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UU GAMES AND GETTING TO KNOW YOU ACTIVITIES

Some types of games useful in UU groups:
— Icebreaker and name games: for whenever you have a newcomer
— Classic kid games: for any age, just to have fun
— Fantasy games: unleashing fantasy and creativity
— Active games: get up and get moving
— Simulation or teaching games: learning by doing
— Theatre games: awareness of self, awareness of others
— Energy breaks: very short activities designed to regulate the group’s energy level

Every game-playing group of which I’ve been a part — from Sunday school classes with little
kids to adult groups — usually has one or two games that they love best, and the group can play
that game over and over again. My goal with every group is to try a bunch of games until I find
at least one game we want to play over and over again. Of course I want to play lots of different
games, but if there are one or two favorites, then when all other plans fail, we all know that at
least we can play our favorite game. The games below marked “Fave Game” been a favorite
game of at least one group I’ve led or been a part of.

Please note that rules of games are mutable — you may know one or more of these games with
slightly different rules. The rules given here are rules that I know work, but you should change
and adapt them as you wish.

Icebreaker and name games:

Grocery Store Game (age 8-adult)

Here’s how I play this game:

“Pick an item that you can buy in the grocery store,” I’ll say, “the name of which begins with the
same letter or the same sound as your name. So I’m Dan Dogfood.”

We go around the circle and players chose grocery store names for themselves: Sara Saran Wrap,
Zach Zucchini, Melissa Marshmallow, Dori Doughnut, and so on.

“Now one person stands in the middle of the circle with a pillow,” I say, demonstrating what I
mean, “and one person, let’s say Oliver Olives, starts us off by saying ‘I like…’ and then
someone’s grocery store name. So for example, Oliver might say, ‘I like Bill Berries.’

“At this point, I will try to tap Bill Berries with the pillow before he can name someone else.”
Which causes Bill Berries to say hurriedly, “Ari Asparagus,” who in turn says, “Heather Hair
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Spray,” who doesn’t respond before I tap her with the pillow, so she goes into the center of the
circle to start the next round.

Ocean Wave (age 8-adult)

Set up a circle of chairs, with one less chair than there are players. One player is in the center of
the circle. The player in the center calls out: “Shift right!” or “Shift left!” All the other players
have to shift to the right or left without allowing the player in the center to take their seats.
Whoever allows their seat to be taken goes in the center next.

Friends and Neighbors (age 10-adult) –Fave Game

Players sit in a circle of chairs; there is one less chair than players. “It,” who doesn’t have a
chair, goes to the center and thinks of something about themselves she might have in common
with other members of the group. She says something like, “I want to see all my friends and
neighbors who…” and then she adds a statement that is true of her, e.g., “…who are wearing
blue!” — “…who have ever eaten sushi!” — etc.

All the people for whom this statement is true then get up out of their chairs and find another
chair (but, if you have more than 10 people playing, not the chairs on either side of them). The
person remaining after all the chairs are taken starts the next round by saying, “I want to see all
my friends and neighbors who…”

Optional additional rule — the Eye-contact Rule: Seated members can make eye-contact with
each other across the circle and switch seats before “It” has made their statement. If “It”
perceives this happening, s/he can quickly try to steal a vacant seat, leaving a new “It” in the
center.

Optional additional rule — the Story Rule: In groups that are well-bonded and have achieved a
high level of intimacy and trust, the statements will move beyond surface-level statements such
as “…who are wearing blue!” and move into more personal statements such as “…who have
ever participated in a political rally.” With the Story Rule, after “It” makes his/her statement, and
everyone has exchanged seats, anyone in the circle can shout out, “Story!” upon which play
stops while the former “It” tells a little bit about the personal statement s/he just made, e.g., “It
was a rally in opposition to Prop 8 in Sacramento, and I went with [etc. etc.].” People always
have the option of saying “I pass” instead of telling the story.

