Hocus Pocus

This game is about listening carefully as we count and remembering the right motion for a key number. When we practice will practice self-control, focus, and attention. If we practice these skills, we can organize our thinking and behavior to engage deeply in learning with each other.

1. Gather students in a circle. If online, determine an order before the game begins. For the first round, go around the circle and count to 10 so that each person counts one number.
2. After the tenth person has said “10,” the next person should say, “Hocus Pocus, everybody focus!”
3. Facilitate several rounds so that participants memorize the sequence of activities.
4. Suggest that students not call out a number but replace it with any movement. For example, instead of saying 5, have students clap their hands.

• What about this game was easy or hard for you?
• What strategies did you use? What might you do differently next time?
• When do you need to focus at home or at school?

For primary school students:

• To make the game easier for younger students, try shortening the phrase to just “Hocus Pocus” or only ask them to count to 5.
• Invite students to form teams and have one of the participants lead the game.

For students in grades 5-6:

• Invite students to create a tongue twister and complete the activity as a group or in teams.
• Create additional challenges that have an academic focus. For example, every time you get to a certain number, name something from a subject you’re studying, such as:
  • Country names
  • Capitals of different countries;
  • Regions of Ukraine;
  • Different kinds of angles;
  • Types of angles;
  • Minerals;
  • The main characters of works being studied;
  • Adverbs/ interjections/pronouns, etc
• Encourage the last student (i.e., the student who says “Hocus Pocus, Everybody Focus”) to make up the next challenge.