Here are three quick and fun warm-ups which can energize a low-key classroom and encourage group focus.
Stand/Sit/Kneel: Three students improv a scene, where each person must be either standing, sitting or kneeling at all times. If any one person changes their position, the other two must compensate. Energizes and intros concept of "blocking"
Count to TenStudents stand in a tight circle. The group must count to 10 but only one person can speak a number at one time. There is to be no outward indication as to who will speak the next number, it can be anyone at anytime. However, if two or more people speak at once, the group must go back to one. Game ends when group has successfully counted to ten.
Big Bootie: Players stand in a horse shoe formation where starting at one end each player has a title, or name. The first player is Big Bootie, then Little Bootie, in turn followed by numbers: Number 1, Number 2, and so on until you reach the end of the line. The game starts with a song: “Aaahhhh, Biiiig Bootie, big bootie, big bootie, big bootie, big bootie, ahh yeah” then Big bootie starts by saying his name and the name or number of someone else in the group. The player whose number is called must say their number and then someone else’s name or number. The trick is that this is all done to a clapping beat and if someone pauses or calls out the wrong number or name or stutters, they loose their place in line and must go to the back. Once someone moves, the rest of the line behind them must shift forward one number to fill their place, thus disrupting everyone’s number by one. Here’s how this might go: “Big bootie, number three” followed by number three’s response “number three, number five” then number five must respond “number five, little bootie” and so on.
