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Detention Activities For Middle School: Exercises, Games, And Discussions

October 11, 2023 // by Michelle Mandel

Teachers do not like being the bad cop! Detention is one punitive measure to take in response to negative behavior. Time to reflect on what you have done. This is counterproductive, children are acting out because they are in need of attention and guidance. So with these alternatives to detention, educators can connect, and boost students' confidence. gain trust and respect, and soon the detention room will be empty.

1. What's my purpose?

We are all special and have our own unique traits. As children get older they are told more often than not the negative feedback and not the positive behavior they demonstrate. Life is stressful and with the world changing around us, sometimes we forget why we are here, and why we all have a purpose.

Learn More: Prince Ea

2. Blackout poetry. Great instructional time

This activity is so much fun and really it does inspire anyone to be a "poet" or at least try and give it a go. Children who have never been exposed to creative poetry will love this because there is no right or wrong. This is cool and interesting.

Learn More: The Daring English Teacher

3. You just got school detention!

This is a funny sketch video about how playing a trick on someone can backfire and have consequences! Students in detention can talk about how sometimes playing tricks is all in fun and other times not worth the risk and could have serious consequences for misbehavior.

Learn More: Youtube

4. Laughter = positive school culture

These games are meant specifically to make kids feel safe and relaxed, so they can release some stress. Harsh punishments don't work. Get kids talking to help reduce disruptive behavior! For a middle school play Mad Dragon, The art of conversation, Totika, and more!

Learn More: Education And Behavior

5. Great assignment for detention-reflection

This is a great way to get kids to do something with their hands while they are working on their self-portraits they can have guidance and assistance from the teacher. This activity will relax them and put them at ease so they can reflect on any bad behavior.

6. Express yourself through a rap!

Rap music is loved by middle school children and creating your own rap about how things make us feel. "How we don't like school but being rude in class is not cool! " This exercise will give the children a chance to vent and de-stress while in detention. Great video and educational too!

7. Think Sheet

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These are great reflection worksheets for students and can be adapted by grade level. to fill out. easily and it can lead to some open conversation with the teacher or monitor. Children will learn what they can do better next time and how to avoid conflict.

Learn More: Art Teachers Help Al

8. Make Jails for phones- an original detention idea

Mobile phones in the classroom disaster! Classroom expectations must be known, and it is imperative that we have some creative ways to get kids to give up their phones. These are easy to make and make class rule posters about why phones are so distracting.

Learn More: Pinterest

9. Lunch detention

Lunchtime is a break but others might be going to lunch detention, where they will eat in silence, not look at anyone and reflect. Well, this is the best opportunity to teach nutrition and have a talk about eating healthy and being responsible for our actions.

Learn More: 20 Teacher-Approved Nutrition Activities For Middle School

10. Punch Ball

Teachers think that if they use punch balls in the dentition room it will cause more aggressive behavior. On the contrary, children need to vent because sometimes life isn't fair. We have needed to change the old measure for decades and think creatively about time-outs.

Learn More: Therapy Sensory

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don’t just sit there: use detention wisely.

What should students be doing in detention so that they are less likely to end up there again? Ask teachers, and their opinions may be as varied as students themselves.

Varying school requirements for teachers’ time and detention protocols play some role in this lack of consensus. One teacher message board that put the call out for quality detention activities drew suggestions including everything from having students finish a series of math problems, to the oldest detention activity in the book: seated silence.

It’s pretty clear when detention practices are not working—most educators have seen the film The Breakfast Club , in which high-school students spend a Saturday detention engaging in comedic hijinks.

So what does work? On the message board, many praised the suggestion of one poster who recommended the use of what she calls a “reflection packet.”

“We tried to explain to kids that the packet wasn't punishment. It was a tool to help them change their behavior,” she wrote. “The packet contained questions such as: What does it mean to be a member of a team? Why are you in detention? How did your actions affect your teammates (classmates)?”

While lauded by her peers, her detention model falls a bit short, according to Deborah Sisco, principal of the Colgan Alternative Resource Center in Saint Joseph, MO. Rather than passively asking students to fill out a packet, Sisco suggested engaging in active dialogue with the student.

“I would support the reflection, but not spending the whole detention writing about it,” Sisco said. “Just because they wrote about it doesn't mean anyone will do anything about it. That writing can give you a glimpse as to what’s going on, but you, as the teacher, have to have the discussion. Work with them.”

Sisco, whose Pre K-12 school partners with rehab and mental health facilities and the local juvenile detention office, advocates for teachers and administrators to curb the bad behavior before it gets to the point of requiring detention.

“Cussing is a good example,” explained Sisco. “If we have a kid who is swearing a lot, maybe it's because that is part of his culture at home and he doesn't realize it’s inappropriate. Explain to him how to act differently in different situations. We tend to punish sometimes before thinking about the cause, or re-training it. If I hear swearing, I'll ask the student, 'What is another word for that?' If I hear it again, I'll do the same. After that, I know it's behavioral and we'll go to the next step.”

She added that by working to curb the behavior before it becomes chronic, educators can reduce the need for deterrents like detention.

“Detention has negative connotations associated with it,” Sisco said. “It is a punishment, so you're not going to completely remove that, but you can lessen it. We don't even call it detention. We just say, 'You're going to have to stay after.' That is also why I don't like quiet reading in detention. That negative association to detention attaches itself to the act of reading. You have to take advantage of this time to teach the student. Be involved.”