Optional additional rule — the Jello Rule: Pretend you are stuck in a giant vat of Jello (vegan
Jello, of course). All players must play as if they are moving through Jello, and when moving all
players when moving are required to make suitable noises that you would make if playing in
actual Jello, e.g. “splurp, slllck, fllrbbb.” The Jello rule can make this game more accessible to
persons who are differently abled, or who have other mobility issues.
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Classic games:

Red Light, Green Light (age 3-adult) — Fave Game

Choose one person to be the caller. S/he stands at one end of the room/space, next to the goal.
The goal might be anything convenient: a carpet square, a chair, etc. The rest of the players stand
at the other end of the room/space, at a defined starting line (a sidewalk, the wall, and piece of
rope on the floor, etc.).

When the caller calls out “Green light!” s/her must turn away from the rest of the players, and
the players can then move safely towards the goal. At some point, the caller calls out, “Red
light!” and turns around to look at the other players, who must all freeze. If the caller sees
anyone moving, s/he calls out that person’s name, and that person has to go back to the starting
line. Game is over when someone touches the goal without being sent back by the caller.

When playing with younger children, you will want to begin playing this game with an adult as
the caller.

Optional additional rules — Red Light, Green Light with Cheating: So far, these are the rules of
traditional Red Light, Green Light. Now comes the cheating part. The players can cheat by not
staying frozen, and stealthily trying to move towards the goal without being spotted by the caller.
The caller can cheat by moving away from the goal, and standing anywhere s/he wants to more
closely observe the players (which of course also leaves the goal unguarded, and offers other
players a chance to sneak closer to it).

Duck, Duck, Goose (age 3-adult) — Fave Game

There are many variations on this game. Here’s one:

Everyone sits in a circle except one person. That one person is the Ducker. The Ducker goes
around the circle tapping each person GENTLY on the head (with preschoolers, you may have to
emphasize the GENTLY), each time saying “Duck.” But eventually the Ducker taps someone on
the head and says “Goose,” at which point that person (call them “Goose”) stands up, and chases
the Ducker around the circle. If the Ducker manages to sit down in Goose’s place in the circle,
then Goose becomes the new Ducker. If Goose manages to tag the Ducker before the Ducker sits
down in Goose’s place, then the Ducker sits in the middle of the circle (which is sometimes
called “The Soup Pot”); if there was already someone in the Soup Pot, that person goes back to
sit in the circle; and the Goose then becomes the new Ducker.

Of course, everyone wants to be the Ducker at some point in the game. When playing with little
kids, sometimes you have to say, “raise your hand if you haven’t been tagged yet,” and then tell
the Ducker that they have to tag someone who has their hand up.
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Fantasy games:

Lemonade (age 7-adult)

Two teams. A play area split by a clearly defined line (rope, sidewalk, etc.).

The two teams huddle at separate ends of the room. One team, Team One, decides on a job or
profession they will act out. Then they decide on a place that job or profession is associated with,
e.g.: lawyers and Washington, D.C.; corn farmers and Iowa; garment workers and New York
City; etc.

When both teams are ready, they line up at opposite ends of the play area.

While taking a step towards the center line, team one calls out, “Here we come!”

Team two takes their own step towards the center line, and responds, “Where ya from?”

Team one takes step, says, “Washington! [or wherever the place is that they’ve chosen]”

Team two takes step, says, “What’s yer trade?” [in the Boston area, say “what’s ya trade?”]

Team one takes step, says, “Lemonade!”

Team two takes step, says, “Well show us some if you’re not afraid!” At this point, both teams
should be lined up face-to-face on either side of the center line (so take big steps in a big space,
smaller steps in a smaller space). Members of team one begin acting out their trade; members of
team two try shout out their guesses as to what that trade might be. When a member of team two
guesses correctly, team one runs madly back to their starting line, while team two tries to tag
them.

All those who get tagged before getting back across the starting line are now part of team two.
And now team two huddles to decide on what profession or job they will act out….

Variation for quieter game, or small space: Instead of running back to starting line, members of
the team being chased have to squat down and touch both palms to the floor before being tagged.

