Who’s with me that the road to college starts in our classroom? Early college awareness activities are a pivotal step in helping our students see the possibilities in their future and, most importantly, understand how to access those opportunities.
This year I promoted early college awareness virtually. The kids had tons of fun doing it with these easy digital activities I’m sharing down below.
College Awareness Activities For Elementary Students
Presentation to College Life
First, we kicked off early college awareness week by learning about college keywords with a presentation. This presentation covered popular college topics such as admissions, campus life, and college activities without going in-depth.
Even though it covered general information related to college life, it sparked an interest in learning about colleges and clarifying their college misconceptions. Using the presentation as an introduction was a great transition to introduce the college research project.
Early College Awareness Research Project
Before moving on to the college research project, we generated a list of colleges in our hometown. In the past, these colleges’ names are written on anchor chart paper to refer back to it later. This year with distance learning, we created the list of colleges in a word document. Nevertheless, it was great to hear the kids naming colleges they knew!
Next, they chose a college of their choice to start their research. Most of them picked a college from the list, and others decided on other colleges they knew.
Before previewing the questions, I guide the kids to look for information using my alma mater’s website. Modeling how to research has been an invaluable step because it limits the number of kids needing help.
Finally, they are ready to research basic facts and go in-depth by learning about student life, the admission process, and financial aid.
College Mock Essay
Following their research, the kids answer a writing prompt, similar to a college entrance essay. This activity allowed them to practice the writing skills they have learned in class.
Campus Virtual Tour For Elementary Students
Learning about college couldn’t be complete without taking a look at college campuses. One of the activities with a high impact on early college awareness is taking virtual field trips.
My favorite youtube channel to take a campus virtual field trip is YTV CO | YOuniversityTV, Spokai. The videos are short and have tons of information about different colleges. The best part is they have a campus college tour for various colleges in every state. I’m linking to their channel here so that you can take a look.
If you have the opportunity to take your kids to a college campus, I highly suggest you do. I know that’s how I fell in love with my alma mater!
College Students Guest Speakers
One of the focuses for this week was to have the kids collect information from different sources to complete their college research project. So, inviting college students as guest speakers fit perfectly with this standard.
In addition to researching college’s websites, they had the opportunity to hear college students speak about their experience applying to college.
Many of the guest speakers were siblings and family members of students in the classroom. Nonetheless, the kids loved to listen to people they knew.
College Trivia Questions
The last activity for early college awareness week was playing a game of college trivia. In this game, the kids answered questions related to new vocabulary words and facts they learned. Here is a list of questions you can use with your kids.
- What is the name of the housing where you will live on campus? Answer: dorms
- In college, students pay for classes and books. What is the cost of your college classes called? Answer: tuition
- In elementary schools, students with good grades make the Honor Roll list. What is the name of the Honor Roll list in college? Answer: Dean’s list
Wrapping It Up
For students to have the opportunity to pursue college, we need them to know the road to get there, get accepted, and what to expect. Image the possibility of early exposure to motivate students to learn more about their options for their future. What are your thoughts on promoting college awareness?
One Response
We always, in 5th and 6th grades do activities such as these, as we have a 100% Title 1 school. The children are very excited to start making decisions on what they might want to have as a career. It is very important for them to own their own paths in school.