Categories

Leaders listen to others and create opportunities for them to share their ideas. The teacher also notes that students will have the opportunity to become a leader during the activity, proposing others relevant and interesting ideas for the community. Then, the teacher explains that the main task of the participants during the “Category” activity will be to listen carefully to the leader - the host of the game: the host will name a certain category, and others will need to name the words that fit the proposed category (for example, food: apple, pizza, candy, etc.).

1. Choose one child, who is going to become the leader of the game and to stand in a circle. (The teacher and students can find and propose interesting ways how to choose the leader, e.g. by date / month of birthday, rolling a ball, nursery rhymes, etc.)
2. One person is the leader and names a category such as foods, animals, colors, etc. Then going around in a circle each student names something that fits in that category.
3. After a few students have named something, the leader calls out a new category. The next student in the circle must switch their thinking to name something that fits into the new category. After a few students have named something in that category, the leader announces a new category, and so on.
4. Choose a new leader after a few rounds of play. To add a challenge, play at a faster pace, or switch categories more frequently.

• When you were the leader, what was hard for during the activity? What was easy?
• When you were the follower, what was it like to name the words that could fit the category? Why?
• What strategies did you use during the activity? What might you do differently next time?
• When do you need to use leadership skills?
• When do you need to follow a leader?

For primary school students:

• Use Categories in between activities to help students transition to a new topic. Call out a category and select 3-5 students to name an item which fits in the category.
• Generate a list of categories for leaders before playing with students or use some simple categories “Edible/Inedible” to begin.
• Speed up the game by suggesting the leaders change categories more often.

For students in grades 5-6:

• Have the leaders choose categories that will be related to the educational disciplines and topics they are currently studying, such as: mammals, carnivores, algae, flowering plants, conifers, verbs, nouns, adjectives, whole numbers, decimals, etc.