Top 5 Fun Classroom Games

Are you after some more fun classroom games to add to your teaching kit for those times when you need to get the juices flowing in your students again?

Well you’ve come to the right place…here I share with you my top 5 fun classroom games. The games can be used for transitions, to fill in time if the class finishes work quickly or for a refresher to motivate your students.

1. Hide in site

Year level: lower to middle primary, K-5.

Equipment: one small object that is not duplicated in the room.

Formation: all students sit in their seats but one student is walking around.

Instructions:

• Select one player to hide the object somewhere in the room where it can be seen without anything being moved.
• The other students have their heads on their desks with their eyes closed so they do not see where the object has been hidden.
• When the object is hidden the hider continues walking around (not drawing attention to the location of the object).
• The players now also walk around the room looking for the object.
• When they locate the object he/she continues walking around the room and then returns to his/her seat without giving away the hiding place.
• When returned to the seat the person says “I spy.”
• When all students have returned to their seats, the hider reveals where the object was and the first person that said “I spy” hides the object for the next time.

2. Islands

Year level: lower to middle primary, K-5.

Equipment: 6 – 10 hoops.

Formation: Create several “islands” using hoops scattered on the ground.

Instructions:

• Students must jog around the islands without touching them.
• The teacher calls the signal ‘Islands’, the students must get onto an island before the teacher counts to 5.
• Students need to share their island with others.
• Students who do not fit into one of the hoops are out of the game.
• Remove one hoop after each count of 5 until 1 island of survivors remain.

Variation: Instead of getting students to run get them to hop, skip, jump or crawl.

3. Magic carpet

Year level: lower to middle primary, K-5.

Equipment: Music or a percussion instrument may be substituted for clapping hands.

Formation: A pathway in the classroom around which the players may walk, tiptoe or skip. Mark four magic carpets equal distance apart.

Instructions:

• The teacher claps his/her hands (or uses the music or percussion instrument).
• The children walk around the classroom in time with the clapping.
• When the teacher calls “freeze” and stops clapping all players freeze in place.
• Anyone standing on a magic carpet is eliminated and takes a seat in the center.
• The procedure is then repeated until there are only a few students remaining.

Variation: Vary the speed of the clapping so children are either moving quickly or slowly. Allow students to not just walk, but tiptoe and skip.

4. Missing people

Year level: lower primary, K-3.

Formation: The class is divided into two equal teams. Players sit at their desks with an area dividing the two teams.

Instructions:

• A child from each team leaves the room.
• The teacher chooses one child from each team to hide out of sight.
• Players on each team then change seats on their own side of the room.
• As soon as they have mixed themselves up, the teacher calls the first two children back in the room.
• They attempt to find the missing person from their own team. No one from either team may say a word or make any gesture until one of the two children guesses correctly.
• Score 1 point for the team with the first correct guess.
• The team with the greatest number of points at the end of the playing period wins.

5. Stuck in the mud

Year level: lower primary, K-3.

Equipment: A large defined area where there is enough room for students to run.

Instructions:

• Define an area and choose 3-4 students to be taggers.
• The rest of the group stays within the defined area and tries to avoid being tagged.
• Once tagged, a person must freeze with their legs apart – stuck in the mud.
• A person can only be ‘unstuck’ by someone who is running free.
• They must bend down and without getting tagged touch both the person’s shoes to free them.
• Change taggers regularly.

Variation: Run in pairs with hands joined at all times – taggers too!

If you would like some more fun classroom games, fill in the form below and I’ll send you my Classroom Game Cheat-Sheets.

Get Email Updates

Subscribe to our newsletter to receive regular teaching tips and updates & get instant access to the free classroom games PDF:

Thanks! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

First Name

Email Address

We use this field to detect spam bots. If you fill this in, you will be marked as a spammer.

I'd like to receive the free email course. SIGN UP NOW! Powered by ConvertKit