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Line Ups or Data Processing
Divide the students into groups of 10 to 20, depending
on the difficulty level you want. The more students in a group,
the higher the level of difficulty.
Give directions for the "data" groups are to use to "process" themselves.
The more creative the "data" the more fun the "processing."
Give prizes to the group who is the first to correctly processes
their data.
Several rounds can be played in a short amount of time, depending
on the size of the groups.
Here's a list of my favorite "data" for this activity:
Alphabetical by best friend's first name
Alphabetical according to favorite food
Length of hair
Shoe size
Birthdays
Number of letters in last name
Length of thumb
Four Corners
This game is especially great when students are fidgety
and they need to burn off steam. ". You number the four corners
of the room. Choose one student to be "it" and he covers his eyes
and begins to count. While he is counting, the other students walk
SILENTLY to any of the four corners. When "it" has reached a designated
count, he shouts out one of the four corner numbers. Any students
in that corner must sit down. Play continues with the same "it"
until only one student is left standing. If time remains, that student
becomes the new "it". If no time remains, just allow that student
to be "it" the next time.
Two Truths and a Lie
You choose a topic (California, Abraham Lincoln, etc.)
that the students may be studying that week. Have each student write
two truths and a lie about that topic. One at a time the students
come up to the front, tell their truths/lies and the other students
or teams get three tries to figure out which comments were true
and which were not.
Games Collection
http://www.party-games.zaural.ru/party-games-1.html
Sparkle
This is great for practicing spelling words.
The class stands in a circle.
The teacher gives a word (let's say, smile).
Then picks a person to start the circle.
The first person say's "S", the next person in the circle says "M",
the next says "I", the next says "L", the next says "E", and the
next says "Sparkle" and sits down (They are out).
Then the teacher gives the next person another word and they start
spelling it as above. This goes on until there is only one person
left, that person is the winner.
Iif a person says the wrong letter they must sit down and the person
next to them must start where they left off. So you are out if you
misspell or have to say sparkle.
Students stand in a circle. A leader points to each
student as everyone counts...1-5, 1-6, 1-7, 1-8,1-9....etc. The
student who is the last number sits down and the count begins again.
Continue counting until one is left.
Mind Joggers: 5 to 15 Minute Activities that
Make Kids Think"
by Susan S. Petreshene
is a must have for any teacher! It is loaded with 154 fun activities
for students K-6. The activities include thinking, reasoning, math,
language, writing, listening and remembering.
http://puzzlemaker.school.discovery.com/
Backwards Alphabet Race
As easy as ZYX! The object of this game is to recite the alphabet
backwards in the least amount of time. Players split into two equal
teams, Team 1 and Team 2. Teams line up and face each other. The
first person on Team 1 says "Z," then the second player says "Y,"
the third person says "X" and so on. If a player messes up then
Team 2 gets a turn. The team to get through the alphabet first wins.
Math Facts Race
Builds math skills while reinforcing math facts Create on the board
or on chart paper two grids numbered across 1 to 9 and down 1 to
9. Divide the class into two teams. Decide whether the students
will practice addition, subtraction, or multiplication facts in
this game of speed. When the chart is set, say "Go!" The first person
on each team races to the board and fills in any square on the math
facts grid. For example, if you are using the game to reinforce
addition facts, the student will write the number 6 in the square
that meets where the 4 column and the 2 row meet. If any student
on either team sees a mistake made by a teammate during the game,
he or she can use his/her turn to correct that error. The first
team to finish is the winning team if they have every correct answer
on their
Area Code Math
Builds math computation and geography skills Print out the U.S.
Telephone Area Code Map and photocopy it onto a transparency. Project
the map on a wall or screen. Then pose questions such as What is
the total of the area codes for Minneapolis? (612 + 763 + 952 =
2327) and What is the difference between the area codes in North
Dakota and South Dakota? (701 - 605 = 96) Present three or four
questions and see how many students do the math correctly.
Anagram Puzzles
Anagrams are a terrific tool for stimulating students to think critically.
Write the four phrases below on a board or chart. The letters in
each phrase can be rearranged to spell a word. The words all have
something in common. Challenge students to figure out the four words
and what the words have in common.
Adapt the activity for younger students:
To make the activity easier, tell students what the words have in
common or arrange students in pairs to solve the anagram puzzles.
CHEATER
EARN
TIP
CAN
ACT
UNTO
IRAN
CANT
EVER
Answers: teacher, painter, accountant, and veterinarian are all
jobs
ZIP Code Math
Builds computation and research skills Create addition and subtraction
problems using ZIP codes. The two-factor ZIP codes should result
in an answer that is another ZIP code. For example: 60601 (Chicago,
Illinois) + 10469 (Bronx, New York) = 71070. Challenge students
to calculate the answers and use a ZIP code directory to determine
the name of the place that corresponds to the answer.
