GamesCOLLECTION

Enhancing Resilience 1

Contents

Games collection Author: Helen Cahill

A collection of games to promote communication and interaction

Using games ............................................................................41

Introductory games................................................................42

Grouping games ....................................................................44

Mixers and energisers ............................................................48

Team building games ............................................................50

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RationaleUse interactive games to promoteexperiential learning and skillsdevelopment. These games canintroduce a level of fun and vitality intoyour classroom. At the same time theychallenge students to cooperate and tocommunicate in order to address thechallenge inherent in the game.

When you guide the discussion toprocess and reflect upon whathappened, the students are invited intoa reflective role, and are given theopportunity to develop concepts andlanguage with which to further examineand share their experience.

Reflecting and comparing responses thatoccur within the game to those thathappen in the arena of life can assist

students to move to a level ofconceptualisation and awareness, whichwould be difficult without a concrete orexperiential base. They may be able totalk more generally about what it is tobe human and to face change,challenge, success, failure, frustrationand accomplishment. They will certainlygain a sense of what it is to be amember of a community of learners andwill learn that they are not alone in theirfears and insecurities, nor are theywithout skill and capacity.

A learning approach which valuesexperience and reflection, models theprocess of discovery and the pursuit ofwisdom. The range of kinaesthetic,spatial, verbal and visual activities allowsfor a range of preferred learning stylesand literacy levels, and return to thepremise that we can learn from play.

Using games

A selection of games could be played in different classrooms as partof a transition program

Subject Activity

Science Summertime relay

Physical Education Foot Fumblers, Life Raft, Balloon Pairs

Mathematics Line-ups

Visual Arts Construction Challenges

Technology Construction Challenges

English Friendship and Belonging Unit

SOSE Human Bingo

Drama Balloon Pairs, Life Raft, Shake On It, Name Chant

Health Fast Food, Knots

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Games collection

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Name gamesA range of name games to play with new groups.

Name toss

Sit /stand group in a circle. An object (which won’t bounce orroll, for example, koosh ball, stuffed toy, pencil case stuffed withplastic bags) is tossed from person to person. The thrower callstheir own name first and then the name of the person they arethrowing to. Play a few rounds. Aim to have whole groupcovered. Be alert as to who gets left out in first round of thegame (is this person new, excluded or ignored?).

At the start of subsequent sessions this can be a goodwelcoming device, giving each a little moment of attention.Aim for speed and volume to make it more fun. For addedchallenge, add in more objects to be thrown so concentrationmust be exercised.

The autograph game

Give each student a photocopy of the class roll. Set them a timelimit within which to get to every student in the class and getthem to place their autograph next to their name.

I am and I like

Key purpose is to assist a new group and teacher to learn names.

� Sit in a circle.

First person says: ‘My name is -------- and I like ----------’

Next person in sequence in the circle says: ‘Her nameis ---------- and she likes ---------- and my name is ---------- andI like ----------’

� The next person takes their turn, repeating the names andlikes of all those in the prior sequence, before adding theirown.

It gets harder for those at the end. Allow some prompting forthose who get stuck.

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Shake on it

Photocopy a class list for each class member. Role-play ‘formal’introductions. Have students mingle, greet and meet. Theymust shake hands, formally introduce themselves, stating one oftheir likes and one of their dislikes, and collect the autograph ofeach person they meet next to their name on the roll.

Name chant

Sit in a circle. In turn each person calls out their name, and thegroup chants it back as an echo. Aim to be bold and noisy, andto have fun.

Name wave

Sitting in a circle or in formation at desks, start a name wavewhich travels around the circle or on a predetermined pathacross the desks. Complete the wave by calling out your ownname while waving arms up into the air. Aim for speed andfull participation.

Grouping games

Grouping games protect participants from the pressure ofchoosing or being chosen.

Number off

Halve your class size (15 if class has 30 in it). Number studentsoff to that total, then start again. Each person must find theother person with the same number as them.

For groups of three, number off to one third and then do tworepeats, for groups of four number off to one quarter and thendo three repeats.

Matched pairs card game

Deal each person in the class one of the matched pairs cards(see session 1 in the Creating connections chapter). Allow themtime to mill about and find their matching person. Reshuffleand deal again for next partnering.

Deck of cards grouping

To organise class into four groups, remove figure cards fromdeck. Shuffle and deal from the remainder of the pack of cards,one card per student. Instruct students to group with those ofthe same suit as them.

Sweet belongings

Distribute coloured lollies or different sorts of wrapped lollies.Instruct students to group with same colour or sort before theyeat their membership ticket.

Families card groupings

Distribute family cards and instruct students to find their ownfamily (see Activity sheet: Family card groupings for cardtemplate). For example, all the Smiths form a group.

