This is a game children play to become familiar with their class mates and also to test their listening skills.

Children sit on the floor in a circle. Included in the circle are four chairs next to each other. Two boys and two girls sit on a chair each. There is also a blank space left in the circle. I usually mark this spot with an old cushion.

Everybody writes their name on a piece of paper and puts it into a container. When everyone's name is in the container, someone takes the container around and each child selects a piece of paper. They look at their name, but mustn't tell anyone else the name they have been given. Children are no longer their own name - they are now the name on the piece of paper.

The object of the game is to get all of your gender on the four seats. The person sitting on the right of cushion calls out a name.

The person with that "name" (as written on their piece of paper) moves and sits where the cushion is. The person who is on the right of the new empty space calls out a name and they move to the empty space. This continues until there are four boys or four girls on the four seats.

Children cannot call out their own given name, and they cannot say the name of the person who has just moved.

A friend taught me this game and my classes have loved to play it. I laminate a class set of names early in the year to save time writing out the names each time and then just remove those children who are away.

Rate / Review this idea: