The "Seven" Game

Here's an idea of a game to entertain (English) classes…oh, and it does entertain. My students just love it!! The name of this game is “Seven”, and I learned this with some friends of mine, and I just adapted it to use in class.

It works not only numbers or parts of the body, but also concentration and speed of thought (action and reaction).

It may be used as a game to review, when a student who misses the track has to answer a question about the content previously student, or just for pure fun!

Different ages may play. What changes then is the instruction given by the teacher, which need to be shorter and clearer if played with very young students. Adults will enjoy it as well.

Below, the steps:

1. Ask students to stand up and form a circle.

2. Tell them that, to play the Seven game they need to know to count till seven. Practice it out loud with them as many times as necessary until you notice they know the sequence.

3. As students are aware of the sequence (1-7), tell them that each participant will say one of the numbers aloud from the sequence, start by moving clockwisely. But, every time they do so, they will have to touch one of their shoulders. Exemplify it by showing students how do to it. Ask them to repeat the movement.

4. Then, tell them that if they touch their left shoulder, the student on the left must continue the sequence, but if they touch their right shoulder, the student who is on the right must continue it, and so on. Attention: make it clear that they need to use one hand to touch the opposite shoulders (e.g. use right hang to touch left shoulder and vice versa). They cannot use the right hand to touch right shoulders, etc. In case they do it, they’re “out” of the game.

5. Play it slowly once so that students can practice. If the student misses the sequence, the turn, or the right way to move, s/he must sit down on the floor, or if you use the game as a review moment, ask him/her a question, and if the answer is right, s/he may stay in the game. It’s nice the ones who cannot answer the questions appropriately remain down because it may confuse the sequence, making others get “out” too, enhancing their concentration and ability to think fast.

6. This movement is the basic one. The teacher may put elements to make the game more challenging. For example, in the next turn of the game, tell students they will keep touching one of their shoulders for each number, but that for number “7”, instead of touching they shoulders, they will have to touch their heads. What will show the direction in which the sequence must follow is the side their fingers are pointed to when they touch their heads. If they touch it with their right hand, the fingers will be pointing to the left, so the sequence must followed by the student on the left.

7. You may ask them to touch their bellies in number 3, touch the shoulder then flex the knees in number one, for instance. Let your imagination flow!

Have fun!