Ring of Learning activity
By Charlie Monk at Henley Fort
An exciting, competitive but fun game that incorporates many areas of the curriculum and can be played with a variety of ages with questions adapted accordingly.
Suitable for
Any age, but Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 focussed
Curriculum areas covered
Maths, English, Science, Physical Education, Geography consolidation. The activity can be changed based on knowledge covered in school, age and ability.
Duration
Variable length depending upon number of participants
Safety:
When blindfolded, take extra care to monitor and keep safe.
What is needed:
- Two or more people
- A standard deck of cards
- A hand drawn map of the house/rooms/garden (whatever area you want to work in)
- A beanbag/ball/not breakable item
- A box/pot/tub
- Something to use as a blindfold (eg. A scarf)
How to play:
Make a ring of playing cards in the centre of the table. Going around the table, one at a time, each player takes a card. Each card represents a challenge or question to answer. A player is given a forfeit if the task is incomplete or if the answer given is incorrect. You can decide on what those forfeits could be for example: star jumps, push ups, laps around an area, hands on head/above head for a period of time… etc. AND/OR you can make it competitive and assign points, keeping score of the activity.
These are the card challenges and questions, but you can make your own changes to different topics and challenges:
Ace: The Water Cycle
For each ace pulled from the card ring, one section of the water cycle must be given.
Answer: Evaporation, condensation, precipitation, then the order they go in (as stated, but can start at any point in the cycle). To make it easier for those who are younger, this can be changed to Sea, sun, clouds & rain.
Two: Literacy - Spelling
Set some spelling words! Choose a few spellings per card. Some national curriculum examples can be found on pages 16 and 23 of this National Curriculum document
Three: Numeracy
Set some maths problems to solve. These should include adding, subtracting, dividing and multiplying, and depend on the age of participants. Some simple examples:
- 7x7=49
- 5-3=2
- 6-7=-1
- 30/5=6
- 83+27 = 110
These can be made more complicated by using fractions, decimals, or converting units of measurement. For example:
* If there are 14 pounds in a stone, how many pounds are there in 8 stone?
* How many minutes are there in a day?
* How many seconds are there in a day?
Four: Geography
The player must find Questions can be changed based on subjects studied in school. An example question:
- Name one of the countries that is in the United Kingdom
This question can be asked four times (one for each number four card pulled out), with no repeated answers allowed. Answer: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales. To make this harder participants can be asked the capital city of the answer they give. Answer; England= London, Northern Ireland= Belfast, Scotland= Edinburgh, Wales= Cardiff.
Five: Scavenger Hunt
The player must find and bring back a specified object. For example, a pen, a blade of grass, a leaf, a notebook, etc. Or, you could hide four rewards (eg. Some popcorn or biscuits) around the house and the person who picks the card has to find one of the rewards using "hotter" or "colder" to help them. This is a good listening and following instructions task.
Six: Healthy Eating – 5 a day
For the first number six playing card pulled out, name 5 fruits, for the second, name 5 vegetables. Repeat for the next two cards. This can make it trickier, as options have already been used. No repeats allowed!
Seven: Food Chains
The player is given a list of animals. They have to put them in order of the food chain. Make sure they are given in a randon order. In the correct order, as an example:
- Lettuce – Rabbit – Fox
- Leaf – Caterpillar – Bird – Cat
- Plankton – Krill – Whale
- Grass – Antelope – Lion
- Seed – Chicken – Fox
Eight: Blindfold Trust Challenge
The person who picked the card is blindfolded. They have to trust and follow the instructions of someone else (make it someone who can be responsible and safe) to complete a challenge. If the challenge is completed successfully, both the guide and the blindfolded person share the success (for example, with both receiving points). If the task is unsuccessful, both get a forfeit or lose points. This teaches trust and teamwork, as well as listening and following instruction skills.
Examples of challenges:
* The blindfolded person is directed to pick up a bean bag from the floor, walk with it and follow directions to drop it into a box/tub.
* Weaving through objects (such as chairs in the garden) without touching them.
* Getting an item of food out of the fridge and bringing it back
* Finding an item of clothing in a drawer/wardrobe and bringing it back.
Nine: Rhyming Circle
The person who picks up the card chooses a word. Everyone else goes around the circle saying a rhyme for that word. No repeats or half rhymes allowed. The first person who can't come up with a rhyme gets the forfeit/loses points.
Ten: Category Links
The person who picks the card chooses a category – football teams, cartoon characters, car brands, animals, etc. Going around the circle, everyone must come up with something within that category. If they falter, or say something that isn't within the category, it's a forfeit/lost points.
Jack: Rule of Shapes
Follow the rules to draw a shape, given by another player. The player who chooses the card has to draw the shape. For example, the rule could be: "This shape has four sides. After you draw it, you must name the shape you draw."
This can be made harder by adding more rules. For example: Draw a shape with three sides, two of which are equal length (isosceles triangle).
If you have older children/adults joining in, maybe set a challenge of a 3D shape, such as one with 6 faces, like a cube.
Queen: Question Master
The person who picked up the card gets to think of a question to ask everyone else. This can either be a team question for everyone OR a question each. The question MUST be based on a school subject, such as science or geography.
If the question(s) are answered incorrectly, the person asking the question gets a point/those questioned do a forfeit. If the question(s) are answered correctly, those with correct answers get a point/the questioner gets a forfeit.
King: Treasure Hunt
If a King is pulled out of the pack, the first three players to pull out a King card will be given objects to hide around the house/garden. You will need to use a map of the area (this can be a very simple, hand-drawn map of one or two rooms/the garden). Every time a player hides an item, they must mark on the map roughly where it is. The last player to pull out a king must go and find all three objects, using the map, and bring them back.
The individual with the most points is the winner!!
Don't forget to post a picture on our social media of the group you played this with and tell us what you enjoyed most!