Evolution (age 10-adult) — Fave Game

You’ll need: 8-24 people (give or take); a pillow, chair, or other seat for each person; 10 to 60
minutes.
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Sit in a circle, on chairs or pillows or something to mark seats. The circle roughly constitutes an
evolutionary ladder, rising from primitive organisms to more sophisticated organisms. Divide the
circle into four roughly equal segments. The first section will contain primitive organisms; the
second section, plants; the third section, herbivores; the fourth section, carnivores.

Within each section, each person chooses an appropriate organism, and then comes up with a
simple motion to represent that organism (for example, the lowest organism, by tradition, is
always Pond Scum; and the motion for Pond Scum is to hold your left hand out in front of you as
if you were holding a cup with your fingers curled to touch your thumb, while above that hand
and not quite touching you hold your right hand flat and palm down, moving it in a small circle
over the left hand). Once you’ve gone all around the circle, go around again so everyone can try
to remember all the organisms and their associated motions.

The highest organism always begins each round. Let’s say the highest organism is Human Being,
motion: waving. So the person sitting in that seat would say something like, “Human Being
[waving] loves Pond Scum [left hand circling over cupped right hand].” That means play goes to
the person sitting in the Pond Scum seat. She might then say, “Pond Scum [left hand circling
over cupped right hand] loves Redwood Tree [stands and raises hands over head].” Of course
that means play goes to the person sitting in the Redwood Tree seat (which is in that second
section of plants), and he might say, “Redwood Tree [stands and raises hands over head] loves
Grizzly Bear [makes growly face and holds hands up like claws].” The play should proceed
relatively quickly from person to person.

Now if anyone hesitates, or uses the wrong motion with the name of the organism, or says an
organism that isn’t part of that particular game, or otherwise stumbles in the estimation of the
other participants, then he or she must go to the bottom of the evolutionary ladder, taking the seat
of Pond Scum. Which means that whoever is sitting in the Pond Scum seat then moves up one
place on the evolutionary ladder, adopting the name and motion of the organism for that
particular seat. And other people also move up until everyone below the person who made the
mistake has taken a new seat. That concludes one round.

Whoever is sitting in the seat at the top of the evolutionary ladder commences the next round.
Continue playing until bored.

Strategy: Usually, you will want to send the play to people above you in the evolutionary ladder,
because the only way you get to move is by getting one of them to make a mistake. However, it
can also be effective to look at someone as if you’re going to send the play to them, but then
name another organism — with the hope of faking them out so that they start to respond, which
could be reason for the other players to send them to the bottom of the evolutionary ladder.

Background: This game has no basis in actual biology at all. I mean, that should be obvious, but
with all the misunderstanding the creationists have created over evolution, it seemed wisest to
state it explicitly.
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Active games:

Dragon tag: (age 5-adult)

Players form a dragon by lining up, and holding on to one another’s waists. The person at the
front is the dragon’s head, the person at the back is the dragon’s tail. When you say, “Go!” the
dragon’s head tries to catch the dragon’s tail.

Younger children will need to be carefully instructed that they can’t let go of waists. All children
should be reminded to “Play hard, play fair, nobody hurt!”

Double dragon tag: (age 5-adult)

Divide the group into two teams. Each team forms a “dragon” by lining up and holding onto one
another’s waists. Each dragon’s “head” must try to catch the other dragon’s “tail” without letting
the body break apart. Before starting, each team should decide on the gait, voice and personality
of their dragons.

Chaos tag: (age 8-adult) — Fave Game

Anyone can tag anyone else. When you are tagged, you have to squat down, and are out of the
game. When the person who tagged you gets tagged, then you are free again. If two people tag
each other simultaneously, you both have to squat down (N.B.: there are other variations on this
rule).

Simulation and teaching games:

Foxes, Rabbits, and Leaves (age 9-adult) — Fave Game

Divide the group into Foxes, Rabbits, and Leaves. (With a group of ten, have 4 rabbits, 3 leaves,
and 3 foxes.)
— Leaves put hands up at shoulder level (as if about to give a high-five).
— Rabbits have tails (pieces of white cloth to stick into back pocket).
— Foxes have no distinguishing characteristic.

