Classroom management games take a variety of forms. They may allow you to quiz a large number of kids at once, or they make taking turns fun. Or they may be games that keep you solidly in control of the classroom as you keep the kids entertained. Here are a few classroom management games kids love.
Hangman
Hangman is an easy whiteboard game. You can draw the spaces for whatever word or phrase you like. Let kids take turns guessing letters. You could give hints such as places you’ve studied in social studies or elements on the periodic table. The kids will learn the proper spelling of these words from the game.
Socratic Soccer Ball
Socratic soccer ball is when you attach reading comprehension questions to a soccer ball. How does it work? You will pass it around and ask the kids to take a question. They must then answer the question about something your class read. Guided reading beach balls have key questions like “the setting was” or “the main character was”.
What can you do if you don’t want a beach ball or volleyball literally passed around the classroom? Roll and retell lets kids do the same by rolling dice. You may want to invest in a reading game for your kid’s education, because it won’t get tired of reading the same story over and over to your child.
Races
Races are among the most fun games for kids to learn. You might ask them to fill out lists of vocabulary words or spelling words as fast as possible. You may give prizes to whoever correctly fills in the math facts work sheet as quickly as possible. Or you could have relay races where each child must answer an educational trivia question correctly to run the next lap. If you want the kids to stay seated, give them educational puzzles to do and see who can do it the fastest. Timed educational video games generally fall into this category, too.
Classroom Critters
Classroom Critters is a visual reminder of the noise level in a classroom. When kids stay at the desired volume or lower, you can break out the classroom critter. If they’re too loud, it disappears. If they’re good for an extended period of time, the classroom critter might be passed around the class or sit on the desk of the most improved student. You can even have kids pass around the critter to designate who has permission to talk in turn.
Those classroom management games seem like they would be a whole lot of fun. Growing up, the closest thing I had to a classroom management game were Jeopardy-style PowerPoint games that teachers would use to assess learning.