The Ordinary Adventures of a Primary Chorister: Review Games

Showing posts with label Review Games. Show all posts

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Primary Pyramid

I will be out of town for the two weeks following this Sunday. So this Sunday I'll be doing a review of all the Program songs we have learned so far, as if it was the last week of the month.

I was feeling uncomfortable about doing a lot of Father's Day stuff during my singing time this year on Father's Day, because of a little family in my ward that lost their daddy about a year ago. I learned that the family I was concerned about is going to be out of town this weekend, so I feel more at ease asking some fathers to participate in this game. So if you do this activity, you can adapt it to fit with or without dads.

It's called ......*drum roll*......

Primary Pyramid

The name comes from the famous game show, $25,000 Pyramid. You can watch it on YouTube if you are not familiar with it. I have created my own simple version of the game:

*Disclaimer*

First let me apologize if you had to get your reading glasses to read this disclaimer. The small font is

simply for the dramatic effect I hoped to create. Now on to the REAL disclaimer:

My version of this game is specifically created to review songs learned from January through June of 2011. I have two songs that may be different from what you are learning, as we have been instructed to choose our own songs for the months of April and June. You should be able to easily adapt this game to any set of songs. Just get creative! Use your computer or draw your own game set. It will be fabulous!

Prep:

You'll need a way to keep track of time. I am going to use my 30 second sand timer.
Set up two chairs at the front of the room. The chairs should face each other.
Open and print this PDF on card-stock or plain paper. ( I think card stock would be best, but plain paper will be okay, too.) Primary Pyramid.pdf The first page is a key to what song each symbol represents. Don't let the children see this page, it's just for you to refer to. After the first page, all the even pages have a symbol on them, representing a primary song. The odd pages are the playing cards to go along with the song symbol it follows. Cut the playing cards out along the solid lines and put each set in an envelope, making sure you know which song goes with each envelope (maybe write it lightly in pencil or use abbreviations). Save the even pages for your white/chalk board display.
Using the even pages, set up the white/chalk board like this:

The symbols are in no particular order. Scramble them if you want to. (The Pharaoh is probably the weirdest one there. I thought I'd throw the kids off a little. Pharaoh represents the "kings" in the song Praise to the Man.)

To Play:
Two contestants come to the front and sit in the chairs. (A dad and child, a teacher and child, or two children.) Ask them to choose one of the symbols on the pyramid on the board to start the game. Explain that each symbol represents a primary song learned this year.

After they have made their choice, show them the stack of cards that goes with the symbol they selected, (without letting them see the picture clues on the cards, of course.) Explain that one of them will be the "clue giver", and describe the word on the card to their partner, "the guesser". YOU will set the 30 second timer, and hold up the cards for the audience and the "clue giver" to see, so the "guesser" will not be able to see the cards. If the "guesser" guesses a card correctly, they move on to the next card (you'll flip to the next card). The goal is to try to guess 7 clues in 30 seconds, for 7 points. There are 8 clues so they can have one "pass" without risking losing their 7 points. After the round is finished, give them an extra 10 points if they can name the song the clues were all about. If they can not guess, let the children in the "audience" guess what it is, as you show them all the clue cards.

Have all the children sing the song, then choose two more contestants for the next round. Continue until all 6 songs have been sung.

You might want to explain the relevance of some of the clues. For example, I have a TV as one of my clues. I'll explain that we watch a television screen to see a broadcast or dvd of the living prophet at General Conference time. I have a phone as one of my clues to illustrate the word "commune".

Have fun!

*Update*

Here is a second version of the game that replaces Reverence is Love with Scripture Power:
Primary Pyramid II.pdf

Afterthoughts: Alrighty then. This was a really fun activity for the kids. But it gave me a little bit of stress, LOL. Mostly because:

the 30 second timer seemed like it was 5 seconds long! I ended up turning it over three or four times and then just tossing it aside.
some of the clue words were just too big for the Junior Primary, so I would suggest for Jr. Primary that you cut it down to 3 easy words per song to guess (and no timer). With the 3 and four year olds, (luckily) a presidency member helped them while I ran the flash cards.
in Junior Primary I think we spent too much time guessing the words and not enough time singing. After all, it is called "singing time", hehe. So again, cut it down to 3 words for Junior Primary.
the Junior Primary had a hard time guessing what the song was from just the clue cards. My pianist played a little bit of the song and then they were able to get it.

What I did like about it was:

for Senior Primary it was much less stressful and the kids and dads picked up the game much quicker.
the Dads were awesome!
the song/picture key was invaluable to me AND my pianist. So print and an extra one for your pianist.
one of the girls in Senior Primary came up to me after church and said she hoped we could play Primary Pyramid more often. Golden words. :)
the kids knew all the songs well so I was not stressed about having to really hammer any of the songs over and over.
it was fun!

