Use Sparkle as a way to practice spelling words, review old spelling words or practice site words. Students stand in a circle. The teacher gives a word and points to a student to begin. The first student says the first letter of the word, the next student says the next letter and so on until the word has been spelled correctly. If a student says the wrong letter she must sit down. When the last student has said the last letter of the word, she turns to the next person and says "Sparkle!" That student must then sit down. Play continues with new words until there is only one student left standing.
Silence requires little preparation and its possibilities to tie into the curriculum are endless. To play, give students a challenge that they must complete without uttering a word. For example, challenge students to line up by height from tallest to shortest. Give each student a sticky note with a word on it and have all the students line up in alphabetical order. If you are studying animals, give each student a sticky note with the name of an animal or a picture of one and have them all get into groups of mammals, insects, birds, reptiles and amphibians.
This game requires a rubber chicken or some other stuffed animal or object that can be passed from student to student. Prepare topic cards ahead of time for this fast-paced game of recall. To begin, students must sit in a circle. Select a student to be "it" and give him the rubber chicken. Call out a challenge such as "Name five mammals, nouns, things to do in the rain" or any other topic or area of study. Students then pass the chicken to the right around the circle while the person who is "it" names five things. Whoever is holding the chicken when the "it" person completes the challenge is the new "it." If the chicken makes it all the way around and "it" hasn't named all five things then he is still "it." Give a new topic and continue.
Charades can be used to practice verbs and to drive home the point that these are "action" words. Make up a set of cards with verbs ahead of time or have students create one or two cards each. Shuffle the cards and place them face down at the front of the room. Call on one student to come up, read a card and act it out. Allow other students to guess by calling out words. The student who guesses correctly can go up to act out the next one or you can randomly select students so they all get one turn.
Use this game to rev students up on a day when everyone seems to be dragging. Divide students into two teams. Move desks or go to an open area. Have each team form a single-file line behind a chair. Place another chair about 10 feet across from each team. Call out an action like "hop, skip, jump or crab walk." The first student in each line does the action to the chair and back. The first student to reach her chair and sit in it is the winner. Continue calling out actions until all students have had a turn.