Games

Tic Tac Toe:

Material: Poster board, library pockets

Procedure: Put questions into the pockets for the students to answer. Create X’s and O’s and Velcro them to the pockets. This game works well dividing the class into two teams.

Variation: The students write three questions on the material, and the teacher chooses from these questions for the game.

Memory:

Material: Poster board, library pockets

Procedure: The teacher writes a word on one card, and draws a picture on the other card. The students have to try and find a match for their team, by randomly choosing different pockets.

Variation: The teacher can write a question, and answer on the cards. The teacher can write a Dibbur HaMatchil, and the corresponding key phrase from Rashi.

Bingo:

Material: Prepared sheets as game cards, and small paper to cover the squares.

Procedure: The teacher prepares different game cards on the material being taught. The cards should contain one or two words that form answers to questions. The teacher should ask questions, and the students put the piece on the square that has the corresponding answer.

Variation: The teacher can draw pictures on the squares, and or numbers on the squares.

General Questions Game:

Material: Poster board, and library pockets.

Procedure: The teacher divides the board into different categories. Ex: מילים, רש"י, דקדוק, שאלות כלליות . Each row is given a different point value. The students are divided into two teams, and turns are taken for each student to answer a question, and gain points for their team.

Picture Game:

Material: Black board, and marker or chalk, and blank cards.

Procedure: The students are divided into two teams. One member of the first team is given a card with a concept, or object that is based on the material of the class. The student then has two minutes to draw this on the board, and for her own team to guess what she has drawn. The individual who is drawing may not talk, or hint at the content of the picture. If the team can’t guess the picture, the other team has a chance to guess.

Twenty questions:

Material: Paper and tape.

Procedure: Tape the name of a person or object on the back of a student. The other students in the class see what is taped on the back. The student then asks yes or no questions of each member of the class, trying to guess their identity.

Variation: Every member of the class has a paper taped on their back, and each person is trying to guess their own identity.

Paper bag dramatics:

Material: Bags, and different paraphernalia to put into the bags.

Procedure: The class is divided into small groups. Each group is given a different bag. The groups are given an assigned amount of time, to create a skit utilizing everything found in the bag. The skit should relate to the material being taught.

Variation: The teacher could bring in objects and ask the students how the objects relate to the material.

Board Games:

Material: Poster board, cards, spinner, board pieces

Procedure: The teacher can make up various board games that the students can play in small groups. The teacher can vary the cards in the game utilizing the same game board. [Ex: Shoots and ladders, Lotto]

Variation: The teacher can assign different groups to make up the game board, or the cards, and have them switch with another group to play the game.

Variation: Make the classroom into your game board, and the student’s advance as the pieces. Ex: Put out 5 different construction paper for Candy land, and if the student is able to tell the Hebrew color on the spinner they advance to that space.

Hang Man:

Material: Chalkboard and markers

Procedure: The teacher draws the allotted blank spaces for the designated word, and the students have to guess the word.

Pantomime:

The students are given a scene, which they act out in front of the class. The student who guesses correctly acts out the next scene,

“Taboo”:

The students are divided into groups. One member of each group is given a group of cards that have an object or idea written on the top of the card. The card also contains a list of words that the student may not use in order to try and describe the selected word. Without using these words the person has to try and get their team to guess the designated word. Each group has a time limit to try and do all their cards.

Basketball throw

Each student is asked a question to review the lesson. If the student gets the correct response they are given a chance to throw a ball into a basket. [Variation: A poster with the theme of the lesson can have an empty hole to toss a beanbag]. [Variation #2: The student can pick the level of difficulty of a question, and stand in different places accordingly to throw the ball].

Activities

Children’s book:

The students create a book based on the material they are learning for younger children. The students should be encouraged to add appropriate pictures, as well as other “gimmicks”. Ex: Tabs that pull, 3-D pictures, or a tape and a book. The teacher should try to arrange for the students to read their books to a younger grade.

