22 Engaging Classroom Games to Help Supercharge the School Year

When classrooms feel playful, learning sticks. Intentionally designed games spark students’ brains, boost engagement and make teaching more enjoyable. Because when learning feels like play, motivation follows.

That sense of joy matters even more in January, when students are shaking off winter break and energy can run low during New Jersey’s coldest weeks. Even teachers can struggle to get inspired during this time of year. 

The good news? 

Reigniting excitement doesn’t require elaborate prep or expensive materials. Many games and activities are easy to execute in the classroom and free, with limited or no materials needed.

We’ve gathered a list of these games for elementary, middle and high school teachers to kick up the excitement in the new year.

 

Elementary activities

 

ELA showdown

Students are divided into teams of 4-5 players, each equipped with a stack of question cards covering five ELA topics.

A bell is placed in front of each team to signal when they are ready to answer.

The teacher reads questions from each topic, and teams compete to ring their bell first to answer.

Points are awarded for correct answers, and the team with the most points at the end of the game wins.

The purpose of the ELA Showdown Review Game is to help students review and reinforce their understanding of critical ELA topics, such as CVC vs. CVCe words, digraphs, sight words, sentence structure, and phonemic awareness, while fostering collaboration and identifying areas for improvement in a positive environment.

Hot seat

Split students into two even teams and have a representative from each team sit in the ‘hot seats’–two chairs facing away from the board and towards the front of the class.

The objective of the game is for the team representative to guess the vocabulary word the teacher wrote on the game board, based on the definitions their teammates provide.

Once the vocabulary word is guessed correctly, students rotate.

 

How close to 100?

The objective of the game is to review multiplication facts while aiming to fill in a game board with squares that represent the products of rolled dice.

Each player rolls two dice and writes a multiplication equation using the numbers rolled.

After solving the equation, they color in the corresponding number of squares on their board.

The challenge is to reach exactly 100 squares in 10 turns or fewer.

The first student to achieve this goal wins the game.

This activity helps students recall multiplication facts and apply them in a playful context, enhancing their arithmetic skills in an engaging manner.

 

I have who has

Each student is given a set of cards with sight words.

The game starts with a student reading a card aloud and spelling the sight word.

Other players check their cards to see if they have the sight word being read.

The player with the matching word reads their card and continues the game by reading the next sight word.

The game proceeds until the last card is read, and the student with that card wins, providing a fun way for students to recognize and read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.

 

Show me

Deepen literacy engagement by having students act out characters and scenes from poems and stories.

By ruminating on the words used and scenes created, students better absorb the material and learn that there are many ways to engage with literature.

 

Super heroes

Tell each student to think of a superhero power that starts with the first letter of their name, than take turns sharing the powers.

This exercise takes the creative imagination of superhero stories and combines it with literacy, helping students think deeper about adjectives, descriptors and their meanings. 

Middle school activities

 

Bingo

A beloved game can help a classroom connect with a subject.

To start, give students a blank bingo sheet with a Free Space and a transparent sheet protector (so that students can write freely).

The teacher randomly calls out assessment questions.

Students then use the back of their sheet to find the matching answer and mark the correct box with an X.

The first student to get Bingo earns 3 points, the next earns 2 points, and the final receives 1 point.

These points are added to their test score the next day.

 

Card connections*

Using a standard deck of playing cards, hand out one card to each student.

Organize students into small groups based on which students have identical cards.

The goal is for students to find one thing they all have in common.

Have students regroup and start the process over so all students can find a common thread with one another.

This exercise is great for social-emotional learning and helps strengthen collaboration amongst students.

 

Climate curiosity*

Help students think critically about climate change by asking questions to gauge how much they already know.

A few prompts include “How much do the oceans rise per year?” “How much have temperatures risen?” and “When was the hottest recorded day in New Jersey? How high did the temperature reach?”

Have students work through these questions on their own or with a partner.

Reveal the answer and explain why after students share what they come up with.

 

Questions*

Every group of four students gets a pack of questions at a different difficulty level.

Students work on the pile and, when they get the answers, show them to the teacher.

While the game is in progress, the teacher should record group progress on the board.

After students complete the first block of questions, they take another set.

