5-minute warm up - large class and siting in rows

[Darkeru]

What warm-ups, games and otherwise, do people use for this situation? I've done some searching and it seems like most of the games or warm-ups are suited only to small group situations or English zone type situations, where students sit in groups around a table. I'm teaching grades 1 and 2 at middle school.

Unfortunately the best classrooms I teach in are like this:



Some are like this:


Even the teachers said from the start that group work isn't a good idea and the best for this situation is pair work.

Any suggestions for small warm-ups?

Edit: Imagehost changed. I forgot that imageshack went semi-private, so using imageupload.

[foreverJ]

I can't see your images, by the way 
one that come to mind is this:

~ Make the whole class stand.
~ Say that they may only sit if they ask you a question. (this is good for introductions - they can ask about you) but it's adaptable.
~ If you have limited time, say that if one student asks a question, their whole row may sit. Or If one student asks a question, them and their partner may sit, etc.
Hope this makes sense!

[Darkeru]

I can't see your images, by the way 
one that come to mind is this:

~ Make the whole class stand.
~ Say that they may only sit if they ask you a question. (this is good for introductions - they can ask about you) but it's adaptable.

Changed imagehosts. Hopefully people can see now. Thanks, that's one idea.

[letsgoteacher]

I often play 'stand up if you...' followed by anything from
-like kimchi/pizza/dogs/starcraft/English/me!
-are wearing blue/black/green/a skirt/glasses/shoes
-are a boy/happy/cold/12 years old/called Kim
-have a dog/2 sisters/a bike/a cold/
-can swim/play golf/speak English/ride a bike
-past simple eg. ate cereal for breakfast/watched a movie last night/went to academy this morning.
-review the last class

It's a variation of the game 'Change seats if you...' Basically all the students sit in their chairs, but pulled out a bit from the desks, when you say each sentence they have to stand up if it applies to them.  Then you quickly say the next sentence, and some of the standing sit and some of the sitting stand. 
It gets the energy flowing in the class (esp when boys stand up to 'Stand up if you are a girl'-ㅋ ㅋ ㅋ) and when they get better at the game the students themselves can make the sentences. 

Hope it helps you!

ps, I've also done a game where I have easy questions on pieces of paper eg. 'What day is it today?  How are you?  What's your name?'  One student takes one and asks another student, who then answers in a proper sentence and gets to take a question paper and ask another student.  When it works well you can ask about 10 students in 5 minutes...when it doesn't work well they all shout at each other and chat amongst themselves!     Or get really scared they're going to have to tell the time.....if a student can't answer I let them chose another student/any other student answer. 

[sweet_potato]

I *wish* my kids were sitting in rows like yours. When I taught gr 6, my coteacher insisted that they sit in this ridiculously long horse-shoe, which meant that only the 6 kids in the back were facing the front; the other 24 of them were facing each other. GRR :@
Anyway, I like the making them stand up thing, that someone suggested, it's cool :)

Another thing that sometimes worked for me was 4 corners. Pick random topics, for example, seasons. Each corner of the room is a season. When you say "go" they have to go to that corner. Then pick on random kids and ask them to tell you why. "I like winter because I like skiing" or something.

With your setup, in particular when the kids are in 2s, to get them in groups, just get 2 kids to turn around with their chairs and face the 2 kids behind them. That way you have 4 kids using just 2 desks. They're quite face-to-face here so they have to talk (hopefully in English :)

Your set-up is the best possible for Middle School. Trust me, you don't want them sitting in 4s and 6s and horseshoes and whatnot. They're all looking at the front and there is less distraction this way.

[Darkeru]

I often play 'stand up if you...' followed by anything from

---

It's a variation of the game 'Change seats if you...' Basically all the students sit in their chairs, but pulled out a bit from the desks, when you say each sentence they have to stand up if it applies to them.  Then you quickly say the next sentence, and some of the standing sit and some of the sitting stand. 
It gets the energy flowing in the class (esp when boys stand up to 'Stand up if you are a girl'-ㅋ ㅋ ㅋ) and when they get better at the game the students themselves can make the sentences.

