Odds and Evens

Sometimes you finish a lesson a little early and there are five extra minutes left before recess or lunch. Five minutes is too much time to waste, but too little time to start another lesson. I think that it is a good idea to have productive energizer games ready on the fly when there is a bit of extra time. One energizer game that my 3rd grade students liked is called odds and evens. Students stand up and walk around the room until I say stop. The person they are standing next to is their partner. Between the partners the students decide who gets to be odds and who is evens. Then the students say "one, two, three," (in rock, paper, scissors fashion) and hold out a number with their fingers on one hand. They take the two numbers and multiply them together. If the product is odd, then the odd person gets a point. If the product is even, then the even person gets a point. The person with the most points wins. After a few tries with one partner have the students find a new partner and play again. This game could be adapted for younger grades by have the kids add instead of multiply.
My students liked to play this game. It was a good way for them to get up and move around, it filled up the time gaps that I encountered, and it gave my students a chance to practice their multiplication.