Fun Games to Play with Students

Seven Up

• In this game, seven players are chosen to be "it" and stand at the front of the classroom. The rest of the students put their heads on their desks, close their eyes and close their right hands in a fist with their thumbs sticking up in the air. When you announce "Go," each of the "it" players approaches a sitting student, gently pushes his thumb down and returns to the front of the class. Tell the players whose thumbs were pushed down to stand up. Each one gets one chance to guess who pushed his thumb down. If he is correct, he becomes "it," replacing the person who pushed his thumb down. If he is incorrect, he remains at his desk and the "it" player remains "it" for another round.

Who Is Missing?

• Choose one player to sit in the front of the classroom with her back to the rest of the students so she can&'t see them. Tap one player on the shoulder and say "Go." That student hides in the hallway while the other students switch seats. When you say "Stop," the student at the front of the class turns around and has 30 seconds to guess which student is hiding. If she is correct, she returns to her seat and chooses the next student to be the guesser. If she is incorrect, another round is played with her remaining as the guesser. To avoid having one person guessing the entire game, set a limit of three incorrect guesses before the guesser is replaced.

Silent Ball

• Students throw a Nerf ball or other soft ball to each other. If a student misses a ball that you deem was catchable, that student is out of the game. If the ball thrown wasn&'t catchable, the student who threw the ball is out. Any student who talks during the game is out as well. The last remaining player wins.