Glow Day has quickly become one of my favorite classroom transformations! It can be used any time of the year, but I love to include Glow Day as part of an ABC Countdown or an end-of-year theme day. Glow Day activities are also a great way to review previously learned phonics and math skills in a fun way!
Glow Day can seem intimidating and like a lot of work, but if you start simple and have a plan, you won’t regret it. Check out some of my tips and tricks to make Glow Day activities run smoothly!
Preparing for Glow Day Activities
The great thing about Glow Day activities is that they can be successful with only a few materials. When I first began, I went simple. I borrowed black lights and just used highlighters and white paper. The kids were thrilled with only these minimal supplies! Once I decided this would be a yearly activity, I added on and made an Amazon wishlist asking families to help. I have been able to reuse many of the materials I received for several years.
Suggested Materials for Glow Day Classroom Transformation
Don’t get tricked into thinking only glow-in-the-dark or UV things will glow in a black light. Anything white or neon will glow. Start with what you might already have available. I can access paper, bulletin board paper, and highlighters at school. Then, I grab balloons, streamers, and glowsticks from the Dollar Store. All other items have been purchased from Amazon. You can check out my Glow Day Amazon storefront to see the products I use in my classroom.
Here are a few of my favorite supplies for a Glow Day classroom transformation.
- Black Lights
- Highlighters
- White or Astrobright Paper
- Neon Streamers & Balloons
- Glow in the Dark Tape
- Glowsticks
- Black Bulletin Board Paper
Setting Up for Glow Day Activities
Once you have your materials, it’s time to set up. I typically prepare everything after school the day before, so I am not scrambling that morning. To get the best effect, you want your room to be DARK! My old classroom accomplished that simply by turning off the lights. My classroom now has a wall of windows; even with the shades down, lots of light still comes in. I took black bulletin board paper and covered the windows to fix this. Covering the windows takes extra effort, but the results are worth it!
Next, I place the backlights around the classroom. We complete Glow Day activities in stations all around the room. To get the glow everywhere, I have 5 blacklights and try to space them out around my whole classroom.
Now it’s time to decorate! This is not necessary, but I like the effect it adds. Your glow day would be just as magical without it. First, I blow up some neon balloons and tape them around the room. Then, I use neon-colored tape to outline each table and floor workspace. One year, I grabbed neon shapes from the Dollar Store. I attached these to the black paper I hung across the windows. My last addition is string streamers from the ceiling.
10 Glow Day Activities
Now, it’s time to choose your Glow Day activities. First, determine how much time you want to dedicate to Glow Day and how you want to divide your students. I like to split my students into partners or small groups and rotate them through each activity. Each station usually lasts 10-12 minutes.
Our schedule varies daily. Some years, I have only done Glow Day in the morning; others, I have stretched it through the whole day. When I do it only for part of the day, I will do 4-5 stations. If I fill the whole day, I will do 8-10 Dlow day activities. Below, I will share 10 of my favorite Glow Day activities that I have used in my classroom.
1. Glow Writing
Materials: Paper, Highlighters, Drawing Materials, Glow in the Dark Stickers, crayons
Spice up writing with a few glow-in-the-dark stickers and highlighters. Let students write about anything they want, or have them share their favorite Glow Day activity.
2. Glow Away Subtraction Glow Day Activities
Materials: Empty Bottles, Glow/Neon Tape, Ball, Highlighter, Recording Sheet
Practice subtraction from ten with the Glow Day activity “Glow Away.” Line up the empty bottles like bowling pins. Take turns rolling the ball and recording a subtraction equation to match the number of pins knocked down.
3. Glow Cards
Materials: Deck of Cards (only number cards), Highlighter, Recording Sheet
“Glow Cards” focuses on comparing numbers. It can be differentiated by having players flip 1, 2, or 3 cards to build numbers, or they can flip and add cards. Students can play alone or compare their flip against a partner.
4. Glow Cups
Materials: Neon Cups
“Glow Cups” can be a challenge to build the tallest tower of cups, or you can add an academic twist. To extend “Glow Cups,” use a Sharpie to write equations or words on each cup. As students build their tower, have them read or solve the equations on the cups.
5. Glow Roll Addition Glow Day Activities
Materials: White Dice, Highlighter, Recording Sheet
To play “Glow Roll,” students roll two dice and record the addends. Then, they solve the problem and record the sum.
6. Glow Jenga
Materials: Jenga Game, Labels
Any Jenga game will work. If you add white labels to the blocks, they will glow! On the labels, you can write words, numbers, equations, etc. As students remove a block from the tower, they must read/solve it and place it back on the top. A recording sheet is provided but not necessary.
7. Glow Toss
Materials: 6 Bottles, Glow Sticks, Recording Sheet, Highlighter
Fill six bottles with water and add a word to each lid. Students will take turns tossing a glow ring towards the bottles. When a ring goes around a bottle, read the word, then write it on the recording sheet.
8. Glow Find Sensory Glow Day Activities
Materials: Bin, Sensory Filler, Picture Cards, Recording Sheet, Highlighter
Grab a bin and fill it with sand, paper, beans, etc. I used shredded Astrobright paper. Choose the cards you want to use, print them, and hide them in the bin. Students will search the bin, pull out a card, and spell the word.
9. Glow Words
Materials: Recording Sheet, Highlighters
Students play “Glow Words” like Tic Tac Toe. Students will take turns reading a word and making an X or an O. The first player to get three in a row wins that game.
10. Glow Hunt
Materials: Picture Cards, Clipboards, Recording Sheets, Highlighters
This is a write-the-room activity. Students will walk around looking for the hidden cards. When they find a card, they spell and write the word pictured on their recording sheet.
If you like the activities above, you can check them out in my Glow Day Activities pack. This resource includes the recording sheets and printable materials for the pictured Glow Day stations. In addition to activities focusing on math and literacy skills, other printables include a coloring sheet, maze, word search, notes to families, and station signs.
