jamie goodwin
you always want to have fun teaching. but sometimes you need quiet games in the classroom. maybe the weather has pushed recess indoors. maybe your students need to let loose to help them refocus. whatever the case may be, here are 5 quiet games that you can play with your students while still managing your classroom.
telephone
whisper a message to one of your students. that student should whisper the message to the next student who whispers it to the next student. the message should continue to get passed around the room in this manner. when it reaches the last student, he or she should announce the message for the entire class. was it the same message that you whispered at the beginning? have students take turns coming up with the message. if you have a large class, you could also divide the class into several groups, too.
silent ball
have everyone stand up at their desk. students should toss a ball to each other. if a student drops the ball or talks, he or she should sit down. play continues until only one student is standing. if this is too easy for your students, you could have them stand on one foot or only use their left hand, etc.
statues
have students stand up and spread out in the room. then, call out an animal. students should pretend to become a statue of that animal. you could make it a contest. see which student can make the most realistic statue of the animal.
another way to play statues involves choosing a few students first. have the rest of the class strike a pose and hold it. the students you chose should walk around and try to get the statues to move without touching them. if a student moves or talks, he or she should sit down or join the other students walking around.
four corners
choose one student to be “it.” number each corner from 1 to 4. have the rest of the class quietly walk to a corner while “it” is blindfolded. then, “it” should call out a number. any students standing in that corner should sit down. continue playing the game until only one person is left. the last person standing becomes the next person to be “it”.
human tic-tac-toe
place nine chairs in a 3×3 formation in the room. then, split the class into two teams. one team should be x’s and the other team should be o’s. without speaking to the rest of the team, students should take turns sitting in one of the nine chairs. a team wins when they have three teammates sitting in a row.
these games don’t require extra work or items that you don’t already have in your room. so when you need a quick activity that won’t get too rowdy or loud, play one of these quiet games in the classroom.
