King (Queen) For a Bit!
| Target: | commands | orders choice consensus kinaesthetic |
| Age: | elementary aged and up | |
| Duration: | around 5 minutes | |
| Class Size: | any | |
| Energy Level: | varies | |
| Type: | physical | |
| Equipment: | timer or music, throne, crown |
King (Queen) for a Bit is an extension of Twenty Twenty. Although Twenty Twenty works better with large classes it often becomes impossible to hear the commands as they are all shouted out at once. Also some children are more vocal than others and I think it's good to encourage everyone to give a command.
Choose around four children to be Kings and Queens. They can sit on chairs or be given hats or crowns to wear to indicate their royal status. Start a timer or use a piece of music.
The Kings and Queens consult with each other and then all call out a command together. Make sure they do call out the command together. In this way quieter children may gain confidence in numbers. Everyone else obeys the command.
The kings and queens continue to voice commands in unison until their time is up. Then select some new kings and queens.
When children are familiar with the structure of the game it is possible to have two groups of kings and queens. The groups can sit at opposite ends of the room with the 'common people' in the middle. The common people can obey which ever group shouts the loudest (though I have seen groups take turns).
With very small classes it's possible to have individual kings and queens but then children should definitely feel free to avoid being a king and queen if they wish to do so.
Finally you might like to introduce the phrase, "No way!" This can be used to avoid doing 'unreasonable' commands!
There is some music for this activity. You can download it by clicking on the link below.
