A simple team challenge that turns almost any set of questions into a collaborative game. Students must work together to guide a marker using only the strings attached to it, while answering one-word questions as quickly as they can. It’s an easy game to learn, gets students talking and working together, and gives teachers a chance to see who knows the answers—even when the quieter students are whispering them to their teammates.

Best for:

• Vocabulary and content review

• One-word-answer questions

• Formative assessment

• Team building

• Beginning-of-year activities

• Brain breaks with an academic twist

Time: 10–15 minutes
Group Size: Small teams of 3–5 students
Grade Levels: Upper Elementary through High School

Why It Works:

• Makes teamwork necessary. No one student can control the marker; students have to communicate and coordinate to write the answer together.

• Makes student thinking visible. As teams discuss their answers, teachers can listen for who knows the content, who is unsure, and who quietly supplies the correct answer to the group.

• Creates an easy entry point for collaboration. The rules are simple, making this a great early team-building activity while students are still getting to know one another.

• Gives quieter students another way to contribute. Students don't have to speak in front of the whole class to demonstrate what they know; their ideas can emerge naturally within their team.

• Adds challenge without complicated rules. Even when students know the answer, they still have to work together to actually write it—which is where the fun comes in.