Huddles is a super easy warm up game that’s well loved by students of all ages.
It is useful to have plenty of space so students can move away from one another. This game is perfect for the drama classroom, sports halls or outdoors. Keep it in your repertoire for summer camp!
Instructions
- Ask the students to walk around the room in any direction.
- Shout out a number.
- Students must get into groups containing the specified number of people.
- Any students who do not have a group are eliminated.
- When you get to the final three, place them in a triangle at equal distance apart and facing away from each other.
- Shout ‘two’ and the first two to reach each other are jointly winners.
The desire to find a group quickly raises the energy of the group.
The numbers have the added bonus of helping younger students improve their counting abilities, while also increasing focus as students try to figure out which group to join.
Top tips
To keep the game fair it can be useful to add an additional rule per round, e.g.
- Groups must be gender balanced.
- In the round following a ‘two’ you cannot be in the same group as your previous partner.
This technique can break cliqueness and helps the game to be more inclusive.
If you notice two students who are always finding a way to be in the same group, don’t be afraid to simply add a rule that they cannot be together. Sometimes my students will ask why but usually find the explanation fair.