Shapes

Cut paper into sets of shapes (triangles, squares, rectangles andpentagons). Distribute and ask students to group with thoseholding the same shape.

Jigsaws

Cut swap cards or postcards into two. Distribute and askstudents to pair with their missing piece.

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Coloured cards groups

Distribute strips of coloured paper or tiddlywinks. Ask studentsto group according to colour.

Name lotto

Cut up copy of class roll. Put names in a box. Draw out two ata time to make pairs (in batches of three or four for largergroupings).

Blindfold pairs

With blindfolds on (or eyes shut), mill about the empty spacewith hands in front of you until you find a body. This is yourpartner.

Family card groupings

Mum Smith

Kid Smith

Dad Smith

Grandpa Smith

Mum Jones

Kid Jones

Dad Jones

Grandpa Jones

Baby Smith

Grandma Smith

Baby Jones

Grandma Jones

Mum Fa

Kid Fa

Dad Fa

Grandpa Fa

Mum Lee

Kid Lee

Dad Lee

Grandpa Lee

Baby Fa

Grandma Fa

Baby Lee

Grandma Lee

Mum Wild

Kid Wild

Dad Wild

Grandpa Wild

Mum Blip

Kid Blip

Dad Blip

Grandpa Blip

Baby Wild

Grandma Wild

Baby Blip

Grandma Blip

Mum Costa

Kid Costa

Dad Costa

Grandpa Costa

Mum Leo

Kid Leo

Dad Leo

Grandpa Leo

Baby Costa

Grandma Costa

Baby Leo

Grandma Leo

Mum Long

Kid Long

Dad Long

Grandpa Long

Mum Top

Kid Top

Dad Top

Grandpa Top

Baby Long

Grandma Long

Baby Top

Grandma Top

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Mixers and energisers

‘Get to know you’ games, games to wake them up, get themmoving, begin grouping, or as coat hangers upon which tohang a theme.

Human bingo

A good mixer with built in structured conversations.

� Photocopy Activity sheet: Human Bingo. Give the class three

minutes to mill around and find answers to questions in the

boxes. No person’s name can be entered more than once.

� Ask all to attempt to complete every box.

� If time is short: the first person with four in a row is the

winner.

Structured conversations

Play a pairing game, or game to organise trios.

• Once students have found their pair, allot one minute per

person for a conversation and set the topic.

� Ring a bell or blow a whistle to signify it is time to finish the

conversation.

� Regroup /partner and set the next topic.

� To extend students familiar with this activity, allow for a

longer conversation.

� If pursuing a theme, set a topic that encourages focus on the

theme.

� Invite students who do not have a story or an opinion to

share to make one up just for the exercise.

Fast foods

� Seat the class in a circle with one fewer chair than people

playing. Number off players in turn as hamburgers,

fish’n’chips or souvlakis. Tell students that collectively they are

known as Fast Foods.

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� When the person without a chair, who is standing in the

centre of the circle, calls out a category, then all those who

belong to that category must leave their chairs and get to

another chair. They must not return directly to their own seat,

or take the seat immediately next to them.

� The person in the centre attempts to gain a seat during the

changeover. The caller has a choice of four different

categories: fish’n’chips, hamburgers, souvlakis or fast foods.

Everyone must move on the call of ‘fast foods’. Only the

hamburgers move when ‘hamburgers’ is called and so on.

Anyone who...

� In this game all are seated on chairs in a circle. There is one

chair less than the number of people playing. The person

without a chair stands in the centre of the circle. This person

aims to gain a seat in the progress of the game.

� To start the game, the person calls out ‘Anyone who...’

for example ‘Anyone who likes ice-cream’

� Upon that call, anyone who would answer ‘yes’ to the

question must get up and move to another seat which is not

on either side of them.

� The centre person aims to occupy an empty seat while the

moves are going on. The next person caught in the middle of

the circle makes another call, choosing a different category of

‘Anyone who...’, for example, ‘Anyone who had toast for

breakfast’ and the game continues.

Line-ups

� Challenge the class to group themselves according to birth

months, height, hair length, favourite colours, today’s

breakfast, right or left handers, same Primary school, number

of pets, and so on.

� For additional challenge, ask them to find their groups

without speaking. Suggest they use sign language or mime.

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H U M A N

B I N G O

Someone born in the same month as you

Someone with same favourite food as you

Someone with the same number of brothers and sisters as you

Someone who likes ice-cream

Someone who has been to another state or territory

Someone who has been to another country

Someone who likes music

The person in here you have known the longest

Someone who does not like cabbage

Someone about the same height as you

Someone with the same hair length as you

Someone who gets to school the same way you do

Someone who is older than you

Someone who has a dog

Someone who had the same breakfast as you

Someone who has the same favourite sport as you

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Team building games

To enhance and examine cooperation and problem-solving.

