High School Games to Help Learn About Nature
High school students are on a different level than elementary students, especially when it comes to forms of entertainment. It is nice to give them a break from the monotony of books and papers with a game, but that game should be carefully selected and organized. You do not want your students to feel like children or to become bored, because they will not learn anything.
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Quiz Games
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Quiz games are the easiest way to get high school students to learn about history. Not only will they get the information, but they can also show their peers how much they know about certain aspects of nature. The best way to set it up would be in teams, making sure everyone gets a turn. Give them categories, such as "Rainforest Plants" or "Birds of Prey" and then assign each question a value. Whoever gets the answer correct the first time gets that value for her team. Whichever team wins after all the questions are used, or the end of the class period, gets a prize. You could also set the game up so the teams have to write down as many aspects of a certain subject, such as "Cactus" or "Livestock," as possible within 30 seconds. Whichever team has the most that fit, without repetitions, wins.
Guessing Games
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High school students can feel like they're solving a puzzle when they correctly guess an answer in a guessing game. They have to piece clues together, think about it and figure it out. Each student is usually competing against the others to ensure he gets the answer first. Write down different plants, minerals or animals on small pieces of paper the shape of cards. Give one card to each student. Do not let the students look at their cards. Have the students stick their own cards to their heads, with the word facing out to the other students. Each student must then guess what he is by asking questions of the other students. You can also give each student a card and then that student can give nature-related hints to the class about what his card says. For example, if the student has a card that says "robin," that student can say "I show up in the spring," not "I am a famous sidekick." The student has five chances to get the other students to guess correctly. The student is not allowed to say the name of the item until someone else guesses it correctly.
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Searching Games
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Nothing gets students more excited for class than learning they will not be stuck in the classroom during the class period. You can send them outside, which they will love or to the library, which is still a welcome change of pace for them.
So, have the students participate in a scavenger hunt so the class period is still educational. The students can act in pairs or individually. This can be done in two different ways. Write down a list of scientific names of plants, rocks and animal items (i.e., the nest of a cyanocitta cristata [blue jay]). The students then have to go outside and find what is on the list. At the end of the class period, whoever marked down the most items wins. You can also set up a research scavenger hunt. Write down a list of nature-related questions and send the students to the library. Whoever answers the most questions correctly by the end of the class period wins.
Party-Style Games
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High school students like to interact with one another, learn more about one another and occasionally see one of their peers mess up or act the fool. Party-style games are a good way to incorporate all of that into one class period. You can use a number of party-style games to teach about nature. Once again, the students should be divided into teams. You can have the students play charades, as long as they are not too shy to get up in front of the class and act like an elephant or show how they are an amoeba. Charades does not have to be about points. It can just be for the fun of it. You can also do drawing. A student draws a card and then proceeds to draw a picture on the chalkboard. It could be a sloth or an orchid. The drawer is allowed to give two hints. The team must guess in the allotted amount of time.
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References
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