Embedded Files
10 minute
Zip, Zap, Zop
Directions:
Students stand in a circle.
Ask the group to repeat the words “Zip, Zap, Zop” three or four times, all together
Explain: "Imagine that I have a bolt of energy in my hands. To start the game, I will send the bolt out of energy out of my body with a strong forward motion straight to someone else in the circle (use hands, body, eyes, and voice to make contact across the circle) and say, “Zip.”
That person then takes the energy and passes it immediately to someone else saying “Zap.”
That person passes it on to another participant with a “Zop.”
The game continues and the “Zip, Zap, Zop” sequence is repeated as the energy moves around the circle.
Try to go faster and faster!
VIDEO directions
SPLAT!
Directions:
Students stand in a circle with the teacher in the middle.
Teacher will point at a student and say "Splat!"
That student ducks while the two students on each side of them say "Splat!" to each other.
The last one to say "splat" has to sit down.
Continue until only 2 people remain standing.
The last 2 stand back-to-back. When teacher says "Splat!" they turn around and say it to each other as quickly as they can.
VIDEO directions
ABC Game
Directions:
Students stand in a circle
One person will start by saying A and pointing to someone else (not next to them).
That person has to say B and point to someone else.
Continue all the way to Z by going as fast as you can!
The only rule is you can't choose someone next to you.
Heads Up, Heads Down
Directions:
Students stand in a circle.
When you say "Heads Down" everyone looks down.
When you say "Heads Up," everyone looks up and at someone else.
If two people are looking at each other, they both sit down.
If you are looking at someone and they aren't looking at you, you stay in the game.
Keep playing!
VIDEO directions
Electricity
Directions:
Divide the students into 2 teams.
The team will stand in a line, holding hands, facing the other team (about 5 feet apart).
On one end of the line, between the two teams, there will be an object (stuffed animal, pillow, etc.)
On the other end, the teacher will hold the hands of both team members.
Without talking, the teacher will lightly squeeze both team members hands.
They will then lightly squeeze the hand of the person they are holding.
This should continue all the way down the line until the last person's hand is gently squeezed and they are able to grab the object.
First team to grab the object wins.
VIDEO directions
D-O-W-N
Watch this video to learn how to play!
1, 2, 3
Directions:
Designate someone to start the game by saying 1.
Students have to take turns counting on, BUT only one person can say the next number. If more than one person says the next number, that round is over.
Example: Teacher says 1. Joey says 2. Suzy says 3. Jose and Amaya say 4 at the same time.... that round is over.
See how far you all can count without planning or talking!
For an extra challenge - everyone can close their eyes!
Walrus
***Best for upper elementary
Directions:
One person is "It" and is sent out of the room.
The others in the room decide upon one action or activity such as biking, eating, sleeping, dancing, reading and so on.
Then they will replace that word with "Walrus".
Whoever is "it" comes back in and asks questions to guess what the word is, and the players in the room have to answer by replacing the word with the substitute word. For example, if the word is biking:
Q: When do you do this activity?
A: I walrus every day to school and whenever I feel like.
Q: Do you walrus at night?
A: No
Q: Do you walrus at home?
A: Yes
Rock Rock Game
***Best for upper elementary
Materials: a small object (rock, eraser, etc.)
Directions: Click the video above to learn how to play.
Two Truths and a Lie
Directions:
Have students sit in a circle.
One at a time, each student will tell two truths and one lie about themselves.
The group has to guess which is the lie.
Helpful tip - To make it faster, you could also do this in small groups or even with partners.
Compliment Circle
Directions:
Students sit in a circle
Students take turns complimenting the person to their left, focusing on positive qualities and actions they admire.
Collaborative Art
Materials: a piece of paper, clipboard, pencil, timer
Directions:
Have students sit in a circle.
Explain that you all are going to make one drawing together.
Teacher or a student will start by drawing whatever they want on the paper (set timer for 10-15 seconds)
After the timer goes off, the student has to stop, even if they aren't finished, and give the pencil and clipboard to the student to their left.
The next student will continue adding to the drawing of the first.
Continue until everyone has added to the drawing.
KIND Simon Says
Directions:
Have students stand in a circle or around the room.
This game is just like Simon Says except nobody gets out and the commands are acts of kindness and connection:
Give a high five
Give a compliment
Talk to someone you don't know
Make up a handshake with someone next to you
Paper Airplanes
***Best for upper elementary
Materials: each student needs a sheet of paper and a pencil.
Directions:
Have students quickly write a compliment on a sheet of paper.
Show this VIDEO so students can learn how to fold a paper airplane.
Have studnets stand in a circle or around the room and on your count, they get to throw their airplane.
Everyone grabs an airplane and reads the compliment.
Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes
*Similar to Boom, Clap, Snatch*
Directions:
Pair students and have them stand and face each other.
Place an item in between each pair (ball, marker, something soft, bandana, etc,)
Call out a different combination of head, shoulders, knees, and toes. When you are ready for them to grab the item, call out "Grab!"
Hot Seat
Click HERE to see a video of how to play.
Directions:
One student sits in a chair with their back to the board.
On the board the teacher writes a word (Example - apple)
The other students have to give clues without saying the word.
When the student in the hot seat gets it right, they get to choose someone else to be in the hot seat.