The play area is a big circle. Rabbits have a Warren (a square of felt on the ground). They are
safe from predation by the Foxes as long as they touch the felt.

To begin each round:

— The Rabbits are touching the Rabbit Warren.
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— The Leaves form a broad circle around the Rabbit Warren.

— The Foxes stand among the Leaves.

When the signal is given to begin a round:

— Rabbits must try to “eat” (high-five) Leaves;
— Foxes try to catch and “eat” Rabbits by pulling tails;
— Leaves are immobile.

During each round:

— Rabbits are safe and cannot be tagged when they are frozen in a crouched position, or when
they are touching the Rabbit Warren. Rabbits may not move or get Leaves unless they are
standing up.
— Rabbits must eat in each round, or they will die from hunger.
— Foxes must eat in each round, or they will die of hunger.
— A round lasts 3-5 minutes. At the end of the round, Leader calls out “End of Round!” and all
action stops.

At the end of each round:

— If a Fox has not eaten one or more Rabbits in a round, s/he dies, rots away, turns into
compost, and becomes a Leaf in the next round.
— If a Rabbit has not eaten a Leaf in a round, s/he dies, rots away, turns into compost, and
becomes a Leaf in the next round.
— If a Rabbit is eaten by a Fox (whether or not s/he has eaten a Leaf him/herself), that Rabbit
becomes a Fox next round.
— If a Leaf is eaten by a Rabbit, s/he becomes a Rabbit in the next round.

Play three to five rounds (or more, if it’s going well).

The educational goal of this game is to model how a surplus of predators in an ecosystem leads
to starvation of predators; a surplus of herbivores can lead to a shortage of plants; etc. The more
people you have playing, the more sophisticated you can make this model — great way to
investigate the concept of the interdependent web of all existence. Or it can just be a fun game!

Moksha Patamu

Classic board game from India upon which “Chutes and Ladders” is based. Symbolizes the
journey through life, and presents ideas of reincarnation, various virtues, etc. It used to be
available online, but I can no longer find it — look for it in the old “Holidays and Holy Days”
curriculum.

Quaker Checkers
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Click on the image below for a full-size printable PDF:

Theatre games:

Tug of War (age 7-adult)

Create a rope made out of space substance. Have the players help you do this.

Tell the players that we are going to play Tug of War with this imaginary rope. Ask the players
to pair off with a partner who is of equal strength, or equal size. Pairs try this separately, in front
of an audience composed of the other players. Each person in turn in the pair slowly pulls the
other member of the pair towards the imaginary center line, exactly as in playing tug of war with
a real rope. (You, as the director of the game, can call on them to switch if need be.)
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When a pair has just gone, ask the audience: Were the players using the same rope? Did the rope
connect the players? Was the rope merely in the players’ heads, or could you really sense the
rope between them? Now ask the players the same questions.

Freezeframe (age 10-adult)

This popular game has many variants. It works best with older kids, or younger kids who have
done many theatre games together.

Two to three players begin in the stage area (which might be one end of a room, or the center of
a circle). They are to enact a scenario determined by you, the director, or a scenario everyone
agrees on at the beginning (this can be a wordless scenario, or a scenario with words). Sample
scenarios: riding on the bus with a gorilla; sitting in a sinking rowboat; eating lunch in zero
gravity; playing soccer in quicksand; etc. (I like to start with scenarios that force people to use
their whole bodies.) Remind all players to both SHOW and TELL — that is, communicate with
your body and your actions as much or more than you rely on words.

At any point during the scenario, any of the audience players can shout out “Freezeframe!” All
the stage players freeze. The audience player then taps one of the stage players on the shoulder,
and takes that player’s place on stage, taking exactly the same body posture, etc. (When you start
playing this game, you can invite the audience players to let the incoming player know when s/he
has taken the correct position.) Once the incoming player is in place, s/he begins the action again
by taking the scenario in a completely different direction, or by creating a whole new scenario
based on the body positions; e.g., going from a scenario where a person on the bus is down on
bended knees begging the gorilla to give back the banana, to a completely different scenario
where the princess is down on bended knee asking the prince to marry her.

