Slap Count + Say 21 and Win Brain Break

One of "BRAIN BREAKS" readers sent in a great suggestion as a comment. Greg Farmer - Traverse City Central High suggested that we combine "Say 21 and win" and "Slap Count". What a great idea! I tried it yesterday and it was terrific. The students loved the competition feature and it got them to cross the midline as well.

Here are the rules.

1. Stand up and find a partner. Decide who is A and who is B.
2. The goal is to be the person to say the number 21 while slap counting. Slap counting is when you have your hands out and palms up and the one who says a number crosses over and slaps the other persons hand.
3. You will alternately say and slap count consecutive numbers starting at one until someone says 21. However, at your turn you have your choice of saying only one number or two numbers at a time.
4. For example, if person A just finished their turn and said “7”, then person B could either say just “8” or “8” then “9”.
5. Person A will start counting at “1”.

See the video.

Thanks Greg Farmer for a great suggestion. I love it.

Slap Count Brain Break

Slap Count

Face each other with your palms up.

Person A should take their right hand and cross over and hit person B’s right hand and say 1

Then person A should take their left hand and cross over and hit person B’s left hand and say 2

Person B does the same except says 3 and 4.

This repeats until you reach 30.

Variations

Go up by 3’s 5’s, or any number.

Start at a number and go down by another number (like start at 34 and go down by 3’s)

Start at one and double each number

Each person spells their own name or any other vocabulary from class

Make a pattern like the left hand always adds 2 and the right hand always adds 3

Each person spells a word. Both try to figure out the other person’s word.

Thanks to Jean Blaydes Madigan for this idea