5 Minute Game: Categories

Here is a quick no-prep game for any elementary classroom: Categories!

It helps teach vocabulary, parts of speech, geography, & critical and creative thinking.

This product includes a one-page instruction sheet including the skills taught, different player configurations, rules, a sample round, and extension ideas.

This game requires NO PREP and NO MATERIALS other than writing implements. I suggest whiteboards to save paper.

Grades to Use With:

This game can be used in any elementary classroom (grades K-8). It is great for the following uses:

·       - Morning/home-room warm-up

·       - TOC back-up activity

·       - To fill the 5 minutes before lunch or the end of the day

·       - As a reward for small-group or one-to-one tutoring

Categories Rules: Start by writing 5 categories from the following options on the board: animals, cities, verbs, fruits, toys, pet names, countries, adjectives, beverages, colours, holidays, vehicles, movies, kitchen tools, flowers, books. Then choose one letter of the alphabet. Students get two minutes to think of a word for each category staring with that letter.

Sample Round:

Categories:

-Cities

-Pet names

-Adjectives

-Kitchen tools

-Colors

Letter: R

Sample answers: Riga, Rover, Rosy, Rice Maker, Red

If you want to make the game extra challenging for older students, you can award points ONLY for unique answers. For example, everyone who says "red" for a colour starting with R does not get a point, but the one person who saw "rose" does get a point.

If you like this 5-minute game, check out the other ones in my store:

Guess My Number Game

The Rhyme Game

The 4-Letter Word Game

I also have lots of intermediate math games too:

Math Matching Games; 8 Sets of Math Fact Cards

Perimeter of Complex Shapes: Math Strategy Game

Credit Score Boardgame

One-page game instructions for Categories (PDF)