GamesClassroom tools
For running the day: keeping the room quiet, picking names, making groups, seating plans, rolling dice and timing.
Quiet Critters
Stay quiet and the animals come out. A noise meter game for the whole class.
Fishing Pond
Cast a line and pull up a fish with a child's name on its tag. A name picker for the whole class.
Herd the Groups
Paste in your class list and a sheepdog herds each name into a pen, one pen per group.
Seating Chart
Draw your room, paste in each class and drag names onto desks. Shuffle, sort A to Z, show it on the board or print it.
Big Dice
Roll one to six 3D dice on the board. Dots or numerals, and 10- and 20-sided dice.
Big Countdown
A big timer for the board. At zero a rocket launches, a volcano erupts or an egg hatches.
Lesson Timer
Split a lesson into parts, like 15 minutes reading and 20 minutes work. A train stops at a station as each part ends.
Maths games
The whole class plays together on the board. Each one practises a topic, from counting to coordinates and money.
Bug Flash
Ladybugs land on a leaf, then hide. How many did you see? A quick number game for the whole class.
Estimation Jar
Guess how many are in the jar, then tip it out and count in tens. A new jar every day.
Frog on the Number Line
The class gives orders like "forward 8, back 3" and the frog hops along the number line.
How Many Ducks Long?
The class guesses how many ducks long a dinosaur is, then the ducks line up beside it to check.
Barn Graph
Each vote is an animal that walks into a picture graph. Then the animals turn into a bar graph.
Treasure Grid
Two sides of the room call coordinates to find a buried chest. Each miss shows how many steps away it is.
Bridge Builders
The class lays planks across a river to fill the gap exactly. Too short, and the animal falls in.
Castle Siege
Two teams answer questions. A right answer fires your catapult and knocks blocks out of the other team's wall. Maths facts, your own questions, or questions made for a topic.
Rollercoaster Barn
Build a rollercoaster from hills, loops and pond jumps. If a hill is too high, the cart rolls back and the animals lose their hats.
Market Day
The class runs a farm stall for a week. Each morning they read the forecast and decide what to make.
Fold and Fill
Unfold a 3D shape into its net to find its surface area, or fill it with cubes to find its volume.
Rewards and fun
The class earns minutes of fun time in the Star Jar or the Scratch Garden, then plays on a Friday or a wet lunchtime.
Star Jar
A child who earns a star opens a present, and the stars go in the class jar. Each one is a minute of fun time.
Scratch Garden
A child who earns a reward scratches a seed card, and that many flowers come up in the class garden. Each one is a minute of fun time.
Penguin Curling
Two teams, or the class against the computer, slide penguins down the ice and sweep to make them go further. Nearest the fish scores.
Vine Swing
Swing a bear from vine to vine over a river. Hold to grab, let go to fly. How far can you get?
Honey Roll
Roll a ball of honey round a valley. It picks up cookies, then ducks, then barns, then dinosaurs.
Island Dash
Run along islands in the sky with a T. rex behind you. Swipe to jump, slide and change lanes.
Big Catch
Cast off a jetty, strike when the float goes under, and reel in sharks, stingrays and the odd old tyre.
Geography
Places and maps, for the whole class on the board.
Science practice
Students work through these on their own, on a laptop or tablet, and get feedback as they go.
Making tests
For the teacher, not the board: draw figures and copy them into a test or worksheet.
