high football team cheering, laughing as players simulate sex acts with each other..

Brevard Public Schools superintendent took action Sunday against Viera High School's football team and its head coach after a lewd video on social media went viral.

The video apparently shows players from the Viera High football team simulating sex acts . Brevard Public Schools Superintendent Mark Rendell suspended all varsity and junior varsity football team activities and relieved the varsity football coach of his duties.

Here’s what we know.

What happened with Viera High School football team?

On Sunday, Aug. 20, Brevard School District suspended all Viera High School football activities and relieved Shane Staples, varsity head coach, of his duties in response to a viral video that depicted members of the team cheering and laughing as players simulated sex acts with each other.

It was not immediately known whether the students involved, or the parents, reported the incident to school officials. Viera High School principal Heather Legate had sent an email to parents over the weekend referencing the incident.

Who's coaching where in 2023? A guide to Brevard County's 16 high school football coaches

What does the viral Viera High School football video show?

The 41-second video shows students laughing and jostling with uniformed players on the floor, attempting to pull back the shorts from one .

Some of the players, with others cheering, appeared atop students, thrusting and simulating sexual acts as what appeared to be condom packages were tossed onto the floor. A player was lifted off of his feet by another student. “That’s bad,” one student chimes in. “We are lit,” says another.

Is the Viera High School football video on TikTok?

A check on TikTok on Sunday shows searches for "viera high school football incident 2023" and "viera high school hazing," but the video was not found on the social media platform.

Were any Viera High School students suspended or expelled?

As of Sunday, an unnamed number of players were suspended as a result of the Brevard Public Schools investigation. Viera High School's varsity football team was scheduled to play at South Fork on Friday, Aug. 25, and at Satellite High School in Satellite Beach on Sept. 1. Viera was scheduled to open its home season on Sept. 8 against Rockledge High School. The team did play Friday night.

Was anyone with Viera High School fired over the incident?

Viera High head football coach Shane Staples was relieved of his duties until further notice Sunday. Staples had been head football coach since2022.

Viera struggled mightily in 2022, with a record of 0-10. Following the 2021 season, head coach Derek Smith stepped down. Chad Raymond was briefly named head coach in January 2022 but stepped down in March 2022. Staples stepped up but didn't have a lot of time to get the team in order. The team had higher hopes heading into 2023. Staples, 39, had been an assistant coach at Viera since 2017, coaching the Hawks wide receivers in 2021.

What did Brevard Public Schools say about the viral Viera High School football team video on social media?

After news of the video surfaced, Brevard Public Schools issued a statement about the incident on Saturday, Aug. 19: "There is an ongoing investigation into the actions of multiple Viera High School students. Our focus is to work with district security and school-based administrators to complete a thorough investigation in a timely manner."

What did Viera High School principal say about the viral football team video?

On Saturday, Viera High principal Heather LeGate issued an email to parents:

"Hello, Hawk Nation.

"I wish the victories at the kickoff classic weren’t overshadowed by the speculation currently circulating within our school community. As I’ve said to you before, I believe in transparency with my parents and community but there are times when the information I can give is limited. Anytime students are involved, I must adhere to FERPA, (Federal Educational Right to Privacy Act), when speaking about an incident. This prohibits me from giving names, details, and outcomes of disciplinary action. I can tell you that there was an incident this week involving multiple students. Please rest assured that I am investigating the situation and following the discipline policy set forth by Brevard Public Schools. I know that we are all on the same page about keeping every student safe on and off campus and appreciate your continued support."

What did the Brevard Public Schools superintendent say?

Brevard Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Mark Rendell issued a statement Sunday, outlining steps the school district will take in response to the investigation into the "hazing incident" with the Viera High School football team.

"Hazing, bullying, and intimidation have no place in Brevard Public Schools. We have spent the past several days investigating the hazing incident involving members of the Viera High football team. Today (Aug. 20), we have made the decision to suspend all Viera High football team activities (varsity and junior varsity) until further notice and we have relieved the varsity head coach of his duties until further notice. In an effort to educate the team to the seriousness of this incident, all Viera High football players will he required to take part in an anti-hazing educational program before there is a possibility that the football program could be reinstated. We will also host a parent-player team meeting to begin the process of improving team culture and raising expectations. Per BPS procedure, the players suspended for their actions will not be permitted to attend the meeting. I am confident a decision on the future of this year’s football season and the suspended players will be made soon. With that said, it is important to remember that this investigation is not over; district security, law enforcement, and the school district are still collecting information. Again, hazing has no place in Brevard Public Schools, and we must always act in the best interest and safety of our students."

What happens next?

Rendell said the district would host a parent-player team meeting to "begin the process of improving team culture and raising expectations." He also noted that he was confident a decision on the future of the program and the suspended players would be made soon.

Where is Viera High School?

Viera High School, 6103 Stadium Parkway, has been home of the Hawks since 2006. The school is close to one of Brevard County's most popular shopping and entertainment destinations, the Avenue Viera, the county's government center and Viera Regional Community Center.

In 2019, Viera High and nine other Brevard County schools appeared on a list of the 5,000 best high schools ranked in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math by Newsweek magazine and STEM.org . While Viera made the list at No. 2,228, only one school − West Shore Jr./Sr. High School in Melbourne − made the list of the top 500 STEM schools in the nation, according to Newsweek magazine.

That same year, Viera High made U.S. News & World Report's list of the best public high schools in the nation. The publication looks at 23,000 schools nationwide, and the schools were graded on how students perform on state-required exams and how well schools prepare students for college. In 2019, Viera High School ranked 106th. In 2021, Viera moved up many spots in U.S. News and World Report's list, ranking 73rd in Florida .

What is hazing?

According to the 2023 Florida Statutes, chapter 1003.63, "hazing " means any action or situation that recklessly or intentionally endangers the mental or physical health or safety of a student for purposes including, but not limited to:

• initiation into any organization
• admission into any organization
• affiliation with any organization
• the perpetuation or furtherance of a tradition or ritual of any organization

The term "hazing" includes, but is not limited to:

• pressuring or coercing the student into violating state or federal law
• any brutality of a physical nature, such as whipping, beating, branding, exposure to the elements, forced consumption of any food, liquor, drug, or other substance, or other forced physical activity that could adversely affect the physical health or safety of the student
• any activity that would subject the student to extreme mental stress, such as sleep deprivation, forced exclusion from social contact, forced conduct that could result in extreme embarrassment, or other forced activity that could adversely affect the mental health or dignity of the student.

The term does not include customary athletic events or other similar contests or competitions or any activity or conduct that furthers a legal and legitimate objective.

Is hazing illegal in Florida?

Per the 2023 Florida Statutes, chapter 1003.63, hazing is prohibited.

Contributing: Eric Rogers and Tim Walters, FLORIDA TODAY

J.D. Gallop  is a criminal justice/breaking news reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or  [email protected] . Twitter:  @JDGallop.