Grade Level: any 

Skills practiced: focusing, listening, respect

Materials needed: none

Preparation: none

Description: Each student will compliment another student in the circle at the rug. They will be asked to select a person at the rug to compliment. This is good during times like final week when everyone needs reminders of how great they are. It is also good to do if there are a lot of issues with other students in the classroom. Students will go around until everyone is done. 

Example: If I pick Austin, I will say " Austin you are such a detailed and organized person."

Modifications: For the younger grades, I can provide a chart with some responses that they may say. I also can modify it to that students have to pick someone to compliment that they are not best friends with. 

Grade Level: 1-6 (any grade level with explicit directions and variations)

Skills Practiced: Focusing, listening, self-control, comprehension, and fine-motor skills.

Materials needed: Sticky notes or index cards, one or two depending on how many rounds.

Preparation:

• Each student will be given two sticky notes.

• Ask students to stand up at their desk and put one of their sticky notes behind their back.

• Call out the name of a shape (example: star, heart, or diamond).

Description: Each student will be given a sticky note and instructed to stand up at their desk. The students must hold the sticky note with two hands behind their back. The teacher will call out the name of a shape and the students will have to create that shape by tearing the sticky note behind their back without looking. A timer will be set for thirty seconds to a minute based upon grade level. Once the timer is off, students reveal their sticky note to the class. After the energizer is completed, instruct students to check their surroundings and throw away any scraps they may have left behind.

Modeling: Model to students how they should be standing (not near anyone, hands behind their back, standing straight up).

Modifications: (1) An image of the shapes can be displayed on the board. (2) A teacher or a partner can take students step-by-step to tear their sticky note and see what students come up with. For example, the teacher/partner may say “tear the left corner” and the student does. (3) Students can look at the sticky note while tearing it. (4) Adjusting the length of time that students must make each shape.

Level: 3-6 

Skills practiced: Focusing, memory, language arts, and creativity

Materials needed: None

Preparation:  

• Discuss with students about the concept of playfully one-upping a person. 

• Brainstorm topics

Description: The teacher will provide the topic and around the room, the next will try and top the statement provided by the previous student. Exaggerating and stretching the truth is highly encouraged. The game ends when each student has had a turn to top one another. 

Example: Topic - Running 

Student 1: I ran a mile in 7 minutes.

Student 2: I ran to school in 15 minutes. 

Student 3: I ran 3 miles to school in 20 minutes. 

Student 4: I ran 3 miles to school in the pouring rain with no shoes on. 

Modifications: Provide a chart with sentence starters and certain ways to top a sentence. 

Level: 3rd-6th but can be adapted for younger children with explicit directions and movement examples. 

Skills practiced: Observation, focusing, creativity, and self-control 

Materials needed: A chime or a soft auditory signal to regain the attention of students is optional. 

Preparation:  

• Explain to students that they will be completing a calming activity with a partner of their choosing 

• I will example to students that they will be acting as if they are looking into a mirror 

• Make sure students have enough space to mirror their partners movements without hitting anyone besides them 

• Discuss and brainstorm various movements that can be done slowly and steadily (have a student model) 

• Remind students to move slowly so they can synchronize with their partner's movements. 

Description: Mirror is an energizer where students will get with a partner. One partner will be the leader and the other partner will copy the leaders’ actions as if they were looking into a mirror. The leader will then complete slow and steady movements that their partner must match. Students will take turns being the leader. As a challenge, students in a pairing can complete the mirror activity while other students must try and decide who is the leader and who is mirroring the actions. 

Modifications: Students can be given a certain set of actions to complete with their mirror. Partners for the mirror energizer can be selected by the teacher. 

Level: 1-6 (any grade level)

Skills Practiced: listening and focusing

Description: Everyone starts by standing at their desks and waiting for the teacher to announce directions. When the teacher says walk, students walk around the classroom. When the teacher says stop, clap, or hop, students follow that direction. The teacher can choose to start with two directions to keep it simple and add as many as they want. After students can show they can listen to directions for a couple of rounds, switch to opposite directions. Now, when the teacher says stop students will walk and when the teacher says walk students will stop. This can be used for hop and clap and any other directions you want to add. 

Materials/Preparation: None

Modifications: Students who need more time with processing can be shown a hand signal with the correct direction during the opposite round or during the regular rounds. 

Level: Grades 2 and up

Skills practiced: Collaboration, attention to detail, descriptive language.

Materials: Paper and pencil

Description: We begin by putting students in pairs and giving each pair a pencil and a piece of blank paper in which they write their names on. Students sit facing each other, but one must be facing the board, and the other must be facing away from the board. The student facing the board will be known as the communicator, and the student facing away from the board will be known as the artist. First, the teacher will ensure that none of the artists can see the board. Next, the teacher will display a random drawing filled with different shapes in a randomized figure on a piece of paper and start a 45 second timer. It is now the job of the communicator to describe the figure to the artist using descriptive phrases such as "large circle" and "center of the page". The trick is, the communicator cannot rephrase their words after they have been said, they cannot clarify if the artist is doing the right thing or not, and they cannot go right to the point and say, "it's a bunny" or "it's an ice cream cone", they must describe using general shapes and terms. At the end of the time allotted, the teacher will say "pencils up" and students will put their pencils in the air to ensure no cheating is happening. The teacher will then collect each drawing and compare it to the original drawing in front of the class and determine which one is closest.

