Embracing Potential Games |
3rd grade & up – Medium group (10+)
Empowerment, Observation, Nonverbal communication, Patience
Similar to Blizzard/Silent Lineup
Have students find their path in a game which combines mazes with teamwork.
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One or more children may be “it.” When they tag another child, that child will act like an animal (elephant, lion, walrus, sloth, etc.). The game continues until all of the children have turned into animals, at which point they can reflect on their new jungle, or zoo. After that, a new child may be chosen to be “it.”
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Variation: Children can become ‘untagged’ if they meet another child acting as the same animal, and they hi-five.
This game can be used to split a large group into smaller groups, to learn something new about people in the group, or just as a fun and active game.
Make sure there is enough room to move around freely. Explain that people are going to separate into groups as quickly as possible. Keep the questions moving quickly (i.e. give just enough time for people to introduce themselves or look around their group before asking the next question). Alternate between 50/50 questions and multiple-choice questions.
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Possible questions:
- Which leg do you put in your pants first when getting dressed?
- When you clap, is your left hand or right hand on top?
- Using your index finger, draw an imaginary circle in the air. Does your finger travel clockwise or counterclockwise?
- Which eye do you use to give a spontaneous wink?
- Can you roll your tongue?
- When eating ice cream cones, which way do you rotate the cone?
- What month were you born in?
- Fold your arms; is your right or left arm on top?
- How many siblings are in your family, including you?
The facilitator should begin the game by asking for a volunteer. Once a volunteer has been chosen, this individual should come to the front of the room. Tell the participants that they are to observe this volunteers appearance (jewelry, clothing, hair style, etc.) Give the group enough time to observe the volunteer.
After about 3-5 minutes have gone by, have the volunteer go into the hallway and change 3 things about their appearance. When the volunteer comes back in, have them call on participants who think they know what was changed. Once every change has been guessed (or the group has been stumped) pick another volunteer. If the group seems to be getting the hang of the game, have them split up into pairs. Have the pairs take turns being the guesser or the changer. Have all of the changers leave the room and re-enter the room at the same time, and see which guesser can guess all three things first.
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Volunteers choose a category and the student must act out something in that category without using any words. For example, if the category is “profession” then the student can choose to act out any job such as a teacher or fireman. The other students in the classroom must work together to guess what the student is trying to act out.
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A group of players sit in a circle, facing inward, while another player (the picker) walks around gently tapping or pointing to each player in turn, calling each a "duck" until finally picking one to be a “something." The picker gets to choose what animal/machine/thing will be acted out.
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The chosen person then rises, chases and tries to tag the "picker,” while the picker tries to return to and sit where the chaser had been sitting. If the picker succeeds, the chaser is now the new picker and the process begins again. If the chaser succeeds in tagging the picker, the chaser may return to sit in the previous spot and the picker resumes the process.
Have the group sit in a semi-circle around the “stage.” Ask for three volunteers, two to be the actors and one to be the director. Have the director silently pose the two actors in any way they choose. When the actors are positioned, have the director call “Action!” and then rejoin the audience. Both actors must then begin an improvised scene – with or without talking – based on how they were posed. (For example, if one actor was positioned on one knee and the other seated nearby, they could act out a marriage proposal, a lost contact lens, or a dog begging for morsels from the dinner table).
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Explain that the audience is an audience of actors and that any person in the audience may, at any time, yell “Freeze!” and stop the scene. When this happens, they must tag one of the actors in the scene, assume their exact pose, and then call “Action” to restart a new scene. The objective is less to develop complete scenes than to get players thinking quickly and creatively, which means that the action must be constantly frozen and restarted. Continue playing as long as people are having fun or until time runs out.
Supplies: Human bingo boards, Writing utensils
Start by giving everyone a Bingo Sheet. In each box is a characteristic or description of something such as “has a brother” or “can speak another language.” Once everyone has a sheet, people can walk around the room trying to fill their sheets with as many signatures as possible. Remind people that one person cannot sign another sheet more than once. As people finish, they can return to their seats. End the game as most people seem to be finishing.