As the director, you may participate in this game. You should also coach audience players to call
“Freezeframe!” at frequent intervals. You can also coach stage players to use their bodies, to
show rather than merely tell, etc. If things begin to drag, you can stop action and start with a new
scenario.

The goal of this theatre game is to get players to express themselves with their bodies, to be very
aware of what other players are doing, and to trust in other players. A desirable outcome is to
build enough trust where a player can call out “Freezeframe!” with absolutely no idea of where
s/he is going to take the scenario, getting in to the scene, and trusting the other player(s) enough
to make something happen.

Opening-Up games and activities:

To learn more about each other.

Two Truths and A Lie (middle school and up)

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Have each person in the group come up with two facts and one falsehood about themselves. Go
around the circle and have each person present the three statements as if they are all true. Then
have each member of the group guess which of the three statements is false.

Check In

Have the group sit in a circle. Go around the circle, giving each member a chance to one good
thing and one bad thing that has happened in the past week. This format can be altered to fit the
group’s size and mood.

Variation: You can pass around clay or play-dough, and let people express themselves by adding
onto or changing the form it takes.

Variation: With preschoolers, you can have them point to a happy face or a sad face.

Energy breaks (used to regulate the energy level of a group):

Zoom

Form a standing circle, then have everyone hold hands and squat down. As they slowly come up
to standing, have them say “zzzzzzzzzzoooooooooooooom!” (or any other joyful noise or word)
and end with a jump in the air.

Acorn, Tree

Form a standing circle. Have everyone gradually crouch down, making themselves as small as
possible. As they do this, have them say, “Acorn, acorn, acorn…” getting softer and softer. Then,
simultaneously jump up into the air and say “TREE!!” with enthusiasm. Do this one several
times to energize a tired group.

Tone Singing

Have each person close their eyes release sound on a different tone. (Sing the different tones as
“Aahh” or “Ooo”). Hold the tones as long as possible, taking staggered breaths so that the sound
is constant. Listen as the voices come into harmony with each other, and go out of harmony
again.

See Bananas

Do this chant with the indicated motions.

— Do 1), then pause and say: “Mmmm!” while rubbing tummy and smiling.
— Then do 1) and 2), then pause and say: “Mmmm!” while rubbing tummy and smiling.
— Do 1) and 2) and 3), etc., until done.
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1) See bananas. See, see bananas. (x2)

Motion: Hand over eyes, seeking

2) Pick bananas. Pick, pick bananas. (x2)

Motion: Hands out, pulling bananas off tree

3) Peel bananas. Peel, peel bananas. (x2)

Motion: Peeling a banana

4) Eat bananas. Eat, eat Bananas. (x2)

Motion: Shove ’em in your mouth!

5) Squish bananas. Squish, squish bananas. (x2)

Motion: Throw banana peel down and stomp on it.

6) Go bananas! Go, go bananas! (x2)

Motion: Flailing arms in the air, jumping up and down.

Author Posted on September 8, 2012Categories Religious educationTags games

Getting to Know You Activities

Pass the Ball

 Students sit in a circle

 Each student says his/her name
 Introduce 1 ball to the circle
 Give students the ball & instruct them to roll it to another student.
 They have to say the student’s name & ask a question

Toy Mingle

 Each student brings in a favorite toy

 Divide the class into 2 lines and seat them across from each other.
 The teacher starts the timer for 1 minute and the pairs play with each other
 They switch partners

Group the Toys

 The teacher brings in various toys

 Class sits in a circle
 The teacher lays out the toys and asks which would go together
 The class groups the toys
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 Then the teacher puts them in a bag

 Each student grabs a toy then finds a partner to play with

Who Am I?

 Each student tells a favorite food, place of travel, etc.

