We all need to have fun with our students from time to time, so here’s a quick list of some silly ways to get kids up and moving, share some laughs, build some rapport, and if you’re creative, maybe mix in some academic content along the way.
1. Heads or Tails - Ask students to stand up and choose heads or tails (I would make them signal their choice by placing their hands on their head to signal "heads", or on their waste to signal "tails"). Then, flip flip a coin (or let Google do it) and anyone who chose incorrectly must sit. We keep going until there’s only one winner and I always tried to hand out some silly .25 trophy or other prize. I also do this regularly in my professional development workshops. Teachers love it, too.
2. Name that tune - Play a snipped from a song and ask students to correctly name the song title and artist. Play music from their generation occasionally, but mix up genres and eras at random.
3. “Rock-Paper-Scissor” - We’d play in one big group, two lines facing each other until there is only one remaining. Nothing like crowning a “grand champion” of a random game of chance.
4. Rock-Paper-Scissor-Zombie - We’ll also play “Rock-Paper-Scissor-Zombie” where everyone stands and meanders around the room playing at random. When one person is eliminated, they watch the person who eliminated them. If THAT person loses, they come back to life (hence the “zombie”). The only way the game would end is if someone defeats everyone else in the room, consecutively. For fun, ask your students (or math teachers) to calculate the odds of someone actually accomplishing that.
5. Kahoot - This online quiz game is PERFECT for reviewing course content, though the multiple choice format lends itself more to low-level questions than higher depth of knowledge items. Still, it can be good formative assessment too. For more fun, play some of the pop-culture games others have created and shared. Seriously, try it HERE.
6. Simon Says - Like the traditional game you played as a kid, but the teacher controls the game, so you can get students up and moving, or doing academic tasks while being silly and having fun as well. “Simon says stand up. Simon says sit down. Simon says what’s 5x5? Simon says tell a partner what’s a thesis statement. Simon says stop talking.” This can be A LOT of fun,and valuable instructionally too with a little creativity. It was a regular of mind during indoor track practice with middle school students as well (great cardio).
7. Quizlet Live - Similar to Kahoot, but this is a team-based class competition that can be used for actual course content. Highly competitive and customizable, ideal for classrooms with 1:1 devices. You can check it out by clicking HERE.
8. The Color Game - Remember the old electronic game “Simon”, where “Simon” highlights a color, then you mimic it, then he adds another color every time until someone gets it wrong? Put students into groups of 4, then have one student say a color. The next student repeats theirs, and adds their own. The third student repeats the first two, then adds their own. It keeps going until someone gets it wrong. For example:
- Student #1: Red
- Student #2: Red-Blue
- Student #3: Red-Blue-Yellow
- Student #4: Red- Blue- Yellow-Blue
- Student #1: Red-Blue-Yellow-Blue-Red
- Student #2: Red-Blue-Yellow-Blue-Red-Green (and so on, until someone gets it wrong).
A few rules to help “The Color Game” go smoother:
- Have everyone stand, then sit once eliminated from their group.
- No using the same color more than 3 consecutive times.
- Standard colors only (define that however you like, there’s always one kid saying “Seafoam!” and confusing the group).
- Since only those in the group actually know who’s right/wrong, it can be a little tricky to determine that sometimes if things get challenging. Our rule was to confirm with the other group nonverbally before “calling someone out” for being wrong. If you made a stink about someone being wrong, and the group insisted they were right, you’re eliminated.
- We used to play this in table groups and crown a “winner” from each table group. Then, the winners would all face-off against each other (and me) to determine the class champion.
This was in my rotation for “Friday Gamedays” for a long time, my students loved it! We also tied in certain academic topics, like “chunking” strategies, alliteration, visualization, and other tricks to help use the game to improve memory. It’s a “must try”.
What do you think? Do you have a favorite game you play with your students? How do you get them up and moving from time to time without wrecking your focus on learning? Hit us up on Twitter @Edunators or @MarkClementsEdu and let us know what you think or shoot me an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .