Objective:
Get students to organize themselves in alphabetical order by their middle names without speaking.
Materials Needed:
- None
Game Setup:
- Ask students to raise their hands if they have a middle name. If any student does not have a middle name, tell them they can use their last name for this game.
- If there are 20 or fewer students, play as a whole group. For larger groups, split them into two or more teams of mixed ages
How to Play:
- Instruct students to think about the first letter of their middle name (or last name if they don’t have a middle name).
- When you say “GO,” students must silently organize themselves in alphabetical order by their middle names. The challenge is that no one is allowed to talk, whisper, or mouth words.
- Students may use gestures, hand signals, or “draw” the letter of their middle name on another student’s back to communicate.
- Once everyone is in line, go through the group and have each student say their middle name out loud to check if the order is correct.
- If playing with two teams, the first team to correctly organize themselves wins. Alternatively, you can time the group to see if they can finish within a set time frame.
Pro Tips:
- Emphasize clear but gentle communication using hand signals or gestures. Remind students not to poke or press too hard when drawing on others’ backs.
- Make sure there is enough space for students to move around and form a line without crowding.
- Encourage patience and teamwork, especially for younger students who may find the non-verbal communication more challenging.
- To prevent frustration, allow extra time if necessary for students to figure out creative ways to communicate without speaking.