Thanks - this sounds like it should work well, if they actually decide to participate.

I *wish* my kids were sitting in rows like yours. When I taught gr 6, my coteacher insisted that they sit in this ridiculously long horse-shoe, which meant that only the 6 kids in the back were facing the front; the other 24 of them were facing each other. GRR :@

I've heard the horseshoe is good for movement games, particularly switching chairs. I've only ever experienced it for higher level classes in debating though, where it worked well. I'm glad I'm not trying it with 40ish students though.

Another thing that sometimes worked for me was 4 corners. Pick random topics, for example, seasons. Each corner of the room is a season. When you say "go" they have to go to that corner. Then pick on random kids and ask them to tell you why. "I like winter because I like skiing" or something.

Unfortunately what my diagram doesn't show is the walls, which are right next to the desks. Also the space between desks is quite small. Even I don't try to move around the room much in the second classroom setup. Any movement needs to be slow and will likely involve tripping over a desk or chair.

[shambles2.0]

I like "pass the ball" for a quick review of the previous class, or just for fun.  There are a few pre-made PowerPoints on here that you can adapt to whatever you want.  The game is simple, you play music while they pass a ball around (no throwing!) and when the music stops, that student must answer a question.  I've played it with high schoolers of all levels and they really enjoyed it, especially when you include the random "candy" slides.

Check out the pre-made PowerPoints here, props to the creator!
http://waygook.org/index.php/topic,1722.0.html

[Darkeru]

Pass the ball might be a good idea! I can see students not accepting it (being surly teenagers and not wanting to speak) but I can try. Maybe use two balls with the large number of students.

[wong812]

Careful with those balls. Don't forget, baseball is very popular here and heads are great target practice.

[shambles2.0]

May I recommend something less potentially dangerous then, haha.  I used a paper cup I had lying around the office, they didn't mind, nor do I think they even noticed.  And I was worried that they wouldn't want to speak but it worked really well for me.

[glb0b]

You could also try down and across. Make all the students stand up and ask them a question. The first student to answer correctly gets to choose down or across. If they choose down all the students in front and behind them (in the same column) get to sit down. If they choose across all the students in the same row get to sit down. Then ask the standing students another question and continue until you only have a few students left or you feel you have spent enough time.

The only problem with this is that sometimes the students will pick on a student to leave them being the last one standing. I used to get around that by occasionally giving the last student a piece of candy so the students never knew if being last was a good or bad thing.

[Darkeru]

You could also try down and across. Make all the students stand up and ask them a question. The first student to answer correctly gets to choose down or across. If they choose down all the students in front and behind them (in the same column) get to sit down. If they choose across all the students in the same row get to sit down. Then ask the standing students another question and continue until you only have a few students left or you feel you have spent enough time.

The only problem with this is that sometimes the students will pick on a student to leave them being the last one standing. I used to get around that by occasionally giving the last student a piece of candy so the students never knew if being last was a good or bad thing.

Thanks! Also known as criss-cross - I think I'll try this the next time I see my second graders. I didn't think that they may use it to pick on someone, so thanks for the warning too. I generally don't use candy, but I've been considering the benefits to using it sparingly, so that situation might be good. At orientation we were warned about students being like 'gangsters' and only performing at all if given candy (then demanding for more and more).

[glb0b]

Thanks! Also known as criss-cross - I think I'll try this the next time I see my second graders. I didn't think that they may use it to pick on someone, so thanks for the warning too. I generally don't use candy, but I've been considering the benefits to using it sparingly, so that situation might be good. At orientation we were warned about students being like 'gangsters' and only performing at all if given candy (then demanding for more and more).

I agree about the candy. I almost never give my students candy but I found it was handy to have a piece in case they did pick on the unpopular student. That way they didn't cry when they were the last one standing!