 The students record it/ write on a Post-It
 Put all recordings/Post-Its in a bag
 Students reach in, grab one, & find the person

ShoeTalk

 Divide the class into 2 groups & give them each 1 trash bag
 Put each group at opposite sides of the room
 Each child takes off 1 shoe & places in the group’s bag
 Swap bags between groups
 Students reach in, grab a shoe, & find their partners
 The student asks a get to know you question
 When finished they sit back in their line.

My Favorite (A hand-out you can download and adapt here)

 Instructions: Ask the children to draw, one in each section, their favorite toys, food,
person and animal. When they have finished, sit the children in a circle with all the
pictures in the center. Can they guess whose is whose?

My Memory Matching Game

 Remember the matching memory card game where students have cards in rows, face
down, then try flip each til they find it’s matching pair?
 In this activity, students create a memory card game but the cards must explain
something about themselves
 You can give them a list of questions to make it easier for them to create their games
 They have to make 2 of every card that explains a favorite food, a pet owned, # of
siblings, etc.
 They then pass their game to a partner to play. When the partner makes a match, the
partner also has to guess what the matching pair represents about that student.
 The class gets into a circle & each student reports what they found out about their
partners.

Teach Us HowTo…

 Each student shows the class how to do something

 Make sure that it is something that when the student teaches it, everyone else can also try
to do it.
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 For example, students can show the class how to make a paper airplane, free throw,
origami frog, etc.
 You can video record these and add on a website

An Exhibit of Me!

 Distribute a box or this Buncee Museum of Me template to students

 Students create an exhibit that displays information about themselves
 Display them in the class or a Pinterest board
 Invite parents and the community to view the exhibits
 This idea was tweaked from this hand-out!

Stuff Animal Interview

 Students bring in a stuff animal

 The class sits in a circle
 Each child in the circle asks the stuff animal a question

Line Up!

 All children stand up

 You yell out a category and students line up again the wall if the category applies to them
 For example, the teacher might say, “Line up if you have a pet.”
 Encourage discussion by taking it further and having kids find another peer who either
likes the same thing or has the same thing. In this example the teacher gives the children
about 30 seconds to find someone with their kind of pets

Picture Share

 Kids bring a picture from home like a picture of a favorite memory or of their families
and pets. They can also bring in baby pictures of themselves. They shouldn’t be easily
identified by the picture.
 Tape these pictures to the wall or on the whiteboard.
 Students guess which picture belongs to the whom
 The student shares the memory with the class

About Me Charades

 Create cards with categories like favorite animals, food, places, colors, etc. or
dislikes/likes
 The student grabs the card and whispers in your ear the answer to the question
 Then the student acts it out for other students to guess
 If your students have low English skills, then you may want to have flashcards available
so that they show you what their answers would be.
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Ideas with favorite web tools!

 Host student interviews or have them create name poems! Listen to my 2 German
students interview by clicking here!
 Have kids talk about themselves by creating a Voki avatar! Find several student examples
here!
 Children can create stories about when they felt brave, helped someone, or about their
family at Storybird.com or using Little Bird Tales.
 Children can express themselves with comic tools. Have the kids invent their own
superhero comic starring themselves as the superhero.
 Children can create interactive and multimedia timelines about their lives.

ICEBREAKERS

Two Truths and a Lie

This game is a classic (and fairly addictive) icebreaker for kids that can be played as a whole
class or in small groups.

1. Each person in the class comes up with three statements about themselves. Two true
statements and one false. Some students may find it easiest to write these down.
2. In turn, each student presents their statements for the rest of the class to determine which
statement they think is false.

Some different ways to play this game are:

 to have the entire class vote on which statement they think is false
 have each student write down which statement they think is false and see who gets the
most correct.

Beach Ball Icebreaker Game

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Image credit: 4 the Love of Teaching via Pinterest

The Beach Ball Icebreaker game is another classic and FUN way for you to get to know your
students, and for your students to get to know each other!

 Use a permanent marker to write a question on each panel of a blow-up beach ball.
 Standing or sitting in a circle, students throw or roll the ball to someone else in the circle.
 When students receive the ball, they answer the question that is facing them. Then they
pass or roll the ball to someone else.

