Survival Guide for Primary School Relief Teachers

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Finsen Educational Resources © 2012
www.primaryschoolteachersurvival.com.au


ByKariFinsen
Dip.Ed.B.Ed.M.Ed.








www.primaryschoolteachersurvival.com.au
[email protected]
 0411053514


This master may only be reproduced by the original purchaser for use with their class(es).
The publisher prohibits the loaning or onselling of this master for purposes of reproduction.

© Copyright Kari Finsen 2012

Copyright Information



Finsen Educational Resources © 2012
www.primaryschoolteachersurvival.com.au
A Survival Guide for Primary
School Relief Teachers

Contents

What to take with you on your Relief Teaching Day ................................................................................ 1
Tips for having a successful Relief Teaching Day ....................................................................................... 3
Getting to Know You Activities for Relief Teachers ................................................................................... 6
Behaviour Management Strategies for Relief Teachers ........................................................................... 8
Attention Grabbers ................................................................................................................................ 8
Positive Reinforcements ...................................................................................................................... 10
Discipline Plans & Strategies ................................................................................................................ 12
Tips for having success with Behaviour Management ........................................................................ 14
No Equipment Games for Primary School Teachers ............................................................................... 17
Popular games for Years Prep – 4 ........................................................................................................ 23





A Survival Guide for Primary
School Relief Teachers

Finsen Educational Resources © 2012
www.primaryschoolteachersurvival.com.au
Page 1
What to take with you on your
Relief Teaching Day

The following is a list of things you need to have in your bag:
 Your lunch & water bottle
 A hat & whistle for playgroup duty & sport
 An insulated mug with lid and your favourite tea bag or spoonful
of coffee
 A diary or note pad for writing down dates for other supply
days, keeping a log of your hours or notes on children
 A pencil case which should contain - pens, pencils, eraser, sharpener,
highlighters, colouring pencils, felt pens, scissors, blu-tack, stapler & white board
pens & eraser
 A dictionary or download a dictionary app onto your smart phone
 The Pocket Basics for Maths and Language booklet – a compact spiral book
which lists all the numeracy and literacy rules and definitions ( may be able to get
this in an App for your phone these days)
 Reward items – stamps, stickers, raffle tickets, small jar of marbles, and or a
prize box
 Kitchen timer or stopwatch (can use your phone) to use with games or setting
time for work to be finished
 A joke book & poetry book are always fun to have
 Dice & a pack of cards to play games with. Have a look online or in Educational
resource stores for fun activities using dice and cards, there are plenty around.
 A roll of sticky labels to write children’s names on and place on the corner of
their desk




A Survival Guide for Primary
School Relief Teachers

Finsen Educational Resources © 2012
www.primaryschoolteachersurvival.com.au
Page 2
 A collection of children’s reading books – go to your local library and select some
books which are fun to base a language lesson around. Picture books are great
because you can do so much with the pictures for writing and art ideas. Just
make sure the books you choose are appropriate for your school.

Some popular authors are:
 Terry Jones – Middle/Senior school
 Mem Fox – Junior school
 Pamela Allen – Junior school
 Paul Jennings – Middle/Senior school
 Lynley Dodd - Junior school
 Roald Dahl – Middle/Senior school

 A folder of activities which should include:
• five minute filler activities
• getting to know you activities
• fast finishers activities
• fun pictures for writing activities
• word puzzles, crosswords, and dot to dot puzzles
• physical activity games which require no equipment

You can look online for puzzles or the easiest thing to do is buy a big book of puzzles
from your local newsagency or supermarket. They usually have a selection of puzzles
for all ages. Also have a look at their educational resource books. You can buy books
that cover all the curriculum areas in one book for each grade level. This allows you to
get an understanding of what each year level is covering.




A Survival Guide for Primary
School Relief Teachers

Finsen Educational Resources © 2012
www.primaryschoolteachersurvival.com.au
Page 3
Tips for having a successful Relief Teaching Day

 Get to school early and be prepared. Having an understanding of what you need
to do for the day is vital for having a successful day.

 If your relief day is pre-arranged make time to go and meet with the teacher to
discuss class routines and planning.

 Take your Relief Bag packed full of resources that are interesting and
challenging just in case there is no planning left for you.

 Conduct yourself in a professional and confident manner. You may have to
explain to the class that things are going to be run a little differently today.

 Walk into the school happy and positive and dressed appropriately. You are
likely to get more work if you show you enjoy being there.

 When you arrive report to the school’s Administration Office and introduce
yourself. The school may give you a Relief Teacher’s Resource folder which
should contain information on: the school behaviour management policy, lock
down procedures, evacuation plans, students listed on medical alert, intercom
phone numbers, playground duty rosters, a timetable for specialist lessons, a list
of staff names, a map of the school and any other important information
relevant to that school. If no such folder exists, ask for this information as it is
very important. You may need to sign in and sign for a room key, and you will be
given a badge to show you have been approved to be on school grounds.





A Survival Guide for Primary
School Relief Teachers

Finsen Educational Resources © 2012
www.primaryschoolteachersurvival.com.au
Page 4
 Ask your Administration staff if you have any specialist lessons for that day and
where these lessons will be conducted. Also ask if you’re required for a
playground duty & where that may be in relation to your classroom. PLEASE
NOTE - expect to have a playground duty every day you teach relief and if you
don't, ask for one. It is such a lovely surprise for a teacher to have one less duty
for the week. It also makes a great impression!

 Find out where the toilets are and the teachers’ staffroom so you can put your
lunch in the fridge and read any notices that may be displayed in the staffroom.

 Stand at your classroom door when the first bell rings and greet your children
as they walk in.

 Introduce yourself to your class and tell them a little about yourself before
asking questions about them.

 Learn children’s names quickly. Start the day with some ‘Getting to Know You
Activities’. It makes behaviour management a lot easier when you can address a
student by their name.

 Have your behaviour management plan clear and ready to explain. Remember
to think about both positive rewards and negative consequences. Most
classrooms will have their rules and behavioural procedures on the wall for you
to follow or if you are going to follow your own, have it printed out, laminated
and place it on the whiteboard so it can be clearly seen and is easy to refer to.

 Identify children who can help you out when you need it. Difficult children in
the class enjoy taking on responsible roles.

 Follow the teacher’s planning if it has been left for you. There may be
important tasks that need to be done for that day. Most teachers find it rude if
they have gone to the trouble to leave set tasks and they are not completed.



A Survival Guide for Primary
School Relief Teachers

Finsen Educational Resources © 2012
www.primaryschoolteachersurvival.com.au
Page 5

 Mark children’s work. All work that you set for the children should be marked
by you. Don’t leave it for the teacher you are replacing.

 The class teacher aide is a great source of information. Take the time to speak
with them and ask about how best to handle the class.

 Introduce yourself to the teacher next door. They can be a great help when
wanting some help with routines or behaviour management.

 Any issues that happen during the day should be resolved before you leave. If
it was a serious issue, it needs to be discussed with the Principal or deputy
Principal.

 Leave the classroom neat and tidy at the end of the day. Teachers love coming
back to a tidy classroom and it makes a great impression.

 Leave a note at the end of the day for the teacher. Inform the teacher of what
you did that day and let them know if there were any incidences with certain
children.

 Make a point of thanking either the Principal or administration staff for your
day. This makes a great impression and it may just get
you more work.

 Enjoy your day!






A Survival Guide for Primary
School Relief Teachers

Finsen Educational Resources © 2012
www.primaryschoolteachersurvival.com.au
Page 6
Getting to Know You Activities for Relief Teachers

Here are 8 of my favourite activities…
1. Name tags – (all grades) Give the children a strip of cardboard with or without
their name on it and ask them to decorate it with drawings that represent
themselves. When they are finished, blu tack them to the front of their desk so
you can clearly see them. You can have a competition for the best designed
name tag.

2. Sticky labels – (all grades) If you don’t want to spend a lot of time on Getting To
Know You Activities, write the students’ names on a sticky label and place them
at the top corner of each desk. Remove them at the end of the day.

3. Name game – (all grades) Ask a student at the very back of the classroom to
introduce themselves and tell you something that begins with the same letter as
their name e.g. ‘My name is Peter and I like Pumpkins’. Move on to the student
next to Peter but before they introduce themselves they have to repeat what
Peter said e.g. Peter likes Pumpkins and my name is Toby and I like toffee. The
third child along the row then has to say Peter likes pumpkins, Toby likes toffee
and my name is Aaron and I like apples. You continue until every child has
participated. An excellent listening and memory game.

4. Who am I – (all grades) Not only do you get to know your students but they also
learn a little about you. Sit the students in a circle and introduce yourself by
using a ‘personal box’. The box should contain items that represent you. This
may include things such as, a favourite CD, a picture of your family or pet, your
favourite book, or something that may represent your favourite sport or hobby.
Discuss these items with your class and encourage them to share their name and
3 things about themselves.




A Survival Guide for Primary
School Relief Teachers

Finsen Educational Resources © 2012
www.primaryschoolteachersurvival.com.au
Page 7
5. Skipping rope – (middle/senior) Senior students love this and are only too happy
to go and locate a large skipping rope for you. Take the class outside and ask one
student to take the other end of the rope while the rest of the class lines up
behind you. The students run in one at a time, skip while introducing themselves
and saying something they like doing, then run out e.g. , ‘Hi my name is Jessica
and I love to dance’. Continue through the whole class. A variation is to
nominate how many jumps they have to do before running out and each time
they jump they say their name.

6. Seating plan – (all grades) Draw the desk arrangement on a sheet of paper. Walk
over to each child, shake their hand and introduce yourself. When they reply
with their name write it on your seating plan. Place it at the front of the
classroom or blu tack it to your ipad and walk around with it.

7. True or False – (middle/senior) Write 4 things on the board about yourself.
Three of them are true and one is false. Ask the class to decide which statement
is false. Now it is the students’ turn. They write on a piece of paper 4 things
about themselves. Three are true and one is false. You and the class then have
to decide which things are true and which one is false.

8. Alphabet flashcards – (junior/middle) Shuffle a pack of alphabet flashcards.
Randomly take one card out and hold it up. Ask all the children whose names
start with that letter to stand up and introduce themselves one at a time to you.
You can also blu tack the letter onto the whiteboard and ask the children to
come and write their name beside it. Reshuffle the pack and pull out the next
card until you have gone through all the cards. If you don’t have cards you can
write each letter on the board and the children write their names underneath it.






A Survival Guide for Primary
School Relief Teachers

Finsen Educational Resources © 2012
www.primaryschoolteachersurvival.com.au
Page 8
Behaviour Management Strategies
for Relief Teachers

Attention Grabbers

Being able to gain the students’ attention quickly and effectively is very important
when faced with a new class. Here is a list of the most popular attention grabbers
used in today’s classrooms:

Rhythm clapping – Clap a pattern with your hands and the students have to repeat
the pattern. Keep giving a clapping pattern until you have their attention.
Hands up – Raise one of your hands in the air without saying anything. The children
who are focussed on you should copy what you are doing. It is important that
children do this action without any speaking. When all the children in the class are
sitting quietly with their hand up you can begin to speak. Another variation to this is
raise one hand and put a finger up to your mouth to represent Shhhh….
Silence – Sit or stand in silence at the front of the class and wait for them to be
quiet. This technique is more effective when you put an action with it e.g. look at
your watch, start putting tally marks on the board, or start a stopwatch. Explain to
the children that you are keeping a record of how long you have to wait for them
and that they will have to work hard to get the time off the board before lunch.
Simon says – Quietly start saying …”If you are listening touch your head”,” If you are
listening fold your arms”, “If you are listening touch your nose”. Keep a record of
how many instructions were given until you have all of the children’s attention.
Write the number on the board and next time see if they can improve on the
number. Reward them at the end of the day with some free time and if they work
hard at this.



A Survival Guide for Primary
School Relief Teachers

Finsen Educational Resources © 2012
www.primaryschoolteachersurvival.com.au
Page 9
Bell or instruments – To save your voice, ring a bell or rattle an instrument to gain
their attention e.g. Tamborine or triangle. You can be quite creative with this
option.
Little sayings – (here are 3 different ones)
“1, 2, 3, 4, 5” and they reply, “Once I caught a fish alive”. “1, 2, 3, eyes on me” and
they reply “1, 2 eyes on you”. “Stop right now” and they reply, “Thank you very
much” (Spice Girls song)
Counting – Count backwards from a certain number, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. You can either
count backwards with no instructions or give instructions on certain numbers e.g.
 5….you should be starting to put your things away,
 4…3 – sit in your seat and settle down,
 2…1 – eyes on me ready to listen.





A Survival Guide for Primary
School Relief Teachers

Finsen Educational Resources © 2012
www.primaryschoolteachersurvival.com.au
Page 10
Positive Reinforcements

Like any human being, students respond very well to positive praise and they love
being rewarded for good behaviour. You can use the following list of strategies to
reward those students who are trying really hard with their behaviour.

Free time – games, computer time, reading or puzzle time. Sometimes students will
choose a game of handball just outside the classroom.

Stickers - stickers are a great incentive for children in the lower to middle grades.

Certificates – you can buy some fancy certificates, or design your own, and hand
them out at the end of the day to the students who have worked and behaved well.

Verbal reinforcement – select those students who are working well and give them
praise eg. “Mary, I love the way you are working quietly”. This will sometimes
encourage students who are off task to refocus on their work.

Raffle tickets – hand out raffle tickets to students who are doing the right thing. Ask
the child to write their name on the ticket and place it in a box. It is also important
that you write their name on the butt of the ticket so you can keep a record of
which children are receiving the tickets. You can either draw out a name at the end
of the day or at the end of each session. It is also nice to give a prize to the child
who has the most tickets in the box (this is where your butts come in handy).

Name on the board – put two different coloured boxes on the board e.g. Red box is
the working well box and the blue box is, needs to try harder. Give each box a
catchy title like Batman (red) & The Joker (blue). As you are teaching, have the 2
coloured whiteboard pens in your hand and when you see a child behaving or
misbehaving place the appropriate coloured pen on the student’s desk. The student
then writes their name in the matching box.




A Survival Guide for Primary
School Relief Teachers

Finsen Educational Resources © 2012
www.primaryschoolteachersurvival.com.au
Page 11
A variation to this is to just place one box on the board and this box stays on the
board with any students’ names in it for their teacher to see it in the morning.
Usually it is for misbehaving students but there is no reason why it can’t be for the
great workers too.

Sport/game time – write the name of a game or sport they want to play on the
board e.g. CRICKET. Place a line under the word cricket and explain to the class that
they have to work to get the word CRICKET written on the board under the other
word. Add letters for good behaviour and rub letters off for inappropriate
behaviour. This works very well with the upper school students.

Group Competitions – this can be done in groups that the children are already
sitting in or boys and girls. Place boxes on the board for the number of groups you
make (either name them or number them) and ask children to put tally marks in
their box when they’re showing good behaviour. Reward the best group at the end
of each session or the end of the day.

Checklists – write the class names on a checklist that has been blown up to A3 size.
Blu -tack it to the board and ask the children to come and put a tick or sticker beside
their name when they are doing the right thing.

Prize box - find a fancy box and fill it with interesting inexpensive prizes e.g.
stickers, rubbers, pencils, small chocolates, marbles, cards etc.…. At the end of each
session allow the best worker to select a prize from the box.






A Survival Guide for Primary
School Relief Teachers

Finsen Educational Resources © 2012
www.primaryschoolteachersurvival.com.au
Page 12
Discipline Plans & Strategies

As a Relief Teacher the best approach for behaviour management is to follow the
classroom discipline plan that was set up by the class at the start of the year. This is the
plan the students are most familiar with and follow on a daily basis.
Most discipline plans are displayed clearly on the walls of the classroom so the students
and the teacher can refer to them as needed. If for some reason the plan is not
displayed, then when introducing yourself to the class and explaining your
expectations, ask the class to explain to you what the classroom rules are, (you can
write these on the board if you wish), and what happens if they break these rules. This
gives the students ownership of their discipline policy and reinforces to them the rules
they need to follow even when a visiting teacher is in their classroom.
If there is no behaviour management plan set out and the students can’t give you an
explanation of one, the following examples are some of the most commonly used.

Example 1
When a student breaks a rule:
1. Give the student a verbal warning
2. Ask the student to sit at a time-out desk in the classroom
3. Exit the student to a buddy classroom (organise with a neighbouring teacher if
you could send unruly children to them for a certain period of time)
4. The student should complete any missed work in their lunch time






A Survival Guide for Primary
School Relief Teachers

Finsen Educational Resources © 2012
www.primaryschoolteachersurvival.com.au
Page 13
Example 2
When a student breaks a rule:
1. Place the student’s name on the board – Warning
2. If the behaviour continues place a tick beside their name - One tick = 5 minutes
of owed time
3. If the behaviour still continues place a second tick beside their name - Two ticks
= 10 minutes of owed time
4. Three ticks – The student exits the classroom

Example 3
When a student breaks a rule:
1. Give a Verbal warning
2. If the behaviour continues give a second and final verbal warning
3. Finally remove the child’s desk to work alone.
4. Child either loses free time or stays in and finishes work at lunch time

Example 4
When a student breaks a rule:
1. Explain at the start of the day that every child has 10 minutes of free time at the
end of the day.
2. If a child misbehaves during the day their name goes on the board and that
represents 1 minute of free time lost.
3. Each time you need to speak to a child for misbehaving put a tally mark beside
their name on the board and that is how many minutes they lose.
4. Allow the class to have their free time in the last 10 minutes of the day and for
those students who have lost minutes they must complete work (writing out
times tables is also a good one) until the time approaches when they can join in.





A Survival Guide for Primary
School Relief Teachers

Finsen Educational Resources © 2012
www.primaryschoolteachersurvival.com.au
Page 14
Tips for having success with Behaviour Management

1. If you are going to use your own behaviour management plan instead of the one
already set up in the classroom, have it typed up, laminated and place it on the
whiteboard so everyone can clearly see it.

2. You need to come across to your students as being very confident and positive.
Always walk into your classroom happy and ready to enjoy your day.

3. Start each relief day by introducing yourself and telling the children a little about
yourself. Next ask them to share with you something they are good at or a
hobby they enjoy doing. Finding out a little about your students tells them that
you are interested in them and it is a great way to start building a rapport with
them. It also gives you topics to engage in conversation with them during the
day.

4. Make it clear what your expectations and boundaries are. The children need to
learn quickly which behaviour is acceptable and what is unacceptable. By doing
this you will make it easier for yourself if you have that class again on a relief day.

5. If you have set consequences for misbehaviour, never fail to carry them out –
every time.

6. Humour sometimes can be a great way to get students on task but be very
careful that you do not use sarcasm.





A Survival Guide for Primary
School Relief Teachers

Finsen Educational Resources © 2012
www.primaryschoolteachersurvival.com.au
Page 15
7. Treat your children with respect and you will more than likely receive it back
again. I always say to my class that they only have 2 rules to remember when in
my class and I write them on the board for them all to see – RESPECT and
MANNERS. I explain that I will treat them with respect and use my manners and
that’s what I expect in return. I also expect them to do the same for their fellow
classmates. Break my two rules and your name goes on the board which just
means you have to earn your name back by doing great work and behaving. I
explain my rules and consequences quickly and effectively and move on to
explaining the positive reinforcement of having free time that afternoon or a
game on the oval for those children who have followed my rules today. Don’t
fall into the trap of standing at the front of the classroom and laying down the
law to them for the first half hour. You will lose their respect immediately
particularly the children who don’t really like authority.

8. Make sure you know what you are teaching for the day and have extra work
ready for fast finishers. Children who are idle are more likely to misbehave.

9. Stay calm and try not to get into a power struggle with a student. Quickly draw
their attention to what you expect them to be doing and then move on. Do not
ask questions like, “Why are you not doing your work?” This will give them the
option of becoming confrontational with you. Don’t single out a particular child,
instead deliver the message to the whole class. Simply explain what work you
expect to have finished before lunch and what the consequences will be if it is
not. Also follow the statement up with some praise e.g. “Mary you’re nearly
finished that’s great and Billy you’re also working very well”. This will sometimes
encourage those children who are off task to refocus and finish their work. The
moment you see this happening praise that child e.g. “Excellent work Sammy,
keep working”.





A Survival Guide for Primary
School Relief Teachers

Finsen Educational Resources © 2012
www.primaryschoolteachersurvival.com.au
Page 16
10. It is hard sometimes as you are only there for a day but try to learn the
children’s names. It makes behaviour management so much easier.

11. Any severe behavioural outburst needs to be dealt with quickly. When the
children’s safety is at risk, exit the whole class and leave the misbehaving student
behind in the classroom. Ring the office immediately or ask a student to go and
get the Principal.

12. Some relief days are going to be easier than others with behaviour management
but look at it as a learning experience. At the end of each day reflect back on
what worked well and the things you need to change. Try different strategies
and find out what works best for you. You are new to this so don’t expect to be
perfect first go and please don’t take the bad experiences to heart. Learn from
them and look forward to the next relief day where you can try to improve on
certain areas and gain valuable experience for when you have your very own
class one day.









A Survival Guide for Primary
School Relief Teachers

Finsen Educational Resources © 2012
www.primaryschoolteachersurvival.com.au
Page 17
No Equipment Games for Primary
School Teachers

Crows, Cranes and Crabs
This is a great running game which is good if you are in a large hall or outside.
Divide the students into two even teams and name one team Cranes and the other
Crows. Line the two teams up into parallel lines facing each other with 3 metres
between them. Explain that they are going to hear one of three words, Crows, Cranes
and Crabs.
If playing in a hall make one side of the hall home for the Crows and the other side of
the hall home for the Cranes. Stipulate a boundary line on each side of the hall making
it a fair distance from the wall or they may run into it. Sometimes there are netball or
basketball markings on the floor to help with this. If you are playing outside mark out
the playing field with things such as jumpers, water bottles or 4 children.
The teacher then calls out Crows, Cranes or Crabs. If Cranes is called, the Cranes have
to turn around and try and make it to their side of the hall without being tagged by the
Crows. Any member of the Cranes that do get tagged, join the Crows team. If Crows
are called, the Crows turn and run to their side of the hall again trying not to get tagged
by the Cranes team. Any Crows member that gets tagged has to join the Cranes team.
If the teacher calls out Crabs, all children have to get down on all fours like a crab and
stay perfectly still. Anyone that moves must join the opposing team. The game ends
when everyone is on one team.





A Survival Guide for Primary
School Relief Teachers

Finsen Educational Resources © 2012
www.primaryschoolteachersurvival.com.au
Page 18
On the River, On the Bank
All you need for this game is a straight line. Use a footpath edge or the line of a
basketball court. Line the children up in single file one behind the other facing you. Tell
the children that the left side of the line is the river and the right side is the bank.
When the Teacher calls out river they have to jump with both feet onto the river side
of the line or else a lion on the bank will eat them. When you call out bank, they need
to jump quickly onto the bank side of the line or a crocodile will eat them. When you
call bridge they need to put one foot in the river and one foot on the bank.
The last person to move or go to the wrong place when the instructions are called is
out. The last person left is the winner.

Everyone’s Up Tag
The Teacher has to mark out a boundary where the children can safely run. The aim of
the game is to be the last person left that is not tagged.
To start the game, the children have to spread out and get into a space of their own.
The teacher then blows the whistle to start and each child tries to tag as many children
as they can without being tagged themselves. Once tagged, children sit down where
they are.
Rules - if anyone argues about who tagged who first, both children are out
Variations –
1. Once children are tagged and sitting down, they can put their arms out to tag
other children running past as long as their bottom is still on the ground.
2. If children are standing around the edges and the game is going too slow, blow
the whistle and give them 10 seconds to go towards the centre and continue to
tag as many children as they can.





A Survival Guide for Primary
School Relief Teachers

Finsen Educational Resources © 2012
www.primaryschoolteachersurvival.com.au
Page 19
Relay Races
Line the children up in the lanes on the oval, or just in lines with enough space between
them so they don’t hit each other. Get the children to run first to a designated spot
along the track and back to where they started to tag the next person in their team.
That person then does the same thing and so on till the whole team has had a go.
Variation – change the action each set of relays e.g. skip, hop, run backwards, side
step, gallop, etc.

Round the Circle Chasing
The children get into a circle and the teacher goes around the circle giving each child a
number from 1 – 4 in order (e.g. 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.). Then the children take big
steps backwards so the circle is larger and there are at least 2 metres between each
child.
Explain to the children that if their number is called they step out from the circle and
get ready to run in a clockwise direction around the outside of the circle. The teacher
then calls a number, those children with that number step back ready to run and the
teacher blows the whistle. The children run around the circle once and stop back in
their normal spot, trying to tag the person running in front of them. If tagged, tell the
children to keep running and the tagger can run on the outside of the child they tagged
and try to tag the next person as well.
Variations –
1. Change the direction from clockwise to anti-clockwise so that the child is trying
to tag the student who was chasing them.
2. Change your method of going round the circle, e.g. skipping, galloping, running
backwards, side-stepping, etc.






A Survival Guide for Primary
School Relief Teachers

Finsen Educational Resources © 2012
www.primaryschoolteachersurvival.com.au
Page 20
Signals
The teacher comes up with different signals for different actions.

For Example
 Teacher puts hands on head = children have to lie flat on their backs
 Teacher claps their hands twice = children have to stand on one leg
 Teacher puts hands on hips = children have to squat down
 Teacher blows whistle = children do star jumps
 AND SO ON….

Play this a few times with nobody being out, then start taking out people who do the
wrong action when the signal is called or are the last person to perform the action. The
last child left is the winner.

Animal Yoga Move
Select 4-5 different animals and actions to go with each one.
 Crab - walking,
 Kangaroo - hop,
 Turtle - swim
 Lion - lunges
When the teacher calls out each different animal name the children have to perform
the action that goes with that animal. You can eliminate children who are last to
perform the action and you can also get quicker and quicker at saying the names. The
older the children are the more animals you can add. At the end of the game have the
children lie on their backs on the floor and complete some deep tummy breaths to
relax.
Variation: You can use bean names (Runner, string, French etc.) and ask the children
to come up with different actions to go with each name.



A Survival Guide for Primary
School Relief Teachers

Finsen Educational Resources © 2012
www.primaryschoolteachersurvival.com.au
Page 21
Ship to Shore
This is a following directions game similar to games like Simon Says. The Teacher
stands out the front and calls out directions. The children who do not follow the
directions correctly are out or if the direction requires them to get into a group of a
certain number and they are the odd one out then they too have to sit out of the game.
The directions and actions are as follows:
 Ship – the children run to the left
 Shore – the children run to the right
 Climb the ladder – the children have to pretend that they are climbing a ladder
 Man overboard – (2 person action) 1 child gets down on all fours while the 2
nd

child puts one foot on their back and shades their eyes as if they are looking for
someone
 Crow’s nest – (3 person action) the children have to make a group of three. Put
their backs to each other and link arms.
 Captain’s coming – each child must stand perfectly still and salute. They cannot
move until the ‘at ease’ order has been given, which means they all stand with
their arms to their side and wait for the next direction.
 Three men in a boat – (3 person action) the children have to stand in a line
behind each other, squat down and pretend to row the boat. They must also
chant the song ‘Row, Row, Row, Your Boat”
 Shark – the children must lie on their backs with their arms and feet waving in
the air whilst shouting, ‘shark, shark’.








A Survival Guide for Primary
School Relief Teachers

Finsen Educational Resources © 2012
www.primaryschoolteachersurvival.com.au
Page 22
Here, There, Where
The children run to the right (or a specific location) when the teacher calls ‘Here’.
They run to the left when they hear the word, ‘ There’.
They run everywhere for the word ‘Where’.
The game can be elimination otherwise it's great just to get kids moving. The game can
be modified for any students that can’t run by touching a specific body part or pointing
their hands/fingers to the correct location. The kids love it when the words are called
really fast.

Elephants, Cows & Whales
The children move around in a designated space. The teacher calls out either,
elephants, cows or whales. The children have to form groups of three to complete the
following actions. The slowest group to complete the action has to sit out.
Actions:-
Elephants - one child stands in the middle with their right arm over their left &
grabs their nose with their left hand. The remaining two children in the group
stand either side and make the ears of the elephants by placing their arms in a C
shape.

Whales – the child in the middle has their arms straight down both sides with
hands out flat (like a penguin) and move left to right from the waist. The
remaining two children stand beside them and make the waves.

Cows - the middle child links their fingers together and points their thumbs
towards the ground, like an udder. The remaining two students pretend to milk
the cow.




A Survival Guide for Primary
School Relief Teachers

Finsen Educational Resources © 2012
www.primaryschoolteachersurvival.com.au
Page 23
Popular games for Years Prep – 4

Duck Duck Goose
Place the children in a circle facing each other. Select one child to stand up and position
themselves on the outside of the circle. That child then walks around the circle tapping
each child on their head and saying whether the child is a ‘duck’ or the ‘goose’. As
there is only one ‘goose’, the child that is chosen as the ‘goose’ has to stand up and
chase the original child around the circle and try and catch them before they make it
back to where the goose was sitting. If the goose is not able to do this, they become
the child on the outside of the circle and the game continues. If they do manage to
catch the child, then they have to sit in the middle of the circle and the goose becomes
the child on the outside of the circle. The child in the middle can't leave until another
child is tagged and they are replaced.


Cat and Mouse
Ask the children to form a circle and all hold hands. Select a child to be the mouse and
put them inside the circle. Select another child to be the cat and place them on the
outside of the circle. The object of the game is for the cat to try and catch the mouse.
The mouse needs to keep moving while inside the circle and can only stay in there for
10 seconds at any one time. The children forming the circle have to let the mouse
come in and out of the circle by raising and lowering their hands. They must try at all
times to not let the cat get into the middle of the circle. However the cat is allowed to
reach over their arms and try to grab the mouse. A new cat and mouse are selected
when the mouse is caught or the two selected children are getting tired of chasing each
other.





A Survival Guide for Primary
School Relief Teachers

Finsen Educational Resources © 2012
www.primaryschoolteachersurvival.com.au
Page 24
Stuck in the Mud
Set out a boundary for your class to run around in. Nominate which children are going
to be ‘taggers’. Those children have to run around and tag as many of the other
children as they can. The children that get tagged must stand still, with their legs apart
and wait for another child to come and free them by crawling through their legs. No
child can get tagged while crawling through another child’s legs. Once a child is free,
they are able to continue running around again, trying to avoid the taggers. To make
the game interesting select another ‘tagger’ every 1 minute. Stop when you have 5
children as taggers. Make the ‘taggers’ wear their hat inside out so the rest of the class
know who is up. You don’t even have to announce when there is a new ‘tagger’ just
pull a child aside and turn their hat inside out.
Variation - Flush the Toilet - instead of legs apart, when kids are tagged they stand with
their hand out for someone to touch and flush the toilet before they are released.

Simon Says
Tell the children the aim of the game is to follow what Simon Says. If Simon does not
say the action then they don’t do it. Start by giving the children a list of instructions eg,
Simon says, “Do 5 star jumps”, Simon says, “Jog on the spot”, Simon says , “Do some
twists”, etc.. Now to trick the children by giving an instruction without saying Simon
says eg.. “Fold your arms”. All those children who follow the instruction are out. They
can only do what Simon says…

Body Molding – group activity
Put the children into groups of 5. The teacher calls out an alphabet letter and each
group of children have to work as a team to make the alphabet shape. This is a great
activity for team work and encouraging all students to be a part of the game. You can
also ask the children to makes different shapes.



A Survival Guide for Primary
School Relief Teachers

Finsen Educational Resources © 2012
www.primaryschoolteachersurvival.com.au
Page 25
Grand Old Duke OF York
Put the children in a circle, start them moving in a clockwise direction and singing the
song,
"The Grand Old Duke of York”. You may have to sing the song twice depending on how
well the children know it.
The Grand Old Duke of York,
He had ten thousand men,
He marched them up to the top of the hill and he marched them down again,
And when they were up they were up,
And when they were down they were down and when they were only halfway up
they were neither up nor down.
The children then turn around and begin to walk in an anti-clockwise direction while
singing the song again but this time they must leave out the word ‘up’. This is repeated
another two times alternating directions. You then change the game by saying the
word ‘up’ but not the word ‘down’. The last stage of this game is to explain to the
children that neither ‘up’ nor ‘down’ can be said.
If a child says the words ‘up’ or ‘down’ when they are not meant to be said the student
is out and the rest of the class has to start the song from the beginning. This continues
until only a handful or one child is left.

Follow the Leader
On an oval, children line up in a single file line or 2 single lines (maybe girls and boys) if
there are too many children. They walk or jog along in their line mimicking the
movements of the child at the front of the line – the leader. After the leader has done
a movement for 20 seconds or so, they move to the back of the line and the next
person in line becomes the leader. Actions from the leader could include skipping,
hands above heads, clapping, side-stepping, etc.




A Survival Guide for Primary
School Relief Teachers

Finsen Educational Resources © 2012
www.primaryschoolteachersurvival.com.au
Page 26
Detective and Leader
Children stand in a circle, about 1-2m apart. The teacher chooses one child to be the
detective. They walk away from the group and turn away so they can’t see the teacher
pointing to another child who will be the leader. The leader then starts an action
(hops, twists, star jumps, skiing movements, etc.) and everyone copies them. (Make
sure as the Teacher you model it first, changing the action every 10 – 20 seconds) Once
the leader has started an action, the teacher calls the detective back and they have 3
guesses at who they think the leader is while watching the movements continuously
changing. Once they have guessed the correct child or had 3 guesses and been told
who the leader was, the game begins again with a new detective and leader.
Variation - play some dance type music on your iphone or CD for kids to do actions to.
They need to try to do the actions to the beat of the music.

What’s the Time Mr Wolf?
Line the whole class up against a wall. Select one child to be ‘The Wolf’ and have them
walk forward from the line about 15 metres. The Wolf must stay facing away from the
other children so they cannot see them. The rest of the class starts to chant, “What the
time Mr Wolf?” The child chosen as the wolf responds with a time e.g., 2 o’clock. The
class then takes 2 steps forward towards the wolf.
This continues until the wolf shouts, ‘Dinner time”.
At this time the class must turn around and run
back to the wall where they started before being
tagged by the wolf. If the wolf tags someone then
they are the new ‘Mr Wolf’.
Variation – the wolf can say a time and a particular
action which the class have to follow e.g. 5 o’clock,
kangaroo hops PicGifs.com

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