I had forgotten about this familiar “thumbs-up” game until I walked in this classroom the other day and saw it in action!
To play this game, start by choosing two or three students to come to the front of the room. Â (They can leave the shoes on by the way:)
The remaining children sit at the table with their heads down, eyes closed, and one thumb up!
The children up in the front of the room then go around the room and select one child to tap on the thumb. When your thumb is tapped you put it down!
After each child has tapped a thumb, they go back up to the front of the room. Â Now the children are told to open their eyes and anyone who was tapped on the thumb is to stand up.
Now the children who just stood up are to try and guess who they think tapped their thumb!
Oh, and yes – the teacher can play too!
We do not play this as a win lose game. After every child has made a guess as to who might have tapped their thumb, then they get to go to the front of the room and the others sit down. Now we play the game again for as long as the children are enjoying the experience.