#1576. Bunching Numbers

Language, level: Elementary
Posted Tue Feb 15 05:02:58 PST 2000 by Thad Schmenk (thadsensei@hotmail.com).
Matsuyama Board of Education, Japan
Materials Required: cd, cd player or whistle
Activity Time: 15 minutes
Concepts Taught: working together, learning numbers

Bunching Numbers

Here is another game that my student from Matsuyama Elementary School taught me when I first arrived in Japan. It has become one of my favorites.

Objective: To practice counting numbers.
Material: CD and CD Player

Procedure:

Review counting the numbers from 1 to 10. If you want to spice up your P.E. class, teach the students the numbers in a foreign language! Next, have the kids listen to the explanation of the game. Explain that while the music is playing they are to be walking randomly around the room. Tell them that when the music stops they will be instructed to get into groups and sit down. Tell them that you will call out a number. That number is how many people are to form a group. No more. No less. If someone is left out of a group, that person has to sit down.

For example: music stops, you say ten. Everyone has to get into groups of ten people. If there is a group of 9 people, they must all sit out. When students are siting in their groups, they have to count off to stand back up.

You can keep playing until there are only a designated number of students remaining. Those left, win.

Variation: Instead of calling out a number, you can blow a whistle. Blow four times-the students must makegroups of four.