Group Game Day

My second co-op class was Game Day. Unfortunately we had to stay home due to flu, but I sent a list of games for my assistant. I will only share those that the kids enjoyed most.

Four Corners
This was their favorite. I remembered it being one of my favorites from grade school and was happy to find it on the internet, as the rules were a bit fuzzy. I am thrilled they liked it so much. I only wish I could have been there to see it played! Like a little, happy piece of my childhood being reenacted before my eyes.

To begin, four corners (or general areas) of the room are labeled from the numbers one to four. One player is designated to be "It" or "The Counter." This player sits in the middle of the room, closes his eyes, and counts to ten. The remaining players choose any one of the corners and quietly go and stand there. When "It" has finished counting, he calls out one of the numbers. All players who had chosen that corner are out of the game and sit down. Then, "It" counts again and the remaining players move to a different corner.

The last person to still be in the game wins, and usually becomes the new "It."

If "It" calls out an empty corner, he either calls a new number right away or the players rotate to a new corner, according to different versions of game play.

ZIP/ZAP/ZOP

Players form a circle, facing each other. Someone begins by pointing to another person in the circle and saying "ZIP!" That person then points to yet another person and says "ZAP!" That person points to another person and says "ZOP!" This continues, but the words must be said in order: ZIP, ZAP, ZOP. If someone makes a mistake and says a word out of order, that person is out of the game. Eventually, the circle dwindles to only 2 people, who are staring at each other, yelling ZIP!, ZAP!,ZOP! Until one of them makes a mistake.

COMIC STRIP MIXER
Depending on the number of players, you will need to cut several comic strips into separate panels. I had 9 students and used three comic strips, three panels each. I printed my own after searching on this web site and this one. It took some time to find ones that I thought were both funny and appropriate for my age group. The best candidates seemed to be Peanuts, Garfield, Rose Is Rose, and Winnie the Pooh. Calvin & Hobbes and Dilbert might be good for older kids.

After separating the panels, mix them up! Have all the students face each other, perhaps sitting around a table so that they can’t see each other’s backs. Use clear tape to attach one panel to each back. On “GO” they must get up and arrange themselves in the correct order so that the comics can be understood.

I had two black and white strips and one in color. I thought the color comic might have an advantage, because it would be easier to distinguish from the other two. To make it more even, I used a marker to outline each of the black and white panels, using two different bright colors for the two comics. I also had a problem with the lettering in the comics printing out clearly and traced over all the letters with a fine black tip pen.

This game was a bit short, so it might be good to take twice as many comics and do two complete rounds.

Other old favorites were 7-Up and Simon Says.

Award ribbons or stickers can be handed out to all the students at the end of class for good sportsmanship.