Variation: Primary grades: The teacher can make a book with one word on the page, and the students either draw a picture and or write a sentence about the word.

Brochures:

Utilizing the computer, graphics, and or a collage, the students can compile a brochure that promotes, and or summarizes a unit that they have studied. The brochure should have a text accompanying the pictures that offers explanations. The brochures should be presented to the class, and appropriately displayed.

Persuasive Posters\ Billboards

Students should create or use a catchy lingo that reflects the material, and display an appropriate picture on a poster board. E.g. “Just do it!” “You can’t stop at one” .

Creative Design

The students can design a logo for a bumper sticker, or a license plate. The students can also design a creative logo\ design for a pin or a mug. Variation: The teacher can actually have these things made, which is an added incentive for the students.

Old Document

The students can reconstruct an important old document that is central in a teaching unit. The students write a rough draft of the document, and then copy it on a white sheet of paper. The paper is then soaked in a tin of water with tea bags overnight. [Hint: To make on spot particularly dark, place the tea bag on that part of the paper.] The water is then drained, and the paper is allowed to dry. One can also burn the edges to give the document a more authentic flavor.

Newspaper:

The students create a newspaper about a period of time of history, or about a particular story. The newspaper should include articles, editorials, pictures, and advertisements.

Review Collage:

The students are divided into small groups. Each group is given one poster board, construction paper, glue and scissors. Each group has to display their topic on the poster board cutting out shapes and pictures from the construction paper. The students may cut out words, but they can’t write or draw anything on the project. [Note: The teacher can put music on in the background while the students are working].

Ø The students can cut their poster board into a particular shape which represents their idea.

Ø The teacher can assign each group a letter from the alphabet, and the students have to put things connected with that letter on their poster board,

Puppet Show:

The class can work in different groups in making a puppet show about the subject being taught. Each group should make their own puppets, scenery and text for their performance. The students should be encouraged to pick appropriate music for the background music of their skit.

Quilt:

Each group is given a different theme based on the subject being taught. Ex: ראש השנה: סימני הערב, תפלה, תשליך, שופר. Each member of the group has to draw a different picture or representation of a different facet of their theme. Each member of the group glues their picture on a poster board, and presents their ideas to the rest of the class.

Variation: Each group has a different פרק of נביא that they have to convey on their “quilt”.

Greeting Cards:

The students can create a רפואה שלמה card, a friendship card, or a נחום אבלים card based on the theme of what they are learning. The card could include a picture, a מאמר from ,חז"ל and or a poem.

Time Capsule:

At the conclusion of a period of history, e.g. the חנוכה or Purim story, or at the conclusion of a period in נביא, the students decorate the classroom with the themes of that period. Variation: The teacher can have a special box with objects or pictures connected with that time period. {The teacher changes the content of the box accordingly}. The students are invited to pick an object from the box, and explain how it relates to what they learned.

Bulletin board;

Each group can design one bulletin board, or a part of the room based on the material being taught.

Mobiles:

Each student can create a mobile on the themes being taught. Depending on the grade, the mobiles can have multi- levels and be more intricate. The teacher should hang the mobiles from the ceiling.

Answering Machine Messages:

The students should create messages that individuals would have left on their answering machine to convey a message to their callers. Ex: The message אלקנה would have left when he went on עליה לרגל.

Story Board:

The students should draw on different sheets of paper the major events of a story. The students can attach the paper to paper towel rollers, and have the story appear through a shoe box.

Variation: A student can fold their paper into 8ths, and draw a different part of the story on each section.

Cartoons:

The students can draw a story of something that they learned, and include cartoon bubbles of what the characters were saying.

Collage:

The students can cut out of magazines pictures that depict the themes being studied. Ex: Each student could do a collage on one of the ברכות השחר.

Puzzles:

The teacher or the students can make up crossword puzzles, jumbo, or a word search on the material. The students can then exchange their puzzles with their friend. Variation: The teacher can make a booklet of all the games to share with the entire class.