This game can be so easily tailored to suit the context of your classroom, or the time of year.
You could prepare a variety of beach balls to bring out for brain breaks too!

For example, with a new class, you may write some more basic getting to know you questions
such as “What is your favourite thing to do on the weekend?”. Returning from holidays with a
class you already know you may write different questions like “If you could live anywhere in the
world, where would it be and why?”.

Human Bingo

Another fun ‘get to know you’ game is human bingo! We have two different human bingo, or
getting to know you bingo game cards for you to choose from:

 Human Bingo
 New Classmate Bingo

Students each receive a copy of the human bingo playing card and move around the room to find
a person who can answer “Yes!” to the statements on the grid. When they find someone who
says “Yes!” they write that person’s name in the box. The first person to complete the grid and
sit down is the winner.
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All About Me Cube Games

This is a super fun, hands-on activity that can be used in different ways. Simply download and
print the All About Me Cube Template and photocopy enough for every student in your class
(and a few spares to go into any ‘new student packs’ you may have prepared for kids to join your
class later in the year!). You may like to enlarge these to A3 size for extra creative space and to
make a fun display.

Here are a few different ways you could use the cubes to turn this craft activity into a group-
sharing, icebreaker activity.

#1 Cube Clumps

 The teacher calls out one of the topics on the cube (e.g. birthday months, hair colour,
special places, favourite hobby).
 Students find all of the other people in the class who share that same month,
characteristic or interest and stand in a ‘clump’.
 For topics that leave students standing alone (i.e. they are the only person in their class
with that birthday month, characteristic or interest) use this as a way to highlight the
amazing diversity and individuality in your class!

#2 Cube Mix
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 Students complete all sides of the cube except for the name and self-portrait sides.
 Collect the cubes and mix up in a bag or box.
 Hand a cube out to each student making sure they don’t get their own cube.
 Students look at the cube they received and see if they can figure out who it belongs to.

#3 Cube Stack

In groups, students use the complete cubes to create 3D sculptures or displays in your classroom
by stacking cubes with the same face out.

 The name and birthday side can be used to create a birthday display by stacking all of
the cubes from each month together.
 Stack the cubes with the portrait side facing out to make a 3D sculpture.
 Use the “special people” or “special places” sides to create a display, or even to use as
writing prompts throughout the year.

Name Chase

This variation of ‘Duck, Duck, Goose’ is a great one to help new students remember each other’s
names.

 Students sit in a circle with one person, “it”, standing on the outside.
 The person who is “it” walks around the circle, gently tapping each person on the head,
saying that person’s name as they do (instead of saying “duck”).
 If the person who is “it” taps someone and says the class name instead (e.g. “2D” instead
of saying “goose”), the tapped person has to stand up and chase “it” around the circle
trying to tag them before “it” takes their spot.

My Memory Matching Game

Another twist on a familiar classic, this is a great game for older students. In this game, students
create their own cards to play a game of memory with a partner.

 Provide students with an even number of blank cardboard squares or rectangles at are all
the same colour and size. They will create two memory cards for every fact about
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themselves. I.e. To create 3 facts every student needs 6 cards. To create 5 facts, each
student needs 10 cards.
 On each pair of cards, students write or draw a fact about themselves. You may like to
provide students with a list of prompts to help.
 When they have finished creating their My Memory cards, students shuffle their cards
with a partner and play a game of memory.
 Students can rotate to play with other new partners too.

Wipe That Smile Off Your Face

The title of this blog post said these games were fun, right? Well, this one is FUN!

 Students sit in a circle and the teacher chooses one person to start the game.
 That person smiles their widest, biggest, cheesiest smile at everyone else in the circle,
trying to make them laugh. However, they must be silent, and cannot pull faces or be
silly, all they can do is smile.
 For every person in the group who laughs at their smile, they receive one point.
 After they have smiled at everyone in the group, they ‘wipe’ the smile off their face with
their hand and ‘pass’ the smile to the next person in the circle.
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