My students and I love minute to win it games and challenges, and I love incorporating them in the classroom in different ways. In this post, I want to share the three ways that I use minute to win it games in the classroom and some resources to find some games to use in your classroom.
1. Use minute to win it games in the classroom as brain breaks.
Minute to win it games are perfect for quick brain breaks throughout the day. These are perfect because they are engaging and all your fifth graders will love them (Confession: some of my fifth graders are not crazy about gonoodle, but they love minute to win it tasks). My favorite minute to win it game for a brain break is the Pencil Back Flip because it only involves pencils, which are easily available in a classroom.
2. Use minute to win it games to break up rigorous review.
We recently used minute to win it games for an engaging and collaborative review of theme. In groups, the students read paragraphs, wrote the theme, and their evidence. They completed one task at a time. When I called time (about 3-5 minutes depending on the length of the text), I randomly chose a student’s paper from each group to check. If the student was correct, they chose one person from their group to complete a minute to win it challenge. If the student was not correct, the group worked together to discuss it and come up with a correct answer and I checked it after they had revised it.
We did four tasks and four challenges. It took about 30 minutes, and was a lot of fun! It worked well because the students had to work together to complete the task and then only one student was chosen to complete each challenge, so the minute to win it challenge was not that much extra time. My students were in groups of four, so each student was able to complete a different challenge by the end of the review.
3. Use minute to win games as behavior management incentives.
One of my behavior management incentives at this point in the year is a treat on Friday. Some times, this involves a few minutes of free time, or a piece of candy, but I also love using minute to win it games for a quick behavior incentive. The best part about these games is they can be played one day a week or even daily. You could have the students earn points for the “right” to participate or you could make it so everyone has the “right” but they lose it for misbehavior. These games are perfect for quick incentives because most require minimal prep and they are quick to play. We love playing Face the Cookie in particular as a behavior incentive on Fridays.
Resources for Minute to Win it Games
Click here to see some ideas from Jamie at Diary of a Not So Wimpy Teacher that I used to break up the theme review that I mentioned above. These ideas are St. Patrick’s Day themed, but many of them work all year long.
There are also several videos on youtube with different minute to win it games. The best part about many of the videos is they explain the challenge for the students and include visuals. Just search “minute to win it games” and then find one that fits your needs and your students.
Click here to see 15 different minute to win it games that are perfect for party games. Some of these require more prep and may not be the best to use on a regular basis in the classroom but some are simple enough to play with little prep.
What do you think about using minute to win it games in your classroom? Is this something you do already or could see yourself doing? Let me know in the comments!
Awesome ideas! We are PARCC testing all week long and this will be perfect to rev them up!! Thank you so much!!
Jennifer Findley says
They will love these and they are great to break up the stress of testing. Good luck this week!
Another awesome idea! I too use Minute-to-Win-it games but only during indoor recess! Have a game plan like this will truly help us use the game to enhance some daily routines! Thank you for everything!
Jennifer Findley says
You’re very welcome, Brandon! Thank your for always being so supportive and kind! It is very much appreciated!
Phoebe Hersom says
I love this idea! I definitely need to remember this for next year! 🙂
I can’t wait to use these as brain breaks! Thanks for the great ideas!
I’ve used some of the Minute it to Win it games with my classes, and the kids love them. I tried using them as brain breaks but it’s difficult to get my middle schoolers back on task after the games. We love them though!!