Health and Wellbeing
Group Games for the Classroom
Get your class playing together without losing the room, with games that build connection and a breathing signal that settles everyone again.
- 24 minutes
- 12 modules
- 0.5 CPD hours
- Certificate
Members
14 days free, then £70 a year or £7 a month.
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What you'll learn
- Teach a breathing signal that brings the class back to calm
- Run eight group games that need space but no equipment
- Pick a game to liven up a flat class or settle a lively one
- Let children change the rules so a game becomes their own
About this course
You'd like more play in your lessons, but you've seen what happens when 30 excited children won't settle again. So the games never get played.
A breathing signal changes that. Once children know that "if you can hear me, please take a deep breath" means stop, breathe and be still, you can let a game get loud and still bring the room back. It's a game in its own right, too. None of the eight games needs balls, pens or chairs. Pick one to suit the moment: animal walks or whole-body rock, paper, scissors to wake a sleepy class up, or counting to 10 as a group, without two people speaking at once, to settle them.
Games like these help children feel they belong in the group. When a class has a favourite, let them change the rules and make it theirs.
- For early career teachers, middle leaders and 3 other roles. Primary and secondary.
12 modules
Open in order
- 2 min
Introduction
- 3 min
The benefits of group games
- 4 min
Creating signal for calm
- 3 min
Gesture round
- 2 min
Animal walking
- 3 min
Knees/elbow game
- 3 min
What are you doing?
- 2 min
Mind boggle
- 2 min
Count to 10
- 2 min
Rock paper scissors
- 2 min
Longest note
- 3 min
Wrap up