Add it up: give students a simple addition problem.  If the student can give you the correct answer without fumbling or counting, accept it.  Then select another student and have them add another amount to the previous students’ sum.  If the student says, “um” or counts aloud, start back with a simple addition problem.  The goal is to get to 100 without making a mistake, counting aloud, or making other sounds.

20 Questions: choose a person, place or thing.  Have students ask you questions to try and guess the word.

“I went to the grocery store and bought…" each student names an item, the next student repeats the items and adds one more item.

Scramble the letters in 10 spelling (vocabulary) words.  Switch papers with a partner and try to unscramble the letters

Play “guess the characteristic.” Ask several students who all have something in common to stand. The class, must guess what they all have in common, such as they all have shoes with no laces, they all walk to school, or they are all in the after school program.

Keep a supply of board and table games that require strategy and thinking. Use them for special fill-in times like rainy day recess.

Play hangman with vocabulary or content area words.  Play as either a whole class or in table groups.

ABCs: create a grid with a box for each letter of the alphabet.  Name a category and have students fill the grid with as many things that they can think about that topic, one thing for each letter of the alphabet.  To make it more challenging, add a time limit.

Whiteboard Race: Divide the class into teams. Give one student from each team a whiteboard marker.  Send them to the whiteboard and in one minute, have them write all the words associated with a certain category. Count the words, list the number of words on a t-chart and switch students.  Repeat with other pairs of students from the two teams.  Place this once, or keep a running total of the score.

I’m going on a picnic: Say, “I’m going on a picnic and I’m going to bring ___”, where the item name matches the first letter of your name.  For instance Sara can bring sandwiches.  Don’t tell students the pattern.  Have students ask if they can go on the picnic.  Answer yes or no, depending on whether or not they find the pattern.

Keep a set of QR codes for books read aloud on YouTube.  Pull one up to watch and display it through the projector.

Create a word search using vocabulary or spelling words (hint: use grid paper)