My Top 5 Go-To Theater Games

Photo by Archie Binamira from Pexels

These games are perfect for the lower and middle school class, helping kids to expand their self-confidence and social awareness! 

1. The Thumb Grab 
This is a fun game that teaches self- management and self control.          
Grades: 3rd+ (although you can try with a younger group)
Time: 5-10 minutes

How you play:

1. Everyone stands in a circle (including you the facilitator)
2. Tell the students to take their right hand and place it palm side up near their body (the right side).
3. Next, tell them to take their left thumb, and place it onto their neighbor’s right palm.
4. Tell them you will count down, and that when you say “go!”, they must try and grab the thumb in their right palm, while simultaneously keep their own left thumb from being grabbed by their neighbor.  

The fun comes in them not knowing when you’ll say go. To encourage shy or introvert students to practice speaking up, give them a chance to give the countdown. You can give all students a chance give countdowns.

Note: The setup may take some time as students tend to get confused about lefts and rights when standing in a circle.  


2. Pass the Face
This game is all about self expression and social connection.
Grades: K+
Time: 5-10 minutes


How you play:

1. Students stand in a circle.
2. Have a quick chat about emotions. Ask students about their favorite emotion, or focus on a particular one. Depending on time, you can expand this discussion or skip it all together.
3. Tell students that you will send a face around the circle, and that you’d like that same face to come back to you. (I always explain that the challenge is in matching the face, not in creating their own)
4. Make a face and send it on its way, with students passing their facial expressions around the circle!
5. Have students lead by making their own face and sending around as well.

 

3. Energy Circle
This is a great game energizes your group and works on body dynamics.
With younger groups, you can weave in SEL components exploring emotions, indoor/outdoor voices, etc. The sky's the limit!
Grades: 3rd+ (although you can try with a younger group) 
Time: 5-10 minutes

How to Play:

1. Have students stand in a circle.
2. Tell students that they will pass a motion with or without sound around the circle and that it must grow in intensity and movement. With each person the motion and sound should get bigger and bigger
3. Have a student start with a motion & sound, with each person the sound should get larger and bigger, so that by the time it is to the last person it is completely exaggerated.
4. Have students take turns, and reverse it by having the motion/sound get smaller and smaller.

4. Emotional Soundtrack
Grades: K+

How to Play:

1. Have students start in a circle.
2. Explain to students that they are providing the soundtrack for an emotion or mood.  
3. Pick a student to choose a mood and a student to be the conductor (they can be the same student)
4. Tell the students that when the conductor points their finger at them, they must contribute to the soundtrack by creating a sound with their body or voice that is related to that emotion. After going around the circle, the conductor can make the music more or less intense based on how high or low they raise their hands.
5. Have students pick themes/moods to create soundtracks. 
   

Note: This is a great game that allows students to explore their emotional states. Even in being silly, there can be conversations around awareness of the body in certain emotional states, and the role that breath plays within those states.


5. I am a Tree!
Grades: 2+
Time: 10-25 minutes

How to Play:

1. Explain that students will go up one at a time to create mini scenes.
2. One student goes up and says, “I am a ________.” They can be any object, and should take on the shape of their object.
3. Have the next student go up and add to the scene. Each time a student goes up they must say, “ I am a ______.”; take on the shape of their object; and make an object that’s related to whatever’s on stage.
4. When students have completed their scene, have the first person choose who gets to stay on stage, and they become the first object in the new mini scene.

Bonus: The Never Ending Rock Paper Scissors Game... well, almost

This game introduces the concept of Win-Win Situations.

1. Explain to students that they will play rock paper scissors and that each time they win a match, they will take on a new character. In order those characters are coconut, palm tree, volcano, and king/queen.
2. Make hand symbols for each level, nothing fancy is needed(examples are below)
3. Have everyone start as a coconut. If they win their game, they advance to the next level. However, if they lose, they immediately go back to a coconut. Also coconuts can only play with coconuts, palm trees with palm trees, volcanoes with volcanos, and king/queens with king/queens.

Note: You can change the levels to reflect something your students’ personalities. What’s important is that students know it’s okay to lose, because they will, and will have to go back to the first level. It’s a great lesson in teaching disappointment and self-management and social awareness.

Happy Playing!

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