On the first day of school or the first day of an after-school activity, if there’s one thing a teacher or instructor hopes to achieve it’s to energize their students and break the ice. The awkwardness on the first day lies in the fact that these kids aren’t familiar with one another.
Well, what better way to get them pumped up than an icebreaker game? And what better icebreaker game than the One Duck game?
Features of the One Duck Game
| ★ Game Name | One Duck |
| ★ Group size | small and medium |
| ★ Age | any (8+) |
| ★ Type | stationary |
| ★ Skill | memory / reaction / acting |
| ★ Place | indoor and outdoor |
| ★ Time | up to 5 – 15 min |
| ★ Preparation | no |
| ★ Materials | no |
Aim of the Game
The rules of the game are easy to understand, but the game in itself is made to be as challenging as it possibly can for the entire group. The One Duck game aims to have students constantly on their feet as they chant a sentence by breaking it up into parts for each player as the circle moves along.
However, each time the circle completes one turn, the next round is taken up a notch by having kids either repeating stanzas or chanting an alternate version of the first sentence.
The fact that the way the game is played varies with each level is what keeps kids focused and energized. Similarly, the tempo of the entire game is increased with each succeeding level thereby raising their energy levels through the roof!
Group Size and Age
The best part about the One Duck game is that you can include as large a group as you want based on the sentence you’re working with. However, you wouldn’t want the game to be any more confusing than necessary.
This game is best played amongst adults and children that are at least 8 years old.
Preparation and Materials Needed
With the One Duck game, you don’t need to have a lot of materials or stationery at hand. It’s a fun-filled group activity that requires nothing but a whole lot of enthusiastic students!
To prepare for the game, explain the rules, and indicate changes made to the sentence with each succeeding level. Make sure you’re clear and audible to avoid any confusion.
How to Play the One Duck game
Here’s how you play the One Duck game:
Step 1: Divide the class into groups of not more than eight students.
Step 2: Have them stand in a circle.
Step 3: Explain the rules to them.
Step 4: You might want to kick things off to give the kids an example of how the game is played.
Step 5: Go with any sentence you want.
For example; ‘One. Duck. Fell in. The pond. Kaplunk!’ or ‘One. Duck. Two. Legs. Quack’.
Here we have four parts of the sentence and you can have a minimum of four and a maximum of eight students in one circle. As the game goes on, you can have kids repeat certain parts of the sentence and so forth with each level.
Step 6: Have each player say the next phase of the sentence.
For example:
Player 1 says – One
Player 2 says – Duck.
Player 3 says – Fell in.
Player 4 says – The pond.
Player 5 says – Kaplunk!
Step 7: After level one, ask the students to increase their speed and increase the difficulty of the game. For example; you could switch it up in the next round by having kids say the phrase ‘one duck’ and other words twice.
Step 8: Go for as much as it takes until there’s only one person left in the game.
For example, let’s say we have 7 players:
1st round:
Player 1 says – One.
Player 2 says – Duck.
Player 3 says – Fell in.
Player 4 says – The pond.
Player 5 says – Kaplunk!
2nd round starts with
Player 6 says – Two
Player 7 says – Ducks.
Player 1 says – Ducks.
Player 2 says – Fell in.
Player 3 says – Fell in.
Player 4 says – The pond.
Player 5 says – The pond.
Player 6 says – Kaplunk!
Player 7 says – Kaplunk!
3d round starts with
Player 1 says – Three.
Player 2 says – Ducks.
Player 3 says – Ducks.
Player 4 says – Ducks.
Player 5 says – Fell in.
Player 6 says – Fell in.
Player 7 says – Fell in.
etc.