The Activity Bank

The GIVE Activity Bank is a resource bank of short activities or skill-based tasks that already include supports and accommodations to meet a range of students’ needs. These activities can be easily added to your lesson—with small adjustments for your unique students and classroom—to make it more inclusive.

These activities have been submitted as is by New York City Teaching Artists from New Victory Theater, ArtsConnection, and Community-Word Project.

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  • Magic Trick Animation

    Ages: Upper Elementary (3-5), Middle School (6-8), High School (9-12)
    Art Forms: Media Arts

    In this activity, students will be magicians and use sticky notes, their hands, and a prop to create the illusion of objects appearing, disappearing, and switc…

  • Make a Wave Dance

    Ages: Upper Elementary (3-5)
    Art Forms: Dance, Visual Arts

    This activity strengthens social emotional skills in the classroom through co-generating ideas, celebrating individual creativity and imagination as your stude…

  • Making Foley Sounds

    Ages: Upper Elementary (3-5), Middle School (6-8), High School (9-12)
    Art Forms: Theater, Music, Media Arts

    This activity helps students discover how the sounds used in movies and animations are created behind the scenes, by practicing making sounds with various obje…

  • Names and Weather Patterns

    Ages: Upper Elementary (3-5), Middle School (6-8)
    Art Forms: Dance, Literary Arts, Media Arts, Music, Theater, Visual Arts

    This warm-up activity supports learning everyone’s names and pronouns,  bringing imagination into the room, becoming observant of the world around us, and lear…

  • Paint Your Space Warm-Up

    Ages: Early Childhood (PK-2), Upper Elementary (3-5)
    Art Forms: Dance

    This warm-up activity uses a guided improvisational structure. It can also be used to introduce the term "kinesphere" to older students.

  • Partner Mirroring

    Ages: Upper Elementary (3-5), Middle School (6-8)
    Art Forms: Theater, Dance

    This activity builds the skills of observation and sustained concentration while promoting empathy. It supports collaboration by pairing students with a partne…

  • Pass a Clap

    Ages: Early Childhood (PK-2), Upper Elementary (3-5)
    Art Forms: Music

    An introduction activity to build student focus and the class ensemble. It can also be used to introduce other musical concepts like rhythm and notes.

  • Pass the Love

    Ages: Early Childhood (PK-2), Upper Elementary (3-5), Middle School (6-8), High School (9-12)
    Art Forms: Dance, Visual Arts, Theater, Music, Media Arts, Literary Arts

    A closing ritual to reflect on the lesson, and to take a moment together as a whole class ensemble.