Duck, Duck, Cereal

Directions:

1. Have students sit in a circle.

2. Like Duck, Duck, Goose, one student will walk around in a circle saying, Duck, Duck, Duck... However, instead of saying Goose, they will say a topic (example: cereal, tv shows, colors, animals, etc.)

   • Younger students might need the teacher to whisper the topic to them before the begin.

3. The student they picked will then have to name 3-5 (teacher decides based on ability of class) items in that topic (Ex: If the number is 3, the student might say, "Twix, Cheerios, Froot Loops") before the other student makes it all the way around the circle.

Flex It

Directions:

1. Choose a few students to do a little bragging about a unique skill they have.

2. Allow other students to ask questions like: "How did you get so good at ____?" or "Do you have any tips for those who'd like to try ___?"

Seeing Spots

Materials needed: colored dot stickers

Before starting: Tell students this game has to be done without ANY talking.

Directions: Place a colored sticker dot on each student's forehead without them knowing what color it is. Students must find their "team" (with the same color sticker) without talking.

Invent a Solution

Directions: Give students an imaginary scenario and have them think of solutions. This could be done in a whole group or small groups.

Click HERE for possible scenarios.

Yes Wall, No Wall

Directions: Designate a "Yes Wall" and a "No Wall" in your classroom. Have all students stand in the middle. Read of a question and have them respond by going to one of the walls.

Click HERE for possible questions.

Storytime!

Directions:

1. Start a story by creating an introduction of your own.

2. The next student goes further on the previous storyline and adds an extra narrative.

The Tallest Tower

Materials: Random supplies

Directions:

1. Put students into small groups.

2. Give each group the same amount of random supplies (cups, popsicle sticks, tape, plates, yarn, etc.)

3. Give them 10 minutes to work together to make the tallest tower they can with the supplies they have.

What Kids Love

Best for upper elementary

Directions:

1. Give each student 5 index cards or small pieces of paper.

2. Have them write one thing on each card that kids their age love. Example:

   • Card 1 - video games

   • Card 2 - dogs

   • Card 3 - music..... etc.

3. Collect and shuffle all the cards.

4. Draw 5 cards , show them to the class, and write them on the board.

5. Select a student to go out to the hall and rank them from THEIR favorite to least favorite.

6. While student is in the hall, the rest of the class and teacher will try to guess how they are going to rank them.

Team Charades

Directions:

1. Divide students into small groups. Ideally, no more than 3 groups.

2. Put each group as far away from the other groups as possible.

3. Have each group choose an Actor.

4. Teacher will sit in a central location with a list of 5-10 words to act out.

   1. Click HERE for a list of ideas if needed.

5. When the teacher says go, the Actors from each group will run to the teacher and get the first word on the list.

6. The will run back to their team and quietly act it out so that the other groups don't hear.

7. When their team gets it right, the run back to the teacher for the next word.

8. First group to go through all the words wins!

The Name Game

Materials needed: A blanket or sheet.

Directions:

1. Split class into 2 groups and send one group to the front of the class and the other group to the back of the class.

2. Teacher stands in the middle and holds a blanket/sheet between the two groups.

3. The groups will send one person up to stand in front of the sheet (one student on each side so they can't see who it is).

4. On the count of 3, teacher drops the sheet and the students have to say the name of the person standing in front of them.

5. First one to correctly say the other persons name first gets a point for their team!

Secret Word

Directions:

1. Call one student to stand with their back to the board.

2. Write a "secret word" above their head (Ex: pizza, dog, pumpkin, etc.)

   • Remind other students to not say the word!

3. Have the other students raise their hand to give a ONE WORD hint about the word.

   • If the word is pumpkin they could say, "Round, orange, stem, Fall, etc.)

4. After the student guesses the word, whoever gave them the last clue gets to be the guesser.

The Hedgehog Game

Materials needed: A small blanket big enough to cover a student.

Directions:

1. Students will walk around the room until you shout the word, "HEDGEHOG." Then they close their eyes and drop to the ground in a little ball like a hedgehog (child's pose in yoga).

2. Teacher will place a blanket over a random student and say, "The coast is clear."

3. The the other students will stand up and try to guess who is under the blanket.

Optional - The child who was the Hedgehog under the blanket gets to place the blanket on the next round.

Write a friendly anonymous note to a classmate

Click to watch the read aloud

Click to watch the read aloud

Click to watch the read aloud

Common Thread

Directions:

1. Divide students into groups of four and have them sit together as a small group.

2. Give each group five minutes to chat among themselves and find something they all have in common. It could be that they all play soccer, or pizza is their favorite dinner, or they all have a dog.

Note: This game can be done several times throughout the year with new groups.

