Academic studies naturally coincide with rote teaching styles and

textbook work. However, it is important to make learning exciting for

students with interactive activities. Incorporating fun classroom games
into your lesson plan offers a simple way to motivate your students,
and encourage them to draw on their creativity and imagination.

These top 10 classroom games provide fun ways to engage your students
in academic learning, without them even realising!

1. Charades

This simple but classic game is a great way to encourage your student to get out
of their seats and participate in the lesson.

Resources: a list of people, actions or concepts related to the subject you

are teaching.

Game: Select a student to stand at the front of the room and act out a
word from your list (no speaking allowed). The rest of the class must
then guess what the student is attempting to portray. Other students can
shout out their guesses or put their hands up – depending on your
teaching preference! Whoever guesses correctly can act out the next
word.
Alternative: A more challenging version involves the student describing a
subject-specific word but restricted by a list of forbidden words, e.g.
describing ‘habitat’ without using the words ‘home’ or ‘animals’.

2. Hangman

A traditional but interactive game which improves students’ spelling and subject
knowledge, but is also enjoyable.
Resources: whiteboard and pen or interactive whiteboard, plus a list of
subject-specific words to inspire your students.
Game: Divide your class into two teams then select a student to stand at
the front of the class and think of a word related to the lesson (or you
could give them a suitable word). The student must then draw spaces on
the whiteboard to represent each letter in their word. The rest of the
class then guesses the word, one letter at a time (allow one student from
each team to guess alternately). Incorrect guesses result in a hangman
being drawn (one line at a time). The first team to guess the word wins,
unless the hangman is completed. The game then repeats with another
student thinking of a relevant word.
Alternative: If you feel a hangman would not be appropriate then use a
different image – either subject-specific or think creatively e.g. a
spaceman or snowman.

3. Scatter-gories

This fun game will encourage your students to think ‘outside-the-box’ and draw
on a range of subject knowledge.

Resources: pieces of paper, pens/pencils and a list of subject-specific

categories e.g. Earth and Space (topic): rocks, landforms, weather, and
solar system (categories).
Game: Split students into small groups and ask them to note down the
categories on their pieces of paper. Choose a letter (A-Z) at random and
give students 1-2 minutes (depending on how many categories) to think
of a word for each category, beginning with that letter. Once the time is
up, allocate points for unique answers, i.e. if two teams write down the
same word for a category then neither get any points. Repeat the game
with different letters.
Example: Letter M – Topic: Earth and Space
Rocks: Metamorphic
Landforms: Mountain
Weather: Mist
Solar System: Mars

Alternative: If you class only has a small number of students then they
could fill in the categories individually, rather than working in teams.

4. Bingo

A quick and simple game which never fails to motivate students in their
learning.

Resources: whiteboards and pen or paper and pen/pencils, plus a list of

subject-specific terms or concepts e.g. numbers, phonics, key vocabulary,
scientific formulae or historical figures.
Game:Ask students to draw a 6 x 6 grid on their whiteboards or pieces of
paper then select 6 words or images from the given list to draw/write in
their grid. You must then randomly select a word from the list to
describe, and students must guess the word in order to cross it off on
their grid (if present). Continue describing different words until one
student successfully completes their grid and shouts ‘bingo!’ (you can
also award a prize to the first student who gets 3 in a row).
Alternative: Students can insert their own subject-related answers into
the bingo grid, but this makes it more challenging for you due to
extensive word choice and ambiguity. Also, if you have more time, then
you could create your own bingo boards with specific vocabulary or
concepts you are covering in that lesson (reusable).

5. Puzzles

This creative group game encourages students to work together and visualize
academic concepts in an abstract way.
Resources: images, words, calculations or concepts printed or stuck on
card/paper and cut into random shapes (puzzle pieces) e.g. maths
calculations, chemical equations, subject vocabulary, historical figures
etc.
Game: Separate your class into groups (or simply use table groupings)
then hand out a puzzle for each group to piece together.
Alternative: Students can create their own puzzles on the computer or
drawn onto card/paper for their peers to complete.

6. Draw swords

This quick fire game tests students’ fine motor skills and promotes quick
thinking, as well as generating some healthy competition.

Resources: Dictionary or textbook, plus list of key vocabulary.

Game: Split your class into small groups and choose a student from each
group to start. The nominated student then places the dictionary or
textbook under their arm. You then say a word or image which the
students must then race to find in their book (like drawing a sword from
under their arm!). The first student to find the word/image is the winner.
The game continues with different words/images until every student has
had a turn.
Alternative: If you have enough textbooks or dictionaries for every
student then the whole class can compete against each other.

