CLASSROOM GAMES TO GET YOU THROUGH THE LAST STRETCH OF THE SCHOOL YEAR
Tech and no-tech options that are super easy to fill the time for this last month or so before summer
May hits and we all know what that means. Students are antsy, you're running on fumes, and all the stuff that used to work in October are now falling flat.
The move isn't to white-knuckle it and hand out packets until the last day. Let’s just redirect this antsy energy towards something genuinely fun, that builds community, and something that doesn't require you to perform enthusiasm you don't have right now.
Here are the games that actually work. With tech and no-tech options- because I know everyone's working with something a little different.
if you want to use your classroom tech: JACKBOX TV
Jackbox games are party games played on a shared screen. Every student uses their phone as a controller - no app download, no account needed. Just go to jackbox.tv, enter a room code, and they're in.
Here's why it works specifically for a high school classroom: students who don't want to play can still vote. This matters more than it sounds. Jackbox lets them stay in the room and get their giggles in without having to play the game.
The best games for a high school class:
Quiplash - Students write funny answers to prompts and vote for their favorites. Zero prep. Wildly entertaining. You can use custom questions to make it content-relevant if you want, but honestly it works fine without that.
Fibbage - Players write believable fake facts to fool each other, then vote on the truth. Creative, a little competitive, and you can upload your own questions.
Drawful - Students draw and others guess what they drew. It's chaos and always a class favorite.
One thing to do before you launch: turn on family-friendly mode and adjust the audience content filter. A few games also let you disable user-generated content entirely, which is worth considering depending on your class.
Pull it up on the projector, crank the volume if you can and have a blast.
If You're Going No-Tech: Three Games That Deliver
Who's the Leader?
One student steps outside. The class picks a secret leader who starts a repetitive motion - tapping their head, rolling their shoulders - and everyone follows. The leader slowly changes the motion, the class keeps up, and the student outside comes back and tries to guess who's leading in two or three guesses.
It sounds simple. But it creates this genuinely tense, funny, collaborative moment where the whole class has to be subtle together. They commit to it harder than you'd expect. Best for warming up a dragging morning class or waking up last period when everyone's already mentally gone.
Six Degrees of Separation
Display two random words at the front of the room - something like Taco and Polar Bear. Students connect them in six steps or less using word associations.
Taco → Lettuce → Green → Grass → Tundra → Polar Bear
Students can work individually or in pairs. Optional: pick a student judge who decides which connection path was the most creative each round. Best for warming up creative thinking before a writing assignment or discussion - also great for English learners who love the word-play angle.
Scattergories via Swellgarfo
Go to swellgarfo.com/scattergories and pull it up at the front of the room. The site generates a letter and a list of categories - students write one answer per category that starts with that letter. That's it.
A few tips: take a photo of the categories before time runs out because they disappear at the end of the round. Adjust the timer as needed. Students can play solo or in pairs. Best for warming up before group work - you can intentionally group students after the game so they've already had a fun moment together before you hand them the actual task.
Why This Matters in the Last Stretch
Games in May are what keep the room feeling like a community. Nobody wants to work on that DBQ - but it feels a little less torturous when you've warmed up with something that made everyone laugh first.
When students feel like a group - when they've laughed together, competed a little, figured something out together - they show up differently for everything else that follows. And at the very least, you got some laughs in. That counts for something in May.
Drea