It’s that time of year again when students and teachers alike return to their classrooms, entering a new grade level with new challenges. But before teachers can jump right into their lesson plans, it is important for them to get to know their students, and for the children to get to know their classmates. Fostering an exciting, welcoming environment in the classroom will help students feel more at ease and comfortable with their surroundings, so that they can later better focus on their learning objectives. Cooperative learning activities are a great way to get each student to actively participate. Check out these Kinems games that students can play together to break the ice!

U-Paint is a sensory learning game where up to six students can paint simultaneously on an interactive canvas. With various landscape backgrounds and sounds, students can immerse themselves into their art, as well as work together with their new classmates. Students can either play as preset avatars, or as themselves with each child’s image appearing on screen. U-Paint is a great activity to introduce new students to the Kinems platform, as well as shake away those first day nerves.

Seishin is another sensory learning game that engages students in making music together. Up to three students can play at once, with as many as six musical strings to “strum” on screen. Together, students use their hands to play various melodies in a relaxing, stress free environment.

Do Like puts a new spin on the classic game, Simon Says. The student playing appears on screen, with the option of either playing with or without an avatar. Students are given audio and visual instructions to imitate a movement based on the teacher’s chosen settings. Do Like is a great game to get students out of their chairs and on their feet, while also practicing specific body movements. The customizable game play allows teachers and therapists to select which parts of the body the exercises should target, with a range of motions and postures to choose from. Do Like improves children’s fine motor control, body awareness, and balance. As with all Kinems’ games, detailed progress reports are generated at the conclusion of each activity. Do Like shows each position the student was asked to imitate as either successful or unsuccessful, with the amount of time it took to perform.

While U-Paint and Seishin aren’t games with right and wrong responses, the reports provide information on the participation of each individual student. The duration of the entire game play is recorded, as well as how long each individual student was active during the session. This information allows teachers to be aware of which students were most engaged, as well as which ones were more reserved or exhibited feelings of shyness. Since all students are different, some may need more encouragement or reassurance in order to feel comfortable in participating. Kinems aims to have every student feeling engaged and actively participating in the classroom.

Don’t forget to check out Kinems Academy for more interactive games that address specific Common Core goals to include in your lesson plans!