7. Hot potato
This fun classroom game encourages students to think on their feet and draw on
a range of subject knowledge.

Resources: a soft toy, object or item for each group to pass round e.g. bear
or ball, plus a list of subject-specific themes e.g. numbers – prime,
composite, rational, fractions, decimals etc.
Game: Divide your class into small groups and hand out an object/soft
toy to each group. The person with the object in each group will start.
You name a title or theme, e.g. prime numbers, and it is then a race
against time for the student to give 5 correct responses, e.g. 2, 3, 5, 7, 11,
before the item/soft toy has been passed round everyone in their small
group and returned to them.
Alternative: With small classes you could play in one large group, however
shy students may find this intimidating because of the the pressure to
give correct answers.

8. Pictionary

An old classic but also a great way for students to visualize their understanding
in a fun team game.

Resources: whiteboards and pens or pieces of paper and pencils/pens,

plus a list of subject-specific concepts.
Game: Students work in small groups. One student from each group is
chosen to start and they must draw the subject-related concept you state,
within a given time (30 seconds – 2 minutes). The rest of the group must
then guess what he/she is drawing. The first group to correctly guess the
word wins. The game repeats until every student has had a turn/there
are no more words on your list.
Alternative: Students could model concepts using playdough for their
peers to guess.

9. Quizalize

This fun and engaging quiz game allows you to test your students’ knowledge,
in any subject, using a motivating classroom team activity.

Resources: interactive whiteboard, devices for your students or an IT

suite and a Quizalize quiz (create your own or choose from thousands of
quizzes created by teachers from around the world).
Game: Once you’ve created or found a quiz on Quizalize, simply assign it
to your students and they can access it from any device – no apps to
install! Students visit zzi.sh, enter their class code (shown on the ‘Launch
Game View’ screen) followed by their name and then they can play the
quiz. Students’ results appear in real-time, so they can track their score
while they play (Click here to sign up and find out more).
Alternative: You can also set Quizalize quizzes as an interactive
homework.

10. Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down

Although this game isn’t academic, it is an excellent behaviour management

tool which endorses hard work amongst students.

Resources: n/a
Game: 3 – 4 students are chosen to stand at the front of the room. The
rest of the class then put their heads on the table and hold their thumbs
in the air. The 3 – 4 students at the front then carefully tip-toe around
the classroom and gently pinch one thumb each, from the students with
their heads down. The 3-4 students return to the front of the room, once
they have pinched a thumb, and the class raise their heads. The students
whose thumbs were pinched then stand and have to guess who pinched
them. If they guess correctly then they swap with the student at the front,
and the game continues.
Alternative: To make this academic you could ask subject-related
questions to select the students for each round.
Try out these exciting classroom games with your students and encourage them
to apply their knowledge in new ways. These simple but effective group games
are a great addition to any lesson plan.
What classroom games do you like to play? What do you and your students
enjoy most about playing classroom games? Comment below – we’d love to
hear from you.

Banana facts

Why bananas are good for you

Banana facts
(31 facts) 3 medium size bananas weigh approximately 1 pound.

A cluster of bananas is called a hand and consists of 10 to

20 bananas, which are known as fingers.

As bananas ripen, the starch in the fruit turns to sugar.

Therefore, the riper the banana the sweeter it will taste.

Banana plants are the largest plants on earth without a

woody stem. They are actually giant herbs of the same
family as lilies, orchids and palms.

Bananas are a good source of vitamin C, potassium and

dietary fiber.
Bananas are America's #1 fruit.

Bananas are available all year-round. They are harvested

every day of the year.

Bananas are great for athletic and fitness activity because

they replenish necessary carbohydrates, glycogen and body
fluids burned during exercise.

Bananas are not grown commercially in the continental

United States. They are grown in Latin and South America
from countries like Costa Rica, Ecuador, Colombia,
Honduras, Panama and Guatemala.

Bananas are one of the few fruits that ripen best off the
plant. If left on the plant, the fruit splits open and the pulp
has a "cottony" texture and flavor. Even in tropical growing
areas, bananas for domestic consumption are cut green and
stored in moist shady places to ripen slowly.

Bananas are perennial crops that are grown and harvested

year-round. The banana plant does not grow from a seed
but rather from a rhizome or bulb. Each fleshy bulb will
sprout new shoots year after year.

Bananas have no fat, cholesterol or sodium.

Bananas were officially introduced to the American public

at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition. Each
banana was wrapped in foil and sold for 10 cents. Before
that time, bananas came to America on the decks of sailing
ships as sailors took a few stems home after traveling in the
Caribbean.

Each banana plant bears only one stem of fruit. To produce

a new stem, only two shoots - known as the daughter and
the granddaughter - are allowed to grow and be cultivated
from the main plant.