Variation: Use another Bingo sheet, instead of characteristics, each box will have a sentence stem that another person can complete, such as “If I won the lottery, I would...” Have players mingle around the room, and after having a short conversation about one of the sentence stems, they can sign each other’s sheets and fill in the blank. The game ends when everyone has filled in their sheets, or when time runs out.
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Back to Spring Themes
The object of this game is for people to work cooperatively in small groups to imitate a machine using only their bodies. Divide the groups into teams of approximately 3-6 people. Explain that they will have five minutes to choose a machine and to plan how the team will present it to the rest of the group.
Some guidelines:
- The machine must be an actual machine. (Examples have included everything from televisions to tractors to espresso machines)
- The only materials available to use are the people in the group.
- Every person on the team must be included.
After five minutes, bring the teams back together and have each team present their machine for the whole group. After a team has presented, have participants raise their hands if they think they can identify the machine. Give the group three chances to guess the machine.
Variation: Have the whole group (or teams) create a new machine – either functional or fictional. Begin with one or two players performing a motion, possibly accompanied by a sound. One by one, have additional players add a complementary motion and sound until the machine is complete. This can get quite loud so make sure the group is in a place where they can make noise without disturbing others. If the group is mature or has had some practice, tell them that their new machine must accomplish some task, such as cooking, cleaning, building, making music, farming, or something else.
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Supplies: None
One chosen student, the actor must act out anything he or she desires. All other students in the classroom have their back turned to the person acting so that they cannot see what he or she is doing. One student, the translator, can see what is happening. He or she must try to describe to the students who cannot see what the actor is doing without mimicking the actor’s actions. The other students in the classroom must work together to guess what the actor is trying to act out.
If the group is larger, the class can split into teams of four—where one person is the translator and the other three can’t see the actor. Facilitators can choose to set a one-minute timer to limit how long the teams can guess. The team that guesses in time earns a point and at the end of one round, the actor switches with whichever students wants to act next.
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Each child in the group is assigned an animal (gorilla, snake, crab, elephant, etc.). The children will then form their groups by acting as their animal – i.e., all of the snakes slither to their group’s location, while the elephants wave their trunks to find each other.
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Supplies: index cards/name tags/ small pieces of paper, pens/markers, tape
Give each player a marker and an index card and ask them to write down five characteristics that describe them best. Examples are race, ethnicity, gender, religion, likes, dislikes, talents, hobbies, goals, achievements, and values. For younger children you can offer a prompt such as favorite food, holiday, color or something they’re good at. After everyone finishes creating their label, give them tape and have them tape their cards to their shirts and walk around the room. Tell them to look at other people’s cards and talk about what they’ve written. They can ask questions about the different things people have chosen to represent themselves or talk about the similarities and differences between them.
The idea is to give participants the chance to have conversations about their identity based on the qualities they value the most about themselves and direct people’s attention toward these aspects of their identity. After about ten minutes, bring the group back to debrief.
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Supplies: Nametags
It’s important that you play this game once you know the group well, and leave lots of time for debrief and reflection. Prepare nametags in advance with both good and bad labels (examples: teacher’s pet, homeless, popular, good at math, wears glasses, athlete, gossip, rich, bully, etc.)
Begin by talking about the different labels people carry with them, and the positive and/or negative message these labels can send. Then give each person a label by sticking a nametag to his or her back. Once everyone has a nametag, the group should mingle, trying to figure out what label they have been given. People should act as if they are first meeting each other, and treat each other according to the labels on their backs. You might want to remind players that the way they are being treated in the game is not personal, everyone is playing a role. Give the group a couple minutes to mingle before gathering them in a circle to talk about the game. Thank players for participating and ask them to guess what their label was. When everyone has had a chance to guess, have them take their labels off and see if they were correct.
