Saturday, July 17, 2010


Backwards Day Lesson Plan

If you're looking for a fun idea for April Fool's Day, or to use as a reward for students who have worked hard on a project or state tests why not consider planning a Backwards Day?

Invite students and teachers to wear their clothes backwards or inside out.

Backward Jokes:
· What vehicle is spelled the same backwards and forward? Racecar
· What has four legs and goes "oom-oom" answer: A cow walking backwards
· Forwards it is heavy, backwards it is not. What is it? Answer: A ton.

Poem: "Backward Town"

The folks who live in backward town
Are inside out and upside down.
They wear their hats inside their heads
And go to sleep beneath their beds.
They only eat the apple peeling
And take their walks across the ceiling.

Simon Says Backwards. Do the opposite of what "It" says when It says "Simon Says."

Give each student a "Hello, My Name Is…" nametag. Have them write their name backwards on the nametag.

Take a trip back in time in a time machine. Study dinosaurs.

If you can arrange it, watch a short cartoon backwards.

Plan relay races in which students race backwards.

Read a book backwards. This will be especially funny to students if you read a book with which they are familiar. A Dr. Seuss book, or "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" should work well.

Have a contest: Who can recite the alphabet backwards fastest?

Read Shel Silverstein's poem "Backward Bill" and Backwards Day by Joan Holub.

Backward Watercolor: Have child apply water to paper with paintbrush, covering the entire paper. Then have child draw and color on the wet paper with markers and the colors will run and mix to create a great looking watercolor picture!

Backward Sandwich: Take a piece of bread and roll meat and cheese around it to make an inside out sandwich.

Turn a lot of things in the classroom "backward" from the way they usually are. (You might make changes as obvious as turning your desk around to changes as subtle as turning the letter R backwards on a bulletin board headline.) Challenge students, or pairs of students, to a scavenger hunt in which they find as many backward things as they can. Award a prize to the person(s) who finds the most backward things.

Allow students to sit backwards in their chairs, or teach from the back of the classroom instead of the front.

Read Silly Sally by Audrey Wood. The text is “Silly (name) came to school. ________ backwards was really cool.” Brainstorm silly things that could be done backwards and make a backwards book. Take a photo of the child’s back and put that on the cover that says “Guess Who?” You turn the page and there is a photo of the child facing forward that says “It’s (name).

Jump rope backwards.

Students might eat dessert before they eat their lunches.

Backwards movement exploration; walk backward, skate backard, row backward, circle arms backward, kick backward, jump backward, hop backward, crawl backward, fly backward, dance backward.

Do an Opposites Crossword Puzzle or one of these other opposites activities from

Tape drawing paper underneath the tables in your classroom or cafeteria. Have students lay on the floor and draw on the paper.

Challenge older students to find in the dictionary as many palindrome words as they can. A palindrome word is a word that is spelled the same frontward and backward. For example: pop, toot, deed, refer…

Have students send a Backwards Day e-card to their parents.

Get a masters in education to better teach children.

Kathy Stemke's websites:
Moving Through all Seven Days link: me on twitter: me on Facebook:!/kathymarescomatthews.stemke?ref=profileAdd to Technorati Favorites


Jack Foster said...

Great ideas Kathy! You have a knack for connecting with the kids. I'm sure backwards day is a hit! I'm a bit backwards already... so maybe I'd end up straitening out :o) Looking forward to working with sh sh :o)

kathy stemke said...

Thanks, Jack. I'm looking forward to working with you too.

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Sharla said...

Thanks for the ideas! We are planning on having a backwards day tomorrow and these will come in handy!