Lessons & Classroom Games for Teachers
For many students, school is not only a place for learning it's a place for fun and socialization. Classroom games are a part of the school experience and can help promote teamwork, physical fitness, quick reflexes and deductive skills. However, since classrooms often have a large number of kids, not every game will work in a school setting. Here are a few examples of teacher-approved games that work in school.
Heads Up, Seven Up
This game is a classroom classic that is perfect for a rainy day or indoor recess. At the start of the game, the teacher picks seven children to be "It." The teacher will say "Heads down, thumbs up" and the remaining children will put their heads on their desk so that they can't see and stick their thumb up. The seven "Its" will each select a student and gently press their thumb down. The teacher will then say "Heads up, seven up," and the kids who were selected will each get a chance to guess who selected them from the seven suspects. If they guess correctly, they get to trade spots with the person that selected them, until someone correctly guesses them or the game ends.
Blob Tag
This variation of tag will have the whole classroom working together as one massive entity and can be played either indoors in the gymnasium or out on the playground. Two children are chosen as "It" and must link their arms and move around the field together trying to tag the other students with their free hands. Whenever a player is tagged, they link arms with the person who tagged them and join "The Blob." By the end of the game, most of the class will be a part of "The Blob" and will have to work together so that the kids on the end of "The Blob" can move around to tag the remaining players.
Kickball
Kickball is a fun game to play in school that helps children to develop teamwork skills and introduces them to team sports. Kickball can be played outdoors or in the gymnasium on a rainy day. The rules of kickball are the same as baseball, except that a large rubber ball is used and children kick it with their feet instead of hitting it with a bat. You can change the size of the ball depending on the age of the children, with younger children using bigger balls as they are still developing their motor skills.
Musical Chairs
The game of musical chairs is great for an indoor classroom party because it gets kids moving without needing a lot of space. Take the classroom chairs and set them up in a circle, with chairs facing out. Make sure you have one less chair than the amount of children playing. Line the kids up and have them walk, skip and dance around the chairs in a circle while you play music on a CD player. When you stop the music, the kids must quickly find a seat. Whoever is leftover is out for the round. Take away one chair and begin the game again until there is only one player left.
