Unleashing Creativity: 20+ fun whiteboard games

August 19, 2023

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Whiteboards are a great tool for interactive learning and play. Not only do they offer a space for creativity and expression, but they also provide a dynamic platform for games that can be adapted to suit various grade levels. These whiteboard games are an easy way to elevate student engagement and team building, providing educators and activity coordinators a great opportunity to merge fun with learning.

Whiteboard Drawing Games

  • Benefit: Enhances creativity and visual comprehension.

Pictionary: A classic game where team members guess what the first student is drawing.

whiteboard games

How to play:

  • Divide students into small teams.
  • The first player from a team selects a secret word from a piece of paper or card.
  • Using whiteboard markers, the player draws the word on the board without using actual words or numbers.
  • The team has a set amount of time to guess the word. The team with the highest score at the end of the game wins.

Story Picture Chain:

  • Benefit: Boosts imagination and sequential thinking.

How to play

  • A teacher or student starts by drawing a simple object or character on one corner of the board.
  • The next student adds another drawing that connects to or evolves the story from the previous drawing.
  • Continue until a chain of drawings forms a collaborative story across the board.

Mystery Dot-to-Dot:

  • Benefit: Enhances counting skills and reveals a surprise drawing.

How to play

whiteboard games
  • Draw dots on the board in the shape of a familiar object or character, but without connecting them.
  • Number the dots in the sequence they should be connected.
  • Ask students to come up and connect the dots in order, revealing the mystery picture.

Integrating drawing games like these into learning activities not only hones the artistic skills of students but also stimulates their creativity and cognitive development in a fun way.

Whiteboard Word Games

  • Benefit: Boosts vocabulary and encourages quick thinking.

Word Ladder Game: An interactive whiteboard game where students transform one word into another by changing one letter at a time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQKibfYJ10U

How to play:

  • Write a starting word and an ending word on the board.
  • Players take turns changing one letter to form a new word until they reach the end word.
  • The goal of the game is to reach the end word in the smallest number of steps.

Hangman:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGOeiQfjYPk&ab_channel=TripleSGames

A classic whiteboard game where students guess the correct letter to unveil a word.

How to play:

  • One student thinks of a word and draws a series of boxes, one for each letter.
  • The other students guess letters. If they guess right, the first student fills in the correct letter in the right place. If wrong, a part of the hangman figure is drawn.
  • The object of the game is to guess the word before the hangman is fully drawn.

Whiteboard Word Snake:

  • Benefit: Boosts vocabulary and encourages quick thinking based on word endings and beginnings.

How to play

  • Write a word vertically starting from the top of the board.
  • The next student must add another word starting with the last letter of the previous word, writing it horizontally and connecting to the vertical word.
  • Continue this pattern, with each new word branching off the last letter of the previous word.
  • The game ends when a certain time limit is reached or when it becomes too challenging to add new words.

Hidden Word Challenge:

whiteboard games
  • Benefit: Enhances observation skills and word recognition.

How to play

  • Write a long word or a set of letters horizontally across the board.
  • Ask students to find and circle smaller words within the given set of letters.
  • The student or team that finds the most words within a set time limit wins.

Incorporating word games into learning activities can be a great way to enhance vocabulary, spelling skills, and cognitive agility in a dynamic, interactive environment.

Magnetic Whiteboard Games

  • Benefit: Develops motor skills and strategic thinking.

Whiteboard Tic Tac Toe: A fun way to play the popular game using magnetic game pieces.

How to play:

  • Draw a grid with two vertical lines and two horizontal lines.
  • Two players take turns placing their magnetic pieces (X or O) on the board.
  • The first player to get three of their marks in a row (up, down, across, or diagonally) wins.

Word Match Games: Matching words or images using magnetic pieces.

How to play:

  • Write a series of words or draw images on magnetic pieces.
  • Scramble them and place them in a random order on the board.
  • Players take turns finding pairs that match or relate in some way.

Magnetic Fishing:

  • Benefit: Develops motor skills and introduces basic counting or categorization.

How to play

  • Place magnetic fish of different colors or types onto the board.
  • Create a simple fishing rod using a stick, string, and a small magnet.
  • Ask toddlers to “fish” for specific colors or types of fish.
  • They can also count the number of fish they’ve caught or sort them into categories.

Race to the Finish:

  • Benefit: Encourages turn-taking and understanding of basic game mechanics.

How to play

  • Draw a simple racetrack or path on the board.
  • Use magnetic game pieces as stand-ins for cars or characters.
  • Students take turns rolling a die or spinning a spinner (can be done on the side) and move their piece the indicated number of spaces.
  • The aim is to reach the finish line first.

Magnetic whiteboard games offer a tactile and visual learning experience, making them especially effective for younger learners or those who benefit from hands-on activities. They’re a wonderful way to make lessons interactive and dynamic.

Fun Whiteboard Games

  • Benefit: Encourages team collaboration and critical thinking.

Whiteboard Relay Race: A competitive game where teams race to answer questions on the board.

