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.

Submit site search

  • Form a Circle

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

    This transition and skill-building activity offers strategies to teach students the skill of creating a circle in intentional and playful ways.

  • Give Peace a Chance

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

    This brain-break activity will help students to center their focus, and encourage them to express their feelings, as you set out to build your community inspir…

  • Going on a Trip

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

    In this collaborative songwriting activity, students create rhymes and pack for an imaginary trip, developing creativity and rhyming skills.

  • Gripe into Glow Orchestra

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

    This music and movement activity invites students to use volume, sound, and reflection to represent their feelings. The activity can be an energy or mood chang…

  • Legato Staccato Name Game

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

    This warm-up activity will support your students in learning their classmates’ names as they develop ensemble skills and develop their music vocabulary.

  • 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: Visual Arts, Theater, Music, Media Arts, Literary Arts, Dance

    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…

  • 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.