River - Bank
Click HERE to see a video of how to play.
Directions:
students line up in 2 rows, facing each other, with about three feet inbetween them.
When you say, "river" they jump into the space. When you say "bank" they jump back to where they were.
If a student jumps into the "river" when you said "bank," they are out (and vice versa).
Go faster to make it more difficult.
This or That
Directions:
All students will start in the middle of the classroom.
Teacher stands in the middle and gives two options while pointing to opposite walls.
Example: Point to left wall and say summer, point to right wall and say winter.
Students will walk to the wall that they like best.
Click HERE for a list of this or that questions.
Balloon Bop
Materials: a balloon
Directions:
Everyone holds hands and stands in a circle.
The objective is to keep the balloon in the air, BUT students cannot let go of each others hands AND they can't use their feet
They can use their head, shoulder, knee, stomach, hands while holding their partners hand, etc.
Optional - Set a timer to see how long they can keep the balloon up so that they can try to beat their previous time.
Optional - Can you can add additional balloons to make it more difficult.
Rock, Paper, Scissors, Waterfall
Directions:
Pair all students up to play 1 game of rock, paper, scissors.
Whoever wins will find someone else to play against who also won their round.
The person who didn't win, will follow the person who won and cheer them on as they compete against someone else.
Every time someone loses, they will join the "waterfall" to cheer on the winner.
Eventually two students should be playing against each other with several students behind them cheering them on.
Follow the Leader
Directions:
One student is chosen to be the guesser and will go into the hallway.
The rest of the students will stand in a circle.
One of the students is chosen to be the leader.
The leader will choose different motions that the class has to silently follow (stomping, clapping, patting knees, etc.). Let them practice following the leader for a few moments.
The guesser comes back to the class, and stands in the middle of the circle while the rest of the students are still following the motions of the leader.
The guesser has 3 guesses to figure out who the leader is.
Wompkin
Materials: Dice (1 or 2)
Directions:
Students sit in a circle.
Someone starts by rolling the dice.
The student who rolled will chose something for the class to do the same number of times as what's on the dice.
Example: "Student rolls a 4 and has everyone do 4 push ups."
Then they pass the dice to the next person.
Comfort Zone
Directions:
Explain that there are 3 zones for this game:
Comfort zone - (Where you are standing in the circle) You feel completely fine and comfortable, heart rate is low and calm.
Growth zone - (A step backwards from the circle) You feel more alert, heart rate is up a little bit.
Panic zone - (All the way to the wall) You feel scared, worried, very nervous, heart rate is high.
Teacher will give different "imagine if" statements and students will move based on their comfort zone.
Examples:
Imagine a huge 12 foot snake slithered into out classroom.
Imagine if you were sitting on the couch watching your favorite tv show.
Imagine if you had a spelling test coming up but forgot to study.
Team Charades
Directions:
Divide students into small groups. Ideally, no more than 3 groups.
Put each group as far away from the other groups as possible.
Have each group choose an Actor.
Teacher will sit in a central location with a list of 5-10 words to act out.
Click HERE for a list of ideas if needed.
When the teacher says go, the Actors from each group will run to the teacher and get the first word on the list.
The will run back to their team and quietly act it out so that the other groups don't hear.
When their team gets it right, the run back to the teacher for the next word.
First group to go through all the words wins!
The Name Game
Materials needed: A blanket or sheet.
Directions:
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.
Teacher stands in the middle and holds a blanket/sheet between the two groups.
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).
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.
First one to correctly say the other persons name first gets a point for their team!
Secret Word
Directions:
Call one student to stand with their back to the board.
Write a "secret word" above their head (Ex: pizza, dog, pumpkin, etc.)
Remind other students to not say the word!
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.)
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:
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).
Teacher will place a blanket over a random student and say, "The coast is clear."
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.
Common Thread
Directions:
Divide students into groups of four and have them sit together as a small group.
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:
Tell students this game has to be done without any talking (they can use hand signals).
The objective is to have students line up in order based off a certain criteria.
Examples: Alphabetically, height, birthdays, etc.
Rock Paper Scissors Tournament
Directions:
Make sure students understand how to play rock, paper, scissors. HERE is a 1 minute instructional video if needed.
Pair students and let them play one round of rock, paper scissors (teacher should play too)!
Pair all the students who won.
Continue pairing the students who won until there is one winner.
Try Not To Laugh
Directions:
Tell students the objective of this game is to stare at your classmate without laughing.
Have students stand on one side of the class.
Call two students to the front.
Tell the two students to close their eyes and when you say "go," to open their eyes and try not to laugh.
The one who doesn't laugh, gets to go up against another person person until you have a "serious face champion!"
Magoo
Directions:
Put students into pairs.
One student will be Mr./Ms. Magoo and the other student is the car.
Magoo has to stand behind their partner (car) and gently place their hands on their shoulders.
The person who is the car will close their eyes and TRUST their Magoo...
Teacher sets a timer for one minute.
Then Magoo will SLOWLY "drive" the car around the classroom without talking and WITHOUT bumping into anyone or anything.
If they bump into anyone or anything, the pair has to sit down until the next round.
Switch roles after one minute.
You can witch up partners for a longer game or only do one partner set for a shorter game.
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