Grade Level: 1st-5th (or really can be used for any grade)

Skills Practiced:

• Self-control

• Active Listening

• Counting

Materials: None

Preparation:

• Make sure students have room around them to shake their hands and legs without hitting anyone besides them

• Discuss how to complete this in a safe way(Have a student model)

• If needed, go over what is means to “cut the numbers in half”

• What is half of 16? What is half of 8? Etc.

• Have students stand when doing this a safe area

Description/Directions:

• Have students stand up beside their desk and make sure they have room around them

• Start with 16 counts for each hand and each leg(by shaking one hand at a time, count up to 16 then switch to next hand, then one leg, then the other leg)

• Once completed for the 16 counts say all together as a class “Cut it in half!” then do 8 counts on each hand and leg

• Continue with this process with “Cut it in half!” and go down to 4, 2, and complete until you get to 1 count of each hand and leg

• When finished with one count, all say “Shake it down” as you twist down to ground

• Great for getting out extra energy after lunch, recess, or specials before getting back into work for the classroom

Grade Level: 3-6

Materials needed: none 

Skills Being Practiced: Concentration, self-control, listening, memory, and coordination.

Description: Students will remain standing at their desks. The teacher will call out a list of commands, the students are responsible for doing the command that was mentioned prior to the current command. For example, I say, "...Hop on one foot, flap your arms...," students would do the command mentioned before hop on one foot, before they actually hop on one foot. 

Students will repeat until the commands get students sitting in their seats and ready to move on. 

Modifications: 1. The number of commands can be cut down to 4 or 5, as to not exhaust students who have a hard time moving. 2. Commands can be altered to hand gestures, such as clapping hands or snapping fingers. 

Skills Being Practiced: concepts of left and right and listening skills

Description: The students will all sit in a circle. There will be three objects that will be passed around. Each object will start at a different spot in the circle. The teacher will read a story to the students that uses "left" and "right" numerous times in different contexts. The students will be instructed to pass the object either to the left or to the right when they hear that direction in the story.

For example, if the teacher reads, "I took a wrong turn, but somehow I still ended up at the right place," the students who are holding the objects will each pass them to the person on their right. This will continue on until the story is over. 

Modifications:

-If need be, students can do this at their seats and move to the seat to the right or left depending on the word in the story. 

-the number of objects being passed around can be more or less than three depending on the age, energy, and the number of the students. 

Grade Level: 1-3

Skills Practiced:  

• Self-control 

• Memory 

• Listening 

• Focusing 

Materials Needed: None 

Preparation: 

• Explain that I will show them all the animals that we have in our zoo 

• I will ask them to follow along in our zoo by practicing the animals with me 

• Explain that the point of the game is to be the last one standing 

• Explain that on each count of three, we will all hold up the sign for the animal. If your animal matches my animal you are out. If your animal is not the animal I choose, you are still in. 

• You demonstrate a safe way for your students to do an animal sign, then ask a student to model what a safe way to do an animal sign would look like. 

Directions: 

• Students will stand in a circle or remain at their seats in a place that they are able to see the teacher. 

• After being shown all the animals that will be at the zoo today then the round will start 

• The round will only conclude once there is only 1 person left standing 

• On a count of three (done by the teacher) we will all hold up the sign for the animal. If your animal matches the teacher’s animal then the student will be out. If the animal does not match, then you remain in the game. 

• Keep repeating the counts of three until you have one student standing

• You can repeat as many rounds as you would like depending on time, you can also add or take away animals from your zoo depending on time as well! 

Grade Level: 3-6  

Skills Practiced:  

• Self-control 

• Creativity 

• Visualization 

-Can someone model how we show self-control when covering our eyes 

-How can we safely cover our eyes 

-Our details should be school appropriate 

Materials Needed: None 

I am going to give an example  

• Pine Tree 

• Bluejay on the Pine Tree 

Preparation: 

• Discuss what it means to imagine scenes in your mind 

• A visual in your head 

• Ask students what they believe imagining is 

• Share strategies for how you keep your eyes closed (make it a choice if it is too uncomfortable for some) 

• Cover them with your hands 

• You can put your head 

• Pull shirt sleeve over your eyes 

Directions: 

• Children simply sit, close their eyes, and imagine the scene in their minds 

• The leader begins by saying “Imagine this” and naming an object (the ocean) 

• The next person then adds a detail that’s she's actually imagining 

• The next player will add another detail 

-----This is not a memory game necessarily, so players do not have to list all the things others have mentioned, nor does it need to tell a story. They simply state what they are imagining.