The first group to cover all five areas and solve the most problems in the given time wins.

Because sets vary in difficulty, it is highly possible that the winner is not the fastest group.

 

Quiz show*

Teams have 10 seconds to select a representative to solve a math problem on the board.

The chosen student has 30 seconds to solve the problem and explain their solution process.

If the answer is incorrect, another team member can attempt to "steal" the prize by providing the correct solution.

The game continues with new problems until all prizes are awarded or time runs out.

The game master may reshuffle teams to maintain fairness.

The team with the most points at the end is celebrated as the winner, fostering a spirit of competition and teamwork.  

 

Six-word stories*

Challenge students to think critically about storytelling and story structure by asking them to create a story using only six words.

The website Six Word Stories has examples archived from 2014 to draw inspiration.

The stories can be about the students’ lives or fiction, as long as the student can describe the meaning behind the story they wrote.

 

Snowball*

Pass out slips of paper and have students write down their favorite fact they’ve learning in class.

Ask them to crumble up the paper and throw it in the air.

After the paper ‘snowballs’ land, ask the students to pick one up and take turns reading each one out loud.

 

Stand up/sit down

Prepare a list of facts on a subject, with half of them false.

Read the facts to the students, telling them to stand if the fact is true and sit down if it is false.

Students are tested on how well they know the class material without actually taking a test.

High school activities

 

Connect the quotes

Gather quotes from the textbook or individuals who contributed to the class subject.

Split the quotes in half and ask the students to match the first half of the quote with the second.

Problem-solving together helps build collaboration, and thinking deeply about the content helps it stick with them.

 

Dance Jeopardy

Develop questions based on vocabulary and concepts from past lessons.

Divide students into four groups, having them pick a group name, a writer and a dancer.

The writer will write answers on a sheet of paper as questions are projected onto a screen, and the dancer will use their body to demonstrate the movement that matches each vocabulary word.

Each group answers every question, and when a group picks a category and a specific point amount, it is given 3 seconds to discuss and write its answer.

Then each group gets 10 seconds to complete each movement.

This game gives multiple students in each group a job, allowing them to control their own participation that day.

 

Double Dare

Based on the Nickelodeon game show from the ‘90s, play this game by splitting the class into two groups, with the teacher acting as the game show ‘host’.

One team is randomly selected to start the first round, and the teacher poses a question to the first team up.

This team must submit an answer within a time limit.

If the team is stuck on the question, they can pass it to the opposing team or ‘Dare’ them to answer for more points.

If neither team knows the correct answer, the original team can opt for a ‘Physical Challenge’.

For the Physical Challenge, the teacher gives one student on the team a clue to the correct answer, and that student has 30 seconds to find an item related to the answer the teacher has hidden in the room.

The team with the most points wins.

 

Headband

The game is played in groups of six, with a total of three groups.

The teacher pastes Post-it notes with words related to a subject on the students' foreheads. The other group members give clues to help the person with the Post-it guess the word.

The group that requires the fewest clues to guess correctly earns the most points.

The group with the fewest points wins the game and earns five extra points on the test, while the second- and third-place groups earn three and two extra points, respectively.

 

Networking

Recreate a networking environment for students so they are properly equipped to network when the time comes.

Offer a set of questions they can use to break the ice, focusing on career and subject interests.

They may be uncomfortable at first, but promise them it gets easier with practice.

 

Notecard communication

Pass out notecards and post three question prompts, directing students to choose one to answer.

Collect the cards and go over the answers anonymously.

This part is key, as it allows students to be vulnerable without the anxiety of being in the spotlight.

Questions can focus on current events, what’s being studied or the challenges of being in high school.

 

Pass/fail

This activity helps students think about how they engage in class, with each other and school staff.

Ask the students what they would do if their goal were to fail the class.

Tell them to get creative and be silly with it.

After they’re done brainstorming, ask them to list what they would do if their goal were to get an A.

These activities help set the classroom tone while giving students an opportunity to be part of it.

 

Walkabouts

Allow students to stretch their legs by writing questions on the walls for them to answer in their notebooks.

The students can choose the order in which they go, and walking around helps break up the day.

 

* This game can also be played with high school students.

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