(Answer: 71070 is Saline, Louisiana.)
http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/citytown_zip.jsp
Morse
Code Alphabet
Establishing Random Groups
A. Deck of Cards
**Sort the deck by suits. Choose enough cards so each student will
get a card. If you want 3 in a group, pull out 3 fours, 3 kings,
3 sevens,etc. If you want 4 in a group use all four cards...4 two's,
4 queens,etc. Discard the extra cards. Shuffles the cards to be
used and either pass out one card per student or let them pull a
card.
Like cards form a group.
** Cut a playing card into as many pieces as you want in a group.
Pass out the pieces and the students match the pieces so the card
is now whole. These are the group members for the project. Index
cards may also be used.
B. Snowball Fight!!
Divide class into 2 groups. Give a piece of paper to Group 1. They
write their name on the paper and crumple it into a "snowball".
Have Group 2 move to one side of the room. Tell the students this
is SILENT snow. Designate a length of time-30-60 seconds for the
snowball fight.
When you say begin Group 1 throws the snowball and Group 2 picks
them up and throws them back.Continue until you say STOP. Group
1 then throws any snowballs on their side. Group 2 then each picks
up a snowball and the name on that paper is them partner.
People Bingo
Make a 5 x 5 grid, like a bingo grid. Write "FREE" in the center
space. In all the other spaces, write things such as "Born in another
state," "Is the youngest child in family," or "has 2 brothers."
Fill in all the grids with items of interest to the students. Run
a copy for each person. The students are to get the signature of
a person who meets the criteria for each section. You might want
to implement a rule that a person can only sign another person's
paper in two spots. The first person with a completed card wins.
Bingo
1.Write 35 questions on index cards. Make sure the questions have
answers that are only one or two words long.
2.Create bingo cards with 5 x 5 grids. Don't forget to put a free
space in the middle. Write the answers to the questions on the cards,
but make each card different. The cards will not contain all of
the answers. This makes copying very difficult, and it makes the
game more interesting. 3.Give each student a card and something
to use as markers. Use Skittles or M & M candies, as the kids are
less likely to drop them on the floor since they get to eat them
after the game. 4.Read the question and give the students time to
find the answer. Remember not all students will have the answer
on their cards.
5.Go through this process until someone calls bingo.
Check the card to make sure the student is correct. If the student
is correct, give a small prize such as a pencil. If the student
is incorrect, uncover the incorrect answer and continue playing
until there is a winner.
6.Play as many games as time permits.
7.Alternative games are blackout, four corners, or any others you
can come up with.
Buzz
Purpose: To practice numbers in English
Game: In this game the class counts aloud, each player
saying one number in turn but every time students come to a seven,
they must say "buzz" instead of the number. THey say it for all
numbers containing a seven-7, 17, 2,7, 71, 72, etc. The counting
goes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, buzz, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, buzz, 15, 16,
buzz, 18, 19, 20, buzz. Anyone who makes a mistake is out.
Twenty One
Purpose: Practice numbers in English.
Game There are two players and they agree that the one who says
a number-21, for example- wins. They take turns saying one or two
numbers. They can't say more then two numbers, which be in sequence.
EXAMPLE: Player 1: 1 2 Play 2: 3 1: 4 2: 5 6 1:7 2:8 1: 9 2: 10
11 1: 12 2:13 14 1: 15 16 2: 17 18 1: 19 20 2: 21
Variation
The Alphabet in Pairs Pupose: To practice the letters in the alphabet.
Game: There are two players, and they agree that the one who says
a letter-M, for example- wins. They take turns saying one or two
letters of the alphabet, but no more.
Getting to Know You
Yarn Webs
Start with a ball of yarn. Say your name and an interesting fact
about yourself. Then, holding the end, toss the ball to a student.
The student will say his/her name and an interesting fact, then,
holding on to part of the yarn, toss the ball to another student.
By the time everyone has spoken, there will be a large web of yarn
that can be displayed on the bulletin board with thumb tacks. (This
activity can also be used as a review tool - each student says something
about the subject, then tosses the yarn.)
GETTING TO KNOW YOU
*Split the students into pairs. Each pair will have 30 seconds to
find 5 things they have in common. At the end of the 30 seconds,
put two pairs together and give the foursome a minute to find something
all 4 students have in common. Finally, each group can present the
list of things they have in common. (You can use this activity to
form student groups.)
*Pass around a bag of M&M's. Tell the students to take as many
as they want. Once all the students have M&M's, tell them that for
each M&M they took they have to say one thing about themselves.
For instance, if a student took 10 M&M's, they would have to say
10 things about themselves.
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