My favourite 'energiser' game is Human Protractor taken from The Morning Meeting Book by Becthel & Krieke. Here's how it works.....
Get students standing and ask them to put their arms touching towards their toes. Explain that they must start raising their arms upwards in an arc as you (the teacher) counts to twenty. By the count of 10 their arms should be out in front of them and by 20 they should be reaching for the sky. Important bit: They must remember roughly where their arms are for each number.
With calibration done, now comes the fun! Start by shouting out numbers: e.g. "20" and have students reach for the sky! Then "2" and have them down low. I then add in the maths.... "20-5" followed by "2*6" to make it more complicated. To mix it up get other students to be leader or have a 'protractor-off' betweeen students. Within a short period you'll be amazed at how amused students are by this little game and how engaged they are with numeracy - a subject many find threatening.
1 year ago