[erinjk]

This is an expansion of writing ABC's on the back.

If you don't know that game, it's simple. Have the students line up in rows (or sit at their desks) and show the last person in line a letter. Then they use their finger and write the letter on the back of the person in front of them till they get to the front of the line. The first person writes the letter on the board. [good for elementary and 1st year Jr High] Give points to the team that is correct.

My version is using 3 or 4 letter words! It takes a bit longer but is good practice and quite entertaining as the students are trying hard to get the right letters!

Have the students sit at their desks. Give the last student a piece of paper with their word written on it(every team has a different word so they can't cheat). Say "GO" so they all start at the same time. The last student writes the word on the back of the student in front of them. They can not say what letter they are writing. The student who is being written on can say, 1, 2, 3 or 4 to have that letter written again. Have the first student in the row, write their word on the board and when everyone is finished, have the last student come up and write the word they were given to see if the answer matches!! Give points to the team with the correct word! Now, you can start again, but have the students change seats, so everyone gets a chance to be the first or the last student in the row. [I have used this game in 1st and 2nd yr Jr High]

HAVE FUN!

[susan53]

I use something similar for practising numbers. Students are in pairs. The first student holds out their hand and the second "writes" a number on their palm with their finger. If the first one guesses correctly, they swap roles.

[Nia Nazar]

Thanks for the ideas. I'm teaching new classes of elementary and jr.high students next week. I'll try it out and hope it'll work out really well.