Game Ideas for Leaders!!!

No matter the age group you are working with, please remember that including cooperation into the game is very important. By playing games that require the students to work together, you are ensuring that children are not being left out during the activity!

For Elementary Students:

      Monsters Inc. Musical Chairs:

     Everyone knows how to play the classical game of

 musical chairs but this is a version of it that young 

children will love. It is geared towards Kindergarten 

students to about grade 2 or 3. Most children have 
seen the movie "Monsters, Inc." if they have not, just                                               

explain to them that they are going to all be little 

monsters and will be jumping into closets. There will 

be hula hoops laid out around the gym floor and they 

will all have to run around these hoops (hopping, 

skipping, jumping etc.) while music plays in the 

background (maybe some monster-like music to get 

the kids excited!) When the music stops, they are to 

jump into one of the closets (a hula hoop) and 

GRRRRRR or RAWRRRR like a monster. 

     Throughout the game, the teacher/leader will be 

removing "closets" so that there is no longer one 

closet/child. In order to keep children from getting 

excluded in this game it is important to let them all 

know prior to playing that they should be inviting other 

children into the same closet as them if there are not 

any left for them. To get them motivated to do so, 

you can tell them that the more monsters they have 

to "GRRRRR" the more bottles of screams they can 

fill (like in the movie).

KIDS LOVE IT WHEN YOU INCORPORATE 

OBJECTS OR SHOWS THAT THEY LIKE!!

Equipment Needed:

Hula Hoops - as many as there is children to begin with

CD Player- preferably a monsters inc soundtrack or something similar.

Secret Handshake:

This is a great game for children to get to know each other

better or even just a fun game that incorporates teamwork! It

is geared towards elementary children grade 3 to 5. At the

beginning of the class, students will be paired up. They

pair will then pull three words or phrases out of a bag that

the teacher has previously put together. Using all three

of these words or phrases (ie. crab walk, hands, feet) , the 

duo will then have 5 minutes to come up with a "secret 

handshake" using all three, in any order that they please. 

The students must use cooperation with this game and need

to be able to repeat this handshake at least three times prior

to their 5 minutes being up. At the end, all students will have 

a chance to show off the secret handshake that they have

come up with to the rest of the class. It is a very fun game for 

yourself and the other children to see what kind of creativity

was put into each of these handshakes.

COOPERATION IS KEY!

Equipment Needed:

A timer  or clock to keep track of the 5 minute mark

A whistle to signify when they have run out of time

A bag full of phrases/words prepared prior to class
(This depends of the amount of students, 3/pair)  

For High School Students:

        Survivor:

      This game is derived from the series on TV about having

to work together as a team in order to win challenges and

move further towards winning a set amount of money. To 

incorporate this into a gym activity you would begin by 

dividing your students into four teams which will be the "tribes"

(do more tribes if it is a very large group). The idea behind

it is that the tribes are stranded throughout the "wilderness"

(the gym), and are given only the essentials: 4 challenge

cards, 1 raft (mat), 1 arrow (ball), 5 logs (noodle pieces), 

and whatever it is you have for equipment that they could 

build a "shelter" with. An obstacle course of your choice 

will need to be set up in advance for the tribes to go through

(make sure it is a large enough course as to not make it 

too easy regarding the age you are working with).

    The tribes all have 30 mins to complete the challenge 

cards given in order to gain the resources of water, food, 

fire and shelter in order to survive. They can be obtained 

in any order and once the time is up, the tribes who have 

successfully completed all challenges will move on to the

final Survivor team challenge!! In this challenge, the tribes 

must use their cooperation skills to get all members

through the obstacle course as fast as they can. The first 

team to have every member at the end will be the 

"Sole Survivors!"

A VERY FUN AND EXCITING GAME

WHERE NO ONE WILL BE EXCLUDED!

Equipment Needed:

16 Challenge Cards (4 food, 4 water, 4 fire, and 4 shelter)

4 Soft balls, small-med sized

4 large water jugs/containers

4 pictures of food

4 pictures of fire

4 gym mats

12 jump ropes

4 sets of 2 small cones with rope spread from one cone to the other

and whatever equipment you have available to create 4 "shelters"

Please note that the obstacle course created can be changed around to whatever equipment is available or what you believe your students would like best.

Mystery Puzzle Race:        

The objective of this game is to split up the class into 6 teams

and have them work together in order to finish the tasks. The tasks

will include both physical and intellectual abilities. There will be cones 

set up throughout the gym and under each cone will have an index card

with  a physical activity on one side (ie. 25 jumping jacks), and  a 

vocab word that has to do with a sport  (ie. home run or a bump etc.)

6 Hula Hoops will be placed around the gym and each team

will be given  their own coloured hoop. This will act as the teams

"base" and after performing each task found under a cone, 

they must have all team members back to the hoop prior to 

going on to the next cone/task. In order to promote teamwork,

the teams must link each member while leaving the hoop. If

this link is broken they must go back and try again. As well,

at each cone, the physical activity must be completed by ALL

members prior to looking at the vocab question. If you need 

to make the game more difficult you can try moving the cones

around the gym so it takes longer for teams to find the task they

have not yet completed. The first group to do all tasks is 

considered the group winner of the game!

GREAT FOR YOUNGER HIGH SCHOOL GRADES!

Equipment Needed:

15-20 cones (depending on the difficulty required)

15-20 index cards (depending on the number of cones)

6 Hula Hoops, all different colours

6 Score Cards with all 15-20 tasks on them (so students can keep track)

**ALWAYS REMEMBER TO TALK TO YOUR STUDENTS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF COOPERATION AND HOW WORKING AS A TEAM WILL BENEFIT EVERYONE **