ÌÇÐ͝Âþvlog

Opinion Blog

Classroom Q&A

With Larry Ferlazzo

In this EdWeek blog, an experiment in knowledge-gathering, Ferlazzo will address readers’ questions on classroom management, ELL instruction, lesson planning, and other issues facing teachers. Send your questions to lferlazzo@epe.org. Read more from this blog.

Teaching Opinion

18 Games to Play in the Classroom for Learning and Fun

By Larry Ferlazzo — October 29, 2023 2 min read
Images shows colorful speech bubbles that say "Q," "&," and "A."
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

I asked teachers on social media to share their favorite classroom learning games that are not online and received many responses. This post lists just a few of them.

If you’re not familiar with the names of some of the recommendations, a quick internet search will lead you to rules, descriptions, and resources.

Though the games listed in this post can be played in all kinds of classrooms, you might also be interested in , as well as and

Two Kagan strategies—Fan and Pick; Quiz-Quiz-Trade.
2 truths and a lie, Guess Who...
Word Wall Game! Pick a word from any set that SS can see and give 3 clues. They make a guess after each clue
Rowco integer card game, and greedy pig.
I like numbering Jenga pieces and having a corresponding sheet of questions/topic-related commands. If a student successfully pulls a piece, they get to choose anybody and ask the question/tell classmate what to do or solve
Brain spin
20 Questions- curiosity, nouns, community building, logic and reason. Let them figure out how to ask better and better questions.
24 For math fluency and strategy. Mancala for strategy and counting fluency, and a vintage Ring-a-Round for math fact fluency and strategy.

Thanks to everyone who contributed their suggestions!

Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at lferlazzo@epe.org. When you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if it’s selected or if you’d prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind.

You can also contact me on Twitter at .

Education Week has published a collection of posts from this blog, along with new material, in an e-book form. It’s titled .

Just a reminder; you can subscribe and receive updates from this blog via . And if you missed any of the highlights from the first 11 years of this blog, you can see a categorized list below.

I am also creating a .

Related Tags:

The opinions expressed in Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications.

Events

College & Workforce Readiness Webinar How High Schools Can Prepare Students for College and Career
Explore how schools are reimagining high school with hands-on learning that prepares students for both college and career success.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School Climate & Safety Webinar
GoGuardian and Google: Proactive AI Safety in Schools
Learn how to safely adopt innovative AI tools while maintaining support for student well-being. 
Content provided by 
Reading & Literacy K-12 Essentials Forum Supporting Struggling Readers in Middle and High School
Join this free virtual event to learn more about policy, data, research, and experiences around supporting older students who struggle to read.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Teaching Opinion Practical Tips for Creating a Safe and Supportive Space for Students
Student learning, engagement, and behavior are all affected by stress. Learn to recognize the signs.
14 min read
Conceptual illustration of classroom conversations and fragmented education elements coming together to form a cohesive picture of a book of classroom knowledge.
Sonia Pulido for Education Week
Teaching Opinion Teachers on When Their Administrators Get It Wrong
At times, administrators make decisions without considering the consequences.
6 min read
Conceptual illustration of classroom conversations and fragmented education elements coming together to form a cohesive picture of a book of classroom knowledge.
Sonia Pulido for Education Week
Teaching ADHD Is Punished in Schools. How Teachers Can Flip the Script
These strategies can help manage the behavior of students with ADHD more effectively.
7 min read
Cropped photo of a caucasian elementary school boy standing alone in a hallway holding his books and looking up at someone or something not shown.
Getty
Teaching Should Students Have to Do Homework? Here's What Teachers Really Think
Educators disagree on when and how homework should be assigned.
1 min read
Kapua Ong does math homework at her home in Honolulu, on Sept. 11, 2025.
Kapua Ong does math homework at her home in Honolulu on Sept. 11, 2025. Teachers are divided on the role of homework in student learning.
Mengshin Lin/AP