Classroom Scavenger Hunt Maker

What is Scavenger Hunt?

A classroom scavenger hunt turns looking into learning. Students search the room, the school or the playground for things that match each clue — a triangle, a word that rhymes with cat, a leaf with jagged edges — and tick them off as they go. Hunts get students moving, talking and noticing, and they work for any subject: shapes and colors for kindergarten, parts of speech for English, measurement for math and living things for science.

This scavenger hunt generator makes a new hunt in seconds. Choose from themes like colors and shapes, letters and words, a math hunt, outdoors and nature, a “find someone who” people hunt for the first days of school, or seasonal hunts for Halloween and Thanksgiving. Print a checklist or a bingo-style grid for every team — with the order mixed on each sheet so teams cannot simply copy each other — or project the list on the board with a timer and tick items off together.

How to play Scavenger Hunt in class

1. Choose a theme

   Pick a ready-made theme or write your own items, such as clues about today’s lesson.

2. Choose the size

   Choose 6, 9, 12 or 16 items. Press “New items” for a different selection from the theme.

3. Print or project

   Print one sheet per student or team (checklist or bingo grid), or press “Show on board” to project the list with a timer.

4. Set the rules

   Agree the boundaries, a quiet-voice rule and what to do when time is up. Teams write or sketch what they found.

5. Share the finds

   Bring everyone back and ask each team to share their most creative find for each item.

Scavenger hunt ideas by theme

Every item in the generator, grouped by theme. Each hunt picks a random selection, so you can run the same theme many times.

🏫 Around the classroom (grades K–5)

• Something that is round
• A book with an animal on the cover
• Something red
• Something that makes a sound
• A word that starts with S
• Something smaller than your thumb
• A map or a globe
• Something with numbers on it
• Something soft
• Something shaped like a rectangle
• Something that holds other things
• A picture of a plant or tree
• Something with our class name on it
• Something you use to measure
• Something made of wood
• Something that is see-through

🔺 Colors & shapes (K–2) (grades K–2)

• Something blue
• Something green
• Something yellow
• A circle
• A square
• A triangle
• A rectangle
• Something shaped like a star
• Something with stripes
• Something with dots
• Something orange
• Something purple
• Something shiny
• A heart shape
• Something white
• Something brown

🔤 Letters & words (grades 1–4)

• Something that starts with B
• A word with 3 letters
• A word that rhymes with cat
• A compound word
• A word with “sh” in it
• A word that ends in -ing
• A noun on a poster
• A verb in a book title
• A word with double letters
• A word longer than 8 letters
• Something that starts with the first letter of your name
• A number word
• A word with a silent letter
• A question mark
• A word in capital letters
• Something that starts with a vowel

➕ Math hunt (grades 1–5)

• Something longer than your pencil
• Something shorter than your finger
• A number greater than 50
• An even number
• An odd number
• Something with exactly 4 corners
• A pair of something
• Something with a right angle
• A clock — write the time it shows
• A group of 5 things
• Something symmetrical
• Something shaped like a cylinder
• Something shaped like a cube
• Something about as long as your arm
• A fraction on a ruler, poster or book
• A pattern that repeats

🌳 Outdoors & nature (grades K–5)

• A leaf with smooth edges
• A leaf with jagged edges
• Something rough
• A seed, nut or acorn
• A bird (just spot it!)
• A cloud shaped like an animal
• Something that grows
• A feather
• A stone smaller than a coin
• An insect (look, don’t touch)
• Something yellow in nature
• Tree bark
• Something in nature that makes a sound
• A flower
• Two different kinds of leaves
• A shadow

🙋 Find someone who… (first days) (grades 2–12)

• Find someone who has a pet
• Find someone born in the same month as you
• Find someone who likes pizza
• Find someone who has visited another country
• Find someone who plays a sport
• Find someone who likes to draw
• Find someone who can whistle
• Find someone who read a book this week
• Find someone whose favorite color is the same as yours
• Find someone who likes to sing
• Find someone who can swim
• Find someone with the same number of letters in their first name
• Find someone who likes math
• Find someone who speaks two languages
• Find someone who has the same favorite season as you
• Find someone who likes the same animal as you

🎃 Halloween hunt (grades K–5)

• Something orange
• Something black
• A pumpkin (or picture of one)
• Something spooky-looking
• A bat, ghost or spider picture
• Something that could be part of a costume
• Something round like a full moon
• A word that starts with H
• Something with a face on it
• Something that glows or shines
• Something that could hold candy
• Something sticky
• Something shaped like a triangle hat
• Something purple
• A word that rhymes with “boo”
• Something with stripes

🦃 Thanksgiving hunt (grades K–5)

• A fall leaf
• Something brown
• Something orange
• Something you are thankful for
• Something a turkey could hide behind
• A word that starts with T
• Something round like a pie
• Something that grows on a farm
• Something warm
• Something you could share
• Something with a pattern like feathers
• A picture of food
• Something red like a cranberry
• Something you use at a table
• Something that makes you smile
• A kind note (write one!)

Variations to try

Teacher tips

• Set clear boundaries and a return signal before anyone starts looking.
• Mix the order on each sheet so teams spread out instead of crowding the same spot.
• Ask students to write or sketch finds rather than moving things around the room.
• Keep hunts short — ten minutes is plenty for most classes.
• For “find someone who”, remind students to ask politely and accept a “pass”.

Scavenger Hunt: FAQ