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Riddles Review

Because we are having stake conference in two weeks, and because I want to start Praise to the Man a week early (next week), and because the children have learned our April song so quickly (Reverence is Love), I am doing my End of the Month Review tomorrow. It’s a little bit of fun I am calling:

Riddles Review

Basically, each song I will be reviewing comes with a “Challenge”. We will sing the songs on my review list in order, and I will explain each song’s challenge before singing so the children can try their best to win as a class. The class that wins the challenge for the song sung gets to send their teacher to the front to answer a riddle. (Each class should get at least one turn.) The teacher will get 15 seconds to answer the riddle, at which time I will ring a bell and ~~demand~~ ask for an answer. If the teacher is able to answer the riddle (don’t worry, they won’t*), they get to choose a bag with an object in it for me to wear during singing time. If the teacher is unable to answer the riddle, or gives an incorrect answer (which is, of course, the objective), I will choose a bag containing the object that they must wear until singing time is over.

*After doing this activity in Senior Primary, and ending up wearing most of the props myself, I highly recommend much more difficult riddles! The kids were really smart and told the teachers the answers! LOL

Prep:

1. Decide which songs to review. I am using the songs we have learned for the Sacrament Meeting Program (in blue) and adding a couple of Easter songs (in purple). Each song’s challenge is attached. Here’s my list:

If I Listen with My Heart

Challenge: Class where ALL the children in the class sing.

I will Follow God’s Plan

Challenge: Class that knows all the words without looking at the flipchart.

Stand for the Right

Challenge: Class that tries their hardest even thought they might not know all the words.

Reverence is Love

Challenge: Class that sing most reverently.

Scripture Power

Challenge: Class that sings while smiling the most.

The Iron Rod

Challenge: Class that sings most energetically.

He Sent His Son

Challenge: Class that follows the chorister’s directions most exactly.

Did Jesus Really Live Again?

Challenge: Teacher sings very well and set a good example for the children.

2. Gather *silly dress-up items and put each one in large paper bags. Since I have 8 songs, I will need 8 bags. So you will need as many bags as you have songs. I am using big brown paper bags, but you could use gift bags, or empty boxes, just whatever you have.

*I try not to include gender specific items.

Here are some ideas:

Funny hat(s)
Huge toy sunglasses
Kimono
Hawaiian sarong
Wig
Snorkeling goggles
Apron
Ugly tie
Trench coat

3. Prepare a list of as many difficult riddles as you have songs. Here is my list of riddles ( I found them here ):

What gets wetter and wetter the more it dries?

A towel.

You throw away the outside and cook the inside. Then you eat the outside and throw away the inside. What did you eat?

Corn on the cob

What goes up and down the stairs without moving?

A Rug.

I can run but not walk. Wherever I go, thought follows close behind. What am I?

A Nose.

What goes around the world but stays in a corner?

A Stamp.

Give me food, and I will live; give me water, and I will die. What am I?

Fire.

If you say my name I cease to exist. What am I?

Silence.

I am weightless, but you can see me. Put me in a bucket, and I'll make it lighter. What am I?

A Bucket.

Be sure to act very sorry and sympathetically when the teachers don't answer the riddles correctly. If they by some miracle (for them) do happen to answer a riddle correctly, express great chagrin in having to wear a bagged item for yourself!

Have fun!

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Primary Feud

It's the last Sunday in February, and I want to review both January's and February's songs. We are going to play:

Primary Feud

You will need:

Something to hit the table with. I am going to use two fly swatters, each decorated with a silk flower. Children could use their hands instead, slapping them on the table when they know the answer. Another option would be to have a bell, or two bells. You could also use one object in the middle of the table that a child could grab if they know the answer, like a stuffed animal or even a sock or glove.

A small classroom table
Create questions about the song or songs you are reviewing. Make them challenging and thought provoking for Senior Primary, but make them extremely easy and obvious for Jr. Primary.
Or use my questions below. Copy and paste them into your own word processor, or open and print this: Trivia Review.pdf Cut each question/answer/song phrase into a paper strip. Fold each slip of paper and put them in a hat or a bowl or basket or any container. Make sure you separate the Senior Primary questions from the Junior Primary questions.

To Play:

I plan to sing both review songs before starting. I'll tell the children to listen carefully to the words in the song as they sing, so they will be able to "win" at the game we will be playing! After singing, invite two contestants (two children, or a teacher and a child) to come to the front of the room. Explain that you will read a trivia question drawn from your hat/basket/container. The first contestant who knows the answer will slap the fly swatter on the table. Whichever contestant has slapped first will give an answer. If they do not answer correctly, make a dramatic "Wha-Wha-Wha-Whaaaaa" or "Bzzzzzt!"sound to indicate they were incorrect, and give the other contestant a chance to answer correctly. When the correct answer is given, have everyone sing the part of the song written after the question. Next, two new contestants come to the table to try to answer the next question. Keep playing until you have about three of four minutes left, and then sing both songs all the way through again.

Senior Primary Trivia Questions: