Best Games for Highschool Students! Keep classes interesting and entertaining with stimulating activities tailored to their interests.
High school kids often lose interest, so it might be challenging to keep their attention if your classes are not interesting and entertaining. Be at ease, though! You can keep high school kids interested in class by playing any number of entertaining and stimulating activities.
Explore this selection of free high school games that have received excellent reviews. There is a variety of subject matter, including social studies, science, and social and emotional learning. More significantly, the games aid in the development of a variety of abilities that students may apply both inside and outside of the classroom. Each game is intricate and engaging, providing situations that will undoubtedly test older pupils.
1. Thumbs up game
The first exercise is a well-known game from the classroom that high school students like playing. To begin, select three pupils and have them approach the front of the class. The ‘walkers’ are these students. Next, instruct everyone else to close their eyes, place their thumbs up on their desks, and do the same. The match may now start.
The three “walkers” will then circle the class and choose a single pupil by touching thumbs. A pupil should put their thumb down if their thumb is touched. The instructor should then instruct all pupils to “Wake up!” (open their eyes and sit up) once the three “walkers” have each picked one person to choose.
The three pupils whose thumbs were touched were instructed to stand up, and they were then instructed to identify which of the “walkers” had touched their thumb. They get to switch places with the “walker” if they make the right guess. If they make a mistake, they recline. Give each of the “walkers” a humorous name to make the game more enjoyable for high school pupils. This might be something absurd or the names of their preferred pop band, TV show, etc. Making the “walkers” make a comical noise or say something in a different voice as they touch another student’s thumb is another way to make it more entertaining.
2. Word Association Game
There are many word association game versions, but we have found that a version with a specific theme works well with high school pupils. To begin playing, select a topic. Asking the students for suggestions is an excellent method to achieve this. This can help you choose subjects that the kids are enthusiastic about, which is a wonderful approach to keep them motivated. Students may decide to discuss topics like “computer games,” “pop groups,” “types of food,” etc.
3. Geoguesser
Online game Geoguessr tests players’ geographic knowledge while also requiring analytical thinking and attention to detail. Students will be “dropped” into a random location in the globe and must use context clues, such as plants, different automobile kinds, companies, signs, and the general atmosphere, to figure out where they are. Additionally, many words—particularly those in various languages—will be obscured as an added obstacle. Teachers and students can play against each other as well as others worldwide!
4. Liar Game
The next activity may be utilized in practically any high school class and is fairly adaptable. You’ll need some ‘game cards’ in order to play. Small flashcards or cards generated from a text passage broken up into phrases can be used to teach reading or vocabulary, respectively. The cards used in this explanation will be numbers. Each student will get a set of six to eight game cards. The sequence in which the game cards will be played throughout the game must then be explained to the kids. Putting the order number on the top of the cards as you make them is a wonderful method to do this. Group the students in groups of 3/4 lastly.
Each 3/4 student in a group must first place all of their cards in the center and mix them all up. Then, depending on how many cards are in each set, they must each choose 6 or 8 at random, making sure not to reveal their selections to the other players. The match may now start. The game cards will be arranged facedown in the center by the students in the predetermined sequence.
Therefore, the first student should search through their deck of cards, locate the number 1 card, lay it face down in the center, and then declare “Number 1” (or whatever the word or text is on the number 1 card) aloud. The second student should then search through their cards, locate the card with the number 2, lay it down in the center, and announce, “Number 2.” The third card is then placed in the center by the following student. so on.
The amusing aspect of this game is that students could not have the right card to put in the middle because they initially selected random cards. Therefore, a pupil must lie if they don’t have the right card. They would pick any of their cards and act as though they were placing the right card in the middle in this scenario. The last card to be placed in the middle would then be turned over to see if the last student did, in fact, lie.
At any moment, if any of the other students suspect someone is lying, they might yell, “Liar!” If a pupil is found to be lying, they are required to take all the cards in the center. If a student is charged with lying but proves they are not, the accuser is required to pick up all the cards. The winner is the first student to discard all of the cards.
5. Minecraft Edu
It is a game-based learning platform that encourages innovation, teamwork, and problem-solving in a fully interactive online setting. Approximately 115 nations’ worth of instructors use Minecraft: Education Edition for all subject areas! With its instructional and interactive features, Minecraft: Education Edition helps teachers manage their classes and conduct formative assessments.
Minecraft: Education Edition offers countless options for discovery, storytelling, and digital learning in a variety of subjects, from computer science to mixed reality. Additionally, it aids in the development of crucial 21st-century competencies including teamwork, imaginative problem-solving, and digital citizenship.
6. BBC iReporter
The BBC iReporter, a browser-based game, is more like a journalist or reporter working at a news agency, as the name would imply. Users may experience their first day on the job with the news agency’s social media crew in the game’s choose-your-own-adventure mode. Their objective is to look into a breaking news story about a national social media uproar and compile updates in time for four daily newscasts.
They access news from many different sources, such as video conversations with coworkers, messages from parents, and, of course, various social media platforms. For accuracy, impact, and speed, they would gain or lose points. For students to study and experiment with information filtration and media interpretation amid breaking news events, it is a refreshingly contemporary method.
7. Parable of Polygons
The highly interactive internet game Parable of the Polygons encourages reflection and conversation on the relationship between prejudice and segregation. Based on Thomas Schelling’s 1971 article Dynamic Models of Segregation, it displays itself as an interactive blog post. Here, a theoretical idea is visually explored via the use of tiny, moveable figures that scowl or grin depending on how “happy” their “neighbourhood” makes them feel.
The shapes stand in for two distinct racial groups, and each interactive simulation illustrates how bias may cause people to make decisions that push others out of diverse neighbourhoods and contribute to further segregation.
We hope you found our selection of the best games for highschool students engaging and inspiring! Keep classes entertaining and students motivated with these stimulating activities. Happy teaching!