Line Up

Directions:

1. Tell students this game has to be done without any talking (they can use hand signals).

2. The objective is to have students line up in order based off a certain criteria.

3. Examples: Alphabetically, height, birthdays, etc.

Rock Paper Scissors Tournament

Directions:

1. Make sure students understand how to play rock, paper, scissors. HERE is a 1 minute instructional video if needed.

2. Pair students and let them play one round of rock, paper scissors (teacher should play too)!

3. Pair all the students who won.

4. Continue pairing the students who won until there is one winner.

Try Not To Laugh

Directions:

1. Tell students the objective of this game is to stare at your classmate without laughing.

2. Have students stand on one side of the class.

3. Call two students to the front.

4. Tell the two students to close their eyes and when you say "go," to open their eyes and try not to laugh.

5. The one who doesn't laugh, gets to go up against another person person until you have a "serious face champion!"

Who is missing?

Directions:

1. Have students sit in a circle.

2. Select one student to go into the hallway. This student will be the Guesser.

3. Once the student is in the hall, have one student hide (under your desk, behind the partition, etc.)

4. Send a student to go get the Guesser from the hallway.

5. The Guess gets 3 chances to correctly guess who it is.

Optional: for younger students, you could provide a "hint" after each incorrect guess. (This person has blonde hair, this person is a boy, this person had on a red shirt, etc)

The Wink Detective

Directions:

1. Have students sit in a circle and close their eyes with their heads down.

2. Walk around the circle and tap one student 1 time. This student is the "Winker."

3. Continue to walk around the circle and tap a student 2 times. This student is the "Wink Detective."

4. Tell the students to open their eyes have have the Wink Detective raise their hand.

5. While avoiding detection from the Wink Detective, the Winker has to secretly make eye contact with someone and wink at them.

6. If a person gets winked at, they have to fall over (dramatically of course...)

7. After 3 students have fallen over, the Wink Detective gets 3 guess as to who the Winker is.

Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes

Directions:

1. Have students walk around the classroom.

2. Call out a random number and a body part.

• Example: 4 elbows, 3 knees, 7 feet, etc.

3. Students will hurry to get in a group with other students to make the right number of body parts.

4. RULE - they have to figure out away for EVERYONE to be included in a group.

Soup, Salad, Sandwich

Best for upper elementary

Directions:

This game can be played whole group, small groups, or pairs.

1. Explain that there is a theory that all foods can be categorized as a soup, salad, or sandwich.

• Intentionally, there aren't specific parameters for what makes a food a soup, salad, or sandwich. That vagueness initiates discussion and encourages critical thinking!

2. Call out a random food (ex: cupcake, spaghetti, steak, pizza, etc.) and allow the students to discuss whether that food falls into the soup, salad, or sandwich category.

• You could allow one student to answer, one pair, or one group. After someone answers, they have to explain why they chose that category.

• Explain that there isn't a right answer!

Concentration

Directions:

1. Have students sit in a circle.

2. Give a general topic.

   • (Food, fall, animals, desserts, book characters, etc.)

3. Students will go around in a circle as quickly as they can and name something in that topic.

   • The rule is you can't name something that has already been named.

4. If a student names something already said or can't think of something the game starts over with a new topic and starts at that person.

Pro tip: This game can also be used outside of community circle to review knowledge of taught topics.

Boom, Clap, Snatch!

Directions:

Click HERE to see a video (this activity could also be used during academics as shown in the video)

1. Put students in pairs sitting across from each other.

2. Give each pair an object (markers are ideal)

3. Explain what each direction means:

   • Boom - they hit the floor/desk

   • Clap - they clap their hands

   • Snatch - they see who can grab the marker first

4. Call out different combinations of boom, clap, or snatch (Example: boom, boom, boom. clap, clap, boom, clap, clap, snatch!)

   • Go faster for more of a challenge!

Pancake or Waffle

Directions:

For the first round, your team has to decide on whether the world is going to keep pancakes or waffles, and the other is to be obliterated from existence. Anyone can advocate for a favorite choice, and ultimately you must have a vote of majority to make the decision.

After one option is eliminated, you add a new competitor. For example, the game may become Waffles vs Pumpkins, and then Waffles vs Puppies, and then Puppies vs Kittens, and then Kittens vs Tacos...etc.

Typically the longer you play, the more intense the conversation gets and the more team members will share their values.

Best Friends!!!

Best for upper elementary

Directions:

1. Put students in pairs.

2. Give each student a post it note.

3. Give them a topic (pizza, fall, Halloween, etc.)

4. Without talking to each other, students get 1-2 minutes to write 3 things related to that topic.

   • Example - If the topic is Fall, students might write: leaves, pumpkins, and scarecrows.

5. After the time is up, the pairs show each other their answers and see how many they got the same.

Pass the Move

Directions:

Similar to the telephone game except instead of a verbal message, children have to pass the same set of movements to the next person in the circle.

1. Have students stand in a line.

2. The person at the back of the line goes first by tapping the shoulder of the person in front of them and doing a set of movements.

3. That person then taps the should of the person in front of them and does the same movement.

4. The first person in the line will show the last person to see if they got it right.

Name, Place, Animal, Thing

Best for upper elementary

Directions:

Could be played individually, pairs, or small group.

1. Give each group a whiteboard or piece of paper.

2. Call out a letter and have them write a name, place, animal thing that begins with that letter.

   • You can also use a SPINNER WHEEL!

   • Example: If you call out E, they might write, "Erica, Egypt, Elephant, Egg."