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Downtime (planned or unexpected) can be the toughest part of the day to keep students focused. Quick games to play in the classroom give them a chance to move into the next lesson energized. From morning work with a history twist to fun math challenges, these activities reinforce learning and can be adapted for any class size.

Energize and refocus fast with 5-minute games

Elementary students’ attention spans match their age, so a seven-year-old typically can focus for about seven minutes. That means games that only take up about five minutes are ideal for kids in PreK and Kindergarten. They’re also easy to implement for any age group when you only have a short time to fill. 

These classroom games for kids can help reset their focus, boost their energy, and reinforce learning by combining movement with math, ELA, social studies, or science.

• Moving Through the Map: One student names a country, and classmates act out how they would travel there (swim, fly, bike, etc.). Students who choose an unrealistic mode of travel (such as swimming to Alaska from Canada) are out. 
• Get Energized with Math Tag: The Teacher chooses an “it” person. Pick a math skill with two main parts or concepts(e.g., primes vs. composites). Assign an action to each part (e.g., students squat for primes and jump for composites). Those who make the wrong move are tagged out. 
• Sit in the History Hot Seat: A student chooses a famous historical figure, and classmates ask questions to guess who it is.
• Figure Out the Figurative Language: Call out a type of figurative language. Students write examples, and the best is voted on by the class to earn points.
• Show the States of Matter: One person is made the caller. Students act out the movement of different states of matter as called out. Anyone who is in the wrong state of matter has to sit for one minute before they can rejoin the game. 
• Victory at Vocabulary Relay: Call out a subject-specific vocabulary word. Students take turns defining it without repeating previous answers. Anyone who repeats a previous answer or takes more than five seconds to answer is out. Keep playing until one winner is left. 
• Play Shadow Tag: Spread out; the “it” student tags others by connecting their shadows. They must move around the person until their shadows merge. 
• Parts of Speech Trivia: Teams take turns naming examples of a given part of speech to earn points.

Morning Meeting Digital Games – Trivia – Digital Fun Friday Games
By Thompson’s Teachings – – – Amanda Thompson
Grades: 1st-4th

This bundle includes digital questions and answers for students to have a quiet trivia game during break. It offers different ways for students to show their answers, and incorporates movement and collaboration. 

Quick games to play in the classroom in 10 minutes

Perfect for older kids or longer breaks, these games are easy for students to lead if you need them to occupy themselves. 

• Create a Quick Character: Separate the class into a few teams. Give each team three random items and a character that requires those items. They have five minutes to sketch or describe their characters. Then the groups present and explain. The best character wins. 
• Move into the Numbers: Call out a number and have students figure out a way to create that number with their bodies. For example, 12 requires multiple people. Make the numbers bigger to add more challenge. The last person or group to form the number is out. Play until one person remains or time is up. 
• Find the Real Word: Give every student 10 points. Call out a fake or real word and have students stand if it’s real and stay sitting if it’s fake. Challenge them with real words that sound fake. Those who guess wrong lose a point. Those who guess correctly gain a point. The one with the most points at the end of the game wins. 
• Start Running for the Synonym: Choose a base word and a leader to watch the game. Call out synonyms or antonyms. Students run in place for synonyms and freeze for antonyms. Those who do the wrong motion must sit. The last one standing is the winner. 
• Pass the Brain Ball: Students sit at their desks and pass an imaginary beach ball. Each person to “catch” the ball answers a science or math trivia question. The one with the most correct answers wins. 
• Move the Rhyme Around the Circle: Give students a word to start, and they must pass the rhyme around the circle. The person who can’t think of a rhyming word in three seconds goes to the middle until rhyming words run out. 

Morning Meeting Activities Classroom Games Brain Breaks Indoor Recess Fun Friday
By The Sassy Apple
Grades: 1st-5th

The resource includes a monthly package featuring 10 digital images for students to study. For each set of images, students answer six different questions, encouraging them to discuss and describe the details they notice. 

Dice Addition 1-36 Math Fitness Game for PE, Brain Breaks & Recess
By Ready Set PE
Grades: K-3rd

Using addition, students roll dice to complete different body movements based on cards. They must practice mental math and collaboration. 

Bean Bag Activities and Games: Music, PE, Classroom Community
By Sing Play Create
Grades: PreK-6th

Teachers receive access to 10 unique activities, each including activity posters and step-by-step teacher directions. These activities combine gross motor skills with music and creative composition. 

Strengthen teamwork and focus with 15-minute games

Quick games to play in the classroom can be played in several short rounds or extended for larger groups. This is especially helpful when trying to keep kindergartners engaged during elementary PE games or older students happy playing indoor recess games. 

• Sudden Psychic Abilities: Split the class into pairs. On a timer, students each say a word. Then, they need to think of a word that connects the two words, repeating the process until they both say the same word. 
• Start a Chain Reaction: Students stand in a circle. One student starts a movement that triggers the next person’s movement (e.g., jump, spin, clap, stomp, etc.) The reaction must move smoothly around the circle, or it must begin again. 
• Bid on Brain Power: Group students and give each group 100 points. Ask trivia questions based on current ELA, math, social studies, and science studies. Groups must discuss how many points they want to bid on the answer. Correct answers win those points, while incorrect answers lose those points. The team with the most points wins. 
• List the Likes: Put a topic on the board (celestial bodies or fictional characters). Students must list as many related terms as they can think of. However, one wrong word erases their whole list. Each group gets points for the topics remaining on the board. The team with the most points after four rounds wins. 
• Match Multiplication Bingo: Hand out Bingo cards and call out single-digit multiplication facts that students should know. Have them daub the answers to win. Make it more challenging by calling them out fast. 
• Become a Grammar Detective: Give students a passage with about 10-20 different grammar mistakes. Some that are harder to find and some that are easy. Split the class into teams and have each team try to find the grammar mistakes and write the passage correctly. Each team gets one point per mistake, and the most points per team wins. 

Create Your Own Game for PE
By All Things Health and PE with Mrs D
Grades: 6th -12th

Ease the pressure by letting students design their own games. The resource includes instructions, worksheets, self-reflection sheets, and a grading rubric.

Tap into learning fun with quick games for the classroom

Underplanning happens as often as overplanning, and unexpected things happen every day at school. Having a quick game ready for an off-track lesson or transitions can ease your load. Educational elementary games from TPT give you everything you need in one place with minimal prep and maximum fun for students.