Knots

In groups of around eight to twelve in size, huddle into a smallbunch, each closes their eyes and puts hands out to claspanother’s hand in each of theirs.

Without letting go at any time, everyone opens their eyes andthe challenge begins: unravel the knot of arms and end withthe group in a circle formed by their linked hands.

* look for leadership, cooperation, communication and problem-solving

For added challenge, play again without speaking.

Balloon pairs

Each partnership is linked by holding both hands with theirpartners.

They stand face to face with a balloon between them.

The challenge is to bat the balloon and keep it up in the airwithout ever unlinking hands.

* look for the perfect partnership that results from strong focus onthe shared challenge

For additional challenge use only shoulders or elbows or kneesto keep the balloon up, or play in threes.

Foot fumblers

Sit in a circle with feet together and legs stretched towards thecentre of the circle.

Objects such as soft toys or balls are placed on a number ofpeople’s ankles.

The aim is to pass the objects from person to person rightaround the circle without using hands to help.

* look for communication, problem-solving and cooperation

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Life raft

In small groups, plan how to balance as many people aspossible within a small marked area (for example, inside a hoolahoop, or on a large sheet of paper).

* look for communication, problem-solving and cooperation

For additional challenge keep making the raft smaller.

Clap race

Sit in a circle. Start a clap which passes from person to personaround the circle (domino style). Practice to see how fast it cantravel (use a stop-watch to time it).

* look for evidence of the degree to which practice andconcentration assists in meeting goals

Sitting circle

Everyone stands in a tight circle all facing in one directionaround the circle (clockwise, anti-clockwise). Ensure that peopleare tightly packed and form a proper circle.

Upon an agreed signal, all slowly sit until each person issupported on the knees of the person behind them. Uponanother signal, all should stand.

* look for each doing their bit to ensure success for all

For an additional challenge try waving arms or taking shufflingsteps.

Hoops and ropes

Stand in a circle with hands linked. Thread a hoola hoop or twointo the circle.

The challenge is to move that hoop around the circle, threadingpeople in the group through it – but without breaking the linkformed by the held hands.

* look for communication, problem-solving and cooperation

For additional challenge, add loops formed by rope oradditional hoola hoops, and have some travelling clockwise andsome anti-clockwise so they have to pass each other.

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Human alphabet

Organise into groups of around four to six in size. Call out aletter of the alphabet. Each group must work together to formthat letter using all of the bodies in their group.

After a few rounds, assemble a leader from each group andannounce a word that is to be made, with each groupcontributing one of the letters to the word (choose a word withthe same number of letters as you have groups). See how longit takes to assemble the word on the floor.

* look for communication, problem-solving, cooperation andleadership

For additional challenge set a time challenge, such as to makethe word in 55 seconds.

Construction challenge:tower /bridge /monster /vehicle

In this activity, the players are to work as a team of architectsand builders. They are to use the equipment provided(newspaper, straws, sticky tape) to build a tower (or bridge /monster /vehicle). The tower will be considered successfulaccording to its height, strength, beauty, or ingenuity. Thegroup may wish to meet all or only one of these criteria.

* look for cooperation, communication, creativity andproblem-solving

Sit down synchrony

In this game, the class is seated in a circle. The challenge is forthe class to stand in perfect synchrony, without an identifiableleader, and then to sit in the same style.

* look for awareness of others and awareness of the group

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Summertime relay

Divide the class evenly into relay teams of four (or three or five).

Resources

• One container (bucket, icecream tub or lunchbox) of water,jelly beans, smarties, marbles, pebbles or sand.

• Glasses (tumblers, beakers, plastic cups), one for each team.

• Teaspoons of like size (a packet of plastic teaspoons), one foreach person in the game.

Set up the teams with members one behind each other(standing, sitting or on floor).

The teams should be arranged in formation around thecontainer (containing water, smarties, marbles) with the team’shead nearest to it. At the rear of the team is placed the beaker.Each person holds a spoon. The task is to transfer as muchwater (or other item) as possible from teaspoon to teaspoonalong the line into the beaker. The team with the most water inthe beaker at the end of the race is the winner. The water musttravel along every spoon in the team.

Human bridges

Students form groups (nominate a size from four to six). Eachgroup must design and build a bridge using all the bodies intheir group.

For a bigger challenge, have the whole class design and buildthemselves into one bridge, strong enough to support avolunteer as they walk the bridge. Allow the bridge walker tohold someone’s hand for support or balance.

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