Jig- Saw Puzzles:

The teacher draws a picture, or writes a מאמר on a sheet of paper, one sheet per group. The paper is cut into jig - saw pieces and each group has to try and put their puzzle pieces together. Variations: Each group has to put on a skit about their puzzle after they put it together.

Each student could make up a puzzle with a picture or phrase based on what they are learning, and give it to their friend to decipher.

Go – Fishing

A stick is attached to a paper clip on a string that allows the students to fish out words attached to a magnet in a bucket. The students have to identify the שרש of the word, or a similar exercise.

Song

The students create a song related to the material being taught and then present it to the rest of the class.

The students can listen to a tape and write or discuss how the words relate to the topic being taught.

Show and Tell

The students bring in objects related to what they are learning, and make a presentation to the class.

Advertisements The students can create want ads, birth or wedding announcements for a newspaper.

Diary

The students can write a diary entry of individuals. This exercise affords the students to reflect on the details of a story, as well as the affective component of the story. The entry can be a one time entry, or over the course of a few stories.

Scrapbook

The students’ are responsible to take pictures of objects that they learned about. The students then compile the pictures with short descriptions in a book to serve as a review of the entire year. Variation: They can also cut out pictures from magazines.

Object Creation

Each student is asked at the beginning of class to make a different object out of construction paper. [Hint: The correct color of paper, and the name of the object should be placed on each desk before the students walk into the room]. During the course of the lesson the student whose object corresponds to the idea mentioned should come up and tape their object to the blackboard. The objects then form a basis of review for the class.

3-D book

This exercise can be used when a book or major unit is completed. The teacher can take a poster board and fold it in half and put it on the board. The students then draw objects, or write phrases that best encapsulate different aspects of the book. Each student presents their idea, and glues it on the board. The poster board is kept in the room on display.

Play dough

The students are given some play dough and are asked to make an object that the think best represents the idea\ topic about to be presented. Or an object that reviews the subject that was just taught. The students should each share their ideas with the rest of the class.

Balloons

The teacher can have each student blow up a balloon, and tie it to their desks. The students have to try and figure out the connection between the lesson and the balloon. This then forms the review of the lesson The teacher can blow up a balloon for each student, and place a piece of paper inside the balloon. Each balloon can be tied to the back of each student’s chair. The student then pops the balloon and reads the paper that is found inside. The student then does the activity that is found on the paper. This is also a great way to break the class into groups.

Review Drills:

Unscramble:

Ø The teacher prepares sentences on cards. The students are challenged to come to the board and put the sentences in the correct sequential order. Variation: This can be done with a timer, and two teams to see which team has a faster time.

Ø The teacher can put words on cards, and the students have to arrange sentences with these words.

Ø The teacher can put a family tree on the board, and the students have to put the שבטים in the correct place.

Ø The teacher can have two sets of cards with matching information that the students have to put together. Ex: חגים ותאריכם, שמות השבטים וברכותיהם, ברכות ומיני מאכל.

Finish the sentence:

A student begins by reviewing a story, or lesson. In the middle of a thought they pull a student’s name from the bag, and that student has to continue.

“Go to the front of the class”

Five students are chosen to go to the front of the class. They ask questions based on the lesson, and or homework. A student who answers satisfactorily goes to the front of the class. She takes a place at the end of the line and becomes No. 5, while No. 1 the child who asks the question sits.

Relay Summary:

The students are divided into small groups. Each student writes one sentence that begins to review the lesson. The papers are passed clockwise and each student continues to add a sentence, until each student has added to each paper. The original student should write the last line on their original work. The students can then share their answers with the rest of the group.

Letter Cards

The class is divided into two groups. Each group has a set of cards with the א' ב' on them. The teacher asks a question, and the students have to find the letters that form the answer. Each student holds a letter in correct formation, and the first team to get the correct answer wins.

