Simon Says…..but differently
Primary
Mario Rinvolucri, Pilgrims, UK
Tell the students that you are going to give them some movement commands and ask them to all stand up.
If you tell them: Simon says sit down! they instantly obey.
If you say: Sit down! then no one is to move…. If they do, they are out of the game.
If you say: O'Grady says sit down! they have to obey as fast as they can.
If you say: Lazy Mary says comb your hair! they obey but very slowly and sleepily.
If you say: Rumpelstiltskins says comb your hair" they do the opposite, they rumple It.
Here is a sequence you can try out with your class.
Simon says stand up!
Lazy Mary says move the chairs to the side of the room!
O'Grady says stand in three lines facing me!
Sit down! (some students will make a move to obey and they are out of the game)
O'Grady says brush your hair!
Rumpelstiltskins says brush your hair? ( students rumple it )
Brush your hair!
Lazy Mary says brush your hair!
Two steps forward, March!
Simon says two steps forward!
Rumpelstiltskins says two steps forward!
O'Grady says get your chairs and sit down in three rows!
Stand up!
Rumpelstitskins says sit down!
Lazy Mary says sit down.
O'Grady says shut your eyes.
Open them!
Simon says open them… . etc……
Variation: Use different names to have students do things in other ways:
Eg: sadly
jerkily
happily
as if an old person
as if a baby
humbly
arrogantly…..etc…
Comment: It makes sense to take an old exercise, brush it down and give it
new life. Dictation, Cambridge, 1986, is the result of Paul Davis and
me doing just this with that venerable technique. Making a book out of
Simon Says might be stretching it, though …..!
Please check the Primary Methodology course at Pilgrims website.
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