In 1516, Friar Tomas sailed to the Caribbean bringing

banana roots with him; and planted bananas in the rich,
fertile soil of the tropics, thus beginning the banana's future
in American life.
In 2001, there were more than 300 banana-related accidents
in Britain, most involving people slipping on skins.

In Eastern Africa you can buy banana beer. This beer is

brewed from bananas.

In some lands bananas were considered the principal food.

Early travelers and settlers would carry the roots of the
plant as they migrated to the Middle East and Africa. From
there Portuguese traders carried banana roots to the Canary
Islands, where bananas are still grown commercially.

In South East Asia, the banana leaf is used to wrap food (in
the place of plastic bags and cling wraps), providing a
unique flavor and aroma to nasi lemak and the Indian
banana leaf rice.

India is by far the largest world producer of bananas,

growing 16.5 million tonnes in 2002, followed by Brazil
which produced 6.5 million tonnes of bananas in 2002. To
the Indians, the flower from the banana tree is sacred.
During religious and important ceremonies such as
weddings, banana flowers are tied around the head, for they
believe this will bring good luck.

Over 96% of American households purchase bananas at

least once each month.

Some horticulturists suspect that the banana was the earth's

first fruit. Banana plants have been in cultivation since the
time of recorded history. One of the first records of bananas
dates back to Alexander the Great's conquest of India where
he first discovered bananas in 327 B.C.

The average American consumes over 28 pounds of

bananas each year.

The banana market is controlled by five large corporations -

Chiquita (25%), Dole (25%), Del Monte (15%), Noboa
(11%) and Fyffes (8%). Most bananas are grown on huge
plantations, controlled by these corporate giants. The
remaining banana production for export comes from small
banana producers.

The banana plant reaches its full height of 15 to 30 feet in

about one year. The trunk of a banana plant is made of
 sheaths of overlapping leaves, tightly wrapped around each
other like celery stalks.

The origin of bananas is traced back to the Malaysian

jungles of Southeast Asia, where so many varieties and
names for the banana are in that area.

The phrase 'going bananas' was first recorded in the Oxford

English Dictionary, and is linked to the fruit's 'comic'
connections with monkeys.

The word 'banan' is Arabic for finger.

There are more than 500 varieties of banana in the world:

The most common kinds are Dwarf Cavendish, Valery, and
Williams Hybrid bananas. Other types of bananas include
Apple and a small red banana called the Red Jamaica. A
large type of banana called the plantain is hard and starchy
and is almost eaten as a cooked vegetable. The Cavendish is
the most common variety of bananas now imported to the
United States. The Cavendish is a shorter, stubbier plant
than earlier varieties. It was developed to resist plant
diseases, insects and windstorms better than its
predecessors. The Cavendish fruit is of medium size, has a
creamier, smooth texture, and a thinner peel than earlier
varieties.

There is no such thing as a banana tree. Bananas grow on

plants.

Today's commercial bananas are scientifically classified

into the genus Musa of the Musaceae family.

Why bananas ar good for you

Containing three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose
combined with fiber, a banana gives an instant, sustained and
substantial boost of energy. Research has proven that just two
bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute
workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with
the world's leading athletes.

Providing energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep
fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of
illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily
diet.

Depression: According to a recent survey amongst people

suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a
banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of
protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make
you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel
happier.

PMS: Forget the pills - eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains

regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of

hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in

potassium yet low in salt, making it the perfect way to beat high
blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug
Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make
official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood
pressure and stroke.

Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex)

school were helped through their exams this year by eating
bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their
brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed
fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can

help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the
problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to

make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana
calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up
depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-
hydrates your system.

Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so

if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing
relief.

Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps

to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.
Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try
rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin.
Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling
and irritation.

Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the

nervous system.

Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology

in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort
food like chocolate and crisps. Looking at 5,000 hospital
patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to
be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid
panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood
sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two
hours to keep levels steady.

Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal

disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the
only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-
chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces
irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a

"cooling" fruit t hat can lower both the physical and emotional
temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand, for example,
pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a
cool temperature.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD

sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer,
tryptophan.

Smoking: Bananas can also help people trying to give up

smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium
and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the
effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the

heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's
water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises,
thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced
with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.
Strokes: According to research in "The New England Journal of
Medicine," eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the
risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you

want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it
on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in
place with a plaster or surgical tape!

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills.

When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein,

twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times
the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and
minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value
foods around. So maybe its time to change that well-known
phrase so that we say, "A banana a day keeps the doctor away!"