Materials
class pet (mouse, guinea pig, fish)
pet supplies and food
Instructions
1. When you have a few extra moments or when you want to create pairs of
children for an activity, try the following game.
2. In advance, separate pieces of paper into two equal piles. Write a different
word on each piece of paper in the first pile. These could be words relating
to a specific subject, words from a theme selected at random, or maybe
words from a story the class has read.
3. Write the same words on the paper in the second pile.
4. Have the children line up or stand where they are and keep their eyes tightly
shut. Pin a piece of paper to each child's chest.
5. Ask the class to open their eyes and when you give the signal ("go"), they try
and find the other person in the class whose word is the same as theirs.
6. As a variation, you could use numbers or pictures instead of words. Again,
these could relate to other subjects or themes appropriate to your group.
More to do Social Development: This game is a great way of getting the children into
pairs for other activities, especially if you want them to mix with classmates
they wouldn't elect to partner if choosing for themselves. You can engineer the
pairings within a class; for example, partnering a child who's very physically
able with one less confident for a gym activity.