Last Word

The students pick a word that summarizes a unit, and then write a sentence beginning with the first letter of the word that they chose that embellishes the summary.

מ.י.ל.

The student can have a section in their notebook that records the מילים, ידיעות , לשון that they learned that day. Variation: The student can use color-coded stickers to write on and stick into their notebook. Variation: The teacher can have a similar board on one bulletin board. The teacher can have different students write on wipe off cards the answers for that day. The cards can be color-coded to match the student’s.

שרשים Trees

The teacher can have a laminated tree with Velcro attached at the branches. When a new שרש is introduced the students have to write on wipe off leaves all the words that they can find with that שרש. The teacher, or student then attaches the leaves to the tree. The trunk of the tree should be labeled with the שרש.

Introspective Activities

Daily Journal Entries:

The student is responsible to keep a journal of what was taught in a particular subject. The student should summarize the key points of the lesson, and the ideas that were stressed. The student then writes what he learned from that lesson, the lessons he gleaned for his life. The student can also comment on the lesson, and the issues he feels still need to be examined. The journal is a tool to allow the student to review and process the material, and have an open dialogue with the teacher.

Ø The journal can be formatted as two columns on a page to clearly mark the differences between the two sections.

Ø The journal can be written in two different color pens to mark the distinction.

Assigned journal entries:

The students are given a few journal entries each semester. The entry includes analyzing specific issues that were discussed in class, as well as students’ personal response.

Portfolio:

The students collect samples of their work throughout the course of the year. The portfolio is also a representation of the individual and how they integrated and responded to the material. The teacher can also assign the following as part of the portfolio:

Jig Saw Learning

Ø The students are divided into small groups, and each group is given a different assignment. Ex: Each group can have a different reading, or a different מפרש . All the students in the group work together to read and understand the material. The students are then required to answer questions on their respective material. The students in each group are then given a number or letter. The class is then redivided into groups based on their number or letter. Therefore, all the A people form a new group, all the B, etc… Each new group has one member from each original group. Each member in the new group presents the material that their group had learned. They read the material, and go over the assignment with their new group members. Participants present their material.

Ø Variation: The students can return to their original group and review all the material together.

Ø Variation: The original group works on a creative project the initial time that they meet. At the conclusion of the assignment each group presents their poster as a review.

Ø Variation: The class can be divided into two groups. Each group works collectively on one assignment. The class is then redivided into pairs, where each shares the information that they learned in the larger groups.

Note: This assignment is an excellent motivator for all the members of the class, since there is direct responsibility for the work..

Centers

Suggestions for ideas for centers:

Primary grades:

Ø שרשרים exercises:

o Highlight the שרש in every word.

o Match the שרש to the correct word.

o Stack the cards in piles of the words that correspond to each שרש.

Ø Content review:

o Put the sentences in chronological order.

o Answer questions on the story.

o Draw different pictures of the story.

Ø מי אמר אל מי

o Answer questions.

o Put the stickers with the correct names by each statement.

o Put the sticker of the name of the person under the bubble of the conversation.

o Write your own 3 examples of מי אמר אל מי .

Ø מוסר השכל

o Write the מסרים or מדות learned from this section,

o Create a skit on one מדה learned.

o Make a jig- saw puzzle on the מדה.

Older grades:

Ø רש"י Drills

o Work on Rashi review sheets

o Cut out the Rashi into different sections

o Highlight certain words in Rashi

Ø Comprehension exercises

o Put the sentences into chronological order

o Answer questions on the section

o Write questions on the section

Ø טעמי המקרא

o Highlight the טעמים on the sheet

o Put the correct טעמים on the sheet based on the חומש

o Write out the structure of the פסוק based on the טעמים

Ø Resource Material

o Have the students learn a small piece of another פרשן and answer questions.

o Have the students read an article related to the subject, and highlight key points.

Ø Creative Center

o Use any of the ideas in the activities section.