Back to Fall Themes
Back to Spring Themes
Try to find a playing space that has a clearly marked dividing line long enough for each team to line up along. Divide players into two teams and have each side choose a “home base” like a wall or play structure. Once a player reaches his or her home base, they are safe and cannot be tagged. Explain that in each round, one team (Team 2) will stand a few feet back from the center line while the other team (Team 1) will huddle up and choose an occupation to act out without talking and a home city/state/country. After they have decided, have them start walking toward the centerline and begin the following script:
- Team 1: “Here we come”
- Team 2: “Where from?”
- Team 1: “_” (the city/state/country)
- Team 2:” What’s your trade?”
- Team 1: “Lemonade”
- Team 2: “Well show us some if you’re not afraid”
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Target Themes: Safe space, Creativity, Self-control
Begin the game by having the group sit in a circle so everyone can see each other. The facilitator should then tell a story that should include the following:
When I was younger, I had a babysitter. Her name was Mrs. Jones.
Mrs. Jones wore dentures, but she thought it was funny when she took them out because it meant that she talked “like this.” (cover teeth with lips when saying “like this”)
When she would do this, we would all laugh together. She would call it playing “Mrs. Mumbles.”
One day, “Mrs. Mumbles” was running late for babysitting, so I went to look for her
Then explain that each person in the group will have a chance to ask the person next to them if they’ve seen Mrs. Mumbles. However they may not show their teeth when they are asking or being asked a question. If they do show their teeth or start laughing then they will sit out of the rest of the round and watch. NOTE: you can make a few players who are already out the “teeth police.”
Encourage people to exaggerate their questions, include details about Mrs. Mumbles that might help identify her (she’s about his tall, she’s wearing glasses, she was wearing a pink shirt etc.), and keep the conversation going. Encourage people being asked about her to probe their questioners with more questions. Give each exchange about 15-30 seconds before having the person being questioned turn to the next person and ask the same question. Make sure everyone gets a turn. The game should go on until there are only a few people left, or time runs out.
Target Themes: self awareness, embracing potential,
Supplies: none
NOTE: We only play the Museum version of this game, not the hunting version.
Have all of the students (except for one or two “hunters”) lie down on the floor in sleeping positions. Once they are settled, they are not allowed to move. The two hunters walk through the room and try to make the sleeping lions move by making them laugh, telling them jokes, and so on. However, the hunters are not allowed to touch the lions. Once any lion moves they are tapped and get up and join the hunters The last child on the floor wins!
NOTE: Many kids also refer to this game as “museum.” In this version of the game, children pose as statues in a museum and 1-2 “night guards” walk around trying to catch those who move.
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Target Themes: Introductions, Creativity, Observation
Have players sit in a circle. Tell them they are going to play a name game to help them get to know each other. Each person will say their name and they are going to a cookout/picnic/whatever. They should then say they are bringing something that starts with the same letter as their first name. For example, the first player says, “My name is Tom and I am going to a cookout. When I go, I am going to bring tamales.” Each successive person in the circle should introduce everyone who came before them in order before saying their name and their item.
Supplies: Parachute, small ball or stuffed animal
Organize kids evenly around the parachute so each is standing up and holding onto their own color section. Each color constitutes a team. The game facilitator throws a stuffed animal or light ball onto the parachute and, when he or she says go, all the kids shake the parachute, trying to get the object onto their team's color. The game facilitator will yell "Drop it!" randomly and everybody has to drop the parachute. Whichever color block the object lands on wins a point for that team! You can keep going for as many rounds as you want!
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Supplies: Paper or another token. Be Creative!
Pesek is similar to Duck Duck Goose. The kids sit in a circle with their eyes open and one will walk around the circle carrying something like a piece of paper. As they go around they'll sing a song and drop the paper behind someone's back, they'll continue going around like nothing happened and the person who has the paper behind them has to realize they're it. They then grab the paper behind them and chase the person who was it before, like Duck, Duck, Goose. This deals a lot with nonverbal communication and how one person's choices can affect another.
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Variation: use this space if necessary to include any useful variations (how to make it adapted to another theme, age group, energy level, etc.)