Difficulty: Easy
While there are so many things necessary to put into the burgeoning minds of schoolchildren,sometimes you need a little break for fun. While your children may want to play around on thecomputer or run around outside, conditions may force you to stay inside the classroom. Fear not, asthere are manygamesthat you can play in your classroom that your kids will enjoy.

Quietball
A teacher favorite, as it combines something that kids love, sports, with something that teachers love,quiet. Have all the children sit on their desks and hand one of them either a soft and light ball or arolled up sheet of paper. Have them toss it to one another. Tell them that if anybody makes a sound or drops the ball they are out and have to sit back down in their chairs. This game enhancesconcentration and allows the kids to have some fun without getting rowdy.

Seven-Up
Pick seven students to stand in the front of the classroom, choosing one as the leader. Have the rest of the students sit down at their desks. Have the leader say "Heads down, thumbs up." The studentsshould then close their eyes and put their heads down. The seven standing students should eachchoose a student by touching their thumbs and they go back to the front. The leader than says "Headsup, seven up" as the seven students who had their thumbs touched stand up. The students who hadtheir thumbs touched then guess who chose them. If they are right, they switch and become thechoosers. This game can go on as long as you wish.

Trashketball
This game can be played with a trashcan or a plastic basketball hoop. The concept is simple: divideeverybody into two teams, ask review questions, if they get it right they receive a point and a chance toshoot for another point. If they get the question wrong, they don't get any points and they can't shootthe ball. You may wish to add other variations to handicap the game for the higher skilled andintelligent.

Jeopardy
This long-running game show is a hit in many classrooms and allows you to review material while givingthe kids a good time. Set up your game with chalk or with a poster on the blackboard going from top tobottom from $100 to $500. Pick the answers and questions beforehand and either say both setsyourself or have the answers set up with some adhesive like Velcro on the game poster. Divide thegroup into several teams and make some prize at the end for thetop team (candy or extra credit workwell).

Minute Mysteries
A great tool for older children, Minute Mysteries are thinking puzzles that you present to your students,and they ask "Yes" or "No" questions to try to get the answer figured out. This can lead to a lot of funas there will be a lot of crazy questions mixed in with deeper thinking questions. You can separate theclass into teams or just have the entire class work together to figure out the puzzle. Some sampleMinute Mysteries are available online or you can invent your own.