How to play:

  • Divide the students into small groups.
  • One member from each team races to the board to answer a question.
  • The next student can only go once the first returns to their seat. The first team to answer all questions wins.

Whiteboard Scavenger Hunt: A great game that can be adapted for any lesson plan.

 

How to play:

  • Hide various images or words around the classroom.
  • Give teams a list of clues. They need to find the items and write/draw them on the board.
  • The first team to find all items and list them correctly on the board wins.

Whiteboard Taboo:

 

Benefit: Improves vocabulary and quick thinking while avoiding taboo words.

  • How to play:
    • Prepare cards with a word at the top and 3-5 related taboo words below.
    • Divide students into teams. A member from the first team draws a card and describes the main word without using the taboo words or any gestures.
    • The team tries to guess the word within a set time limit. Points are awarded for each correct answer.
    • Rotate turns between teams. The team with the highest number of points wins.

Whiteboard Jeopardy:

Benefit: Mimics a TV game show format to test knowledge across various subjects.

How to play:

  • Create a grid with categories at the top and point values (10, 20, 30, etc.) below.
  • Behind each point value, have a question related to the category.
  • Teams take turns choosing a category and point value. Answering correctly earns them points.
  • At the end of the game, the team with the highest score wins.

Whiteboard Charades

Benefit: Encourages creativity and non-verbal communication skills.

How to play:

  • Prepare cards with words or phrases.
  • A student picks a card and then draws it on the board without using any letters or numbers.
  • Classmates try to guess what it is. The correct guesser gets to draw next.

Word Association Chain:

Benefit: Boosts vocabulary and associative thinking.

How to play:

  • A student writes a word on the board.
  • The next student writes a word associated with the previous word.
  • The chain continues, with each new word being associated with the last. If a student can’t think of a word or repeats a word, they’re out. Last student remaining wins.

Whiteboard Word Search:

Benefit: Enhances pattern recognition and spelling skills.

How to play:

  • An instructor or a student creates a word search on the board, incorporating various words related to a topic.
  • Students come up individually or in teams to circle words they find.
  • The student or team that finds the most words in a set amount of time wins.

Interactive whiteboard games for toddlers

Animal Match-Up:

whiteboard games
  • Benefit: Enhances recognition of animals and their sounds.

How to play:

  • Draw various animals on one side of the board.
  • On the other side, place pictures of the sounds they make (like “Moo” for a cow).
  • Ask toddlers to draw lines connecting the animal to its sound.

Shape Dance:

  • Benefit: Helps with shape recognition and encourages physical activity.

How to play:

  • Draw different basic shapes on the board, such as circles, squares, and triangles.
  • Play a song and call out a shape.
  • Toddlers dance and then rush to touch the called-out shape when the music stops.

Color Wheel:

  • Benefit: Teaches color recognition and sorting.

How to play

  • Draw a big circle divided into different segments.
  • Use colored magnetic pieces or drawings of colored objects.
  • Ask toddlers to place the objects or magnets in the segment that matches their color.

Weatherboard:

  • Benefit: Introduces toddlers to different weather patterns.

How to play:

  • Draw or use magnetic pictures of sun, rain, snow, and clouds.
  • Present a real-life photo depicting a weather condition.
  • Ask toddlers to match the photo with the correct weather drawing or magnet on the board.

Fruit & Veggie Harvest:

  • Benefit: Improves recognition of various fruits and vegetables.

How to play:

  • Draw a garden scene on the board.
  • Use magnetic pieces or drawings of different fruits and veggies.
  • Call out a fruit or vegetable name.
  • Toddlers pick the right piece and “plant” it in the garden by placing it on the board.

Incorporating these interactive whiteboard games can create an engaging and fun learning environment for toddlers, boosting their cognitive development and recognition skills.

Creative whiteboard games

Imaginary Landscapes:

whiteboard games
  • Benefit: Encourages creativity, storytelling, and geographical understanding.

How to play

  • Start by drawing a basic landscape feature on the board like a mountain, river, or island.
  • Ask the next student to come up and add another feature or detail, expanding on the landscape.
  • Continue with each student building on the previous student’s drawing.
  • At the end, collectively create a story or history about this newly drawn imaginary world.

Emoji Stories:

  • Benefit: Enhances interpretative skills and encourages creativity in storytelling.

How to play

  • Draw or use magnets of several emoji faces on one side of the board.
  • On the opposite side, draw or list different scenarios or objects.
  • Students pick one emoji and one scenario, and then create a short story or scene combining the two.

Whiteboard Movie Pitch:

  • Benefit: Boosts creativity, public speaking skills, and encourages imaginative thinking.

How to play

  • Write down different movie genres (e.g., comedy, drama, sci-fi) on small pieces of paper and place them in a hat.
  • Students draw a genre from the hat.
  • Using the whiteboard, they quickly sketch out a main scene or poster for their movie idea in that genre.
  • Each student then presents their “movie pitch” to the class, explaining the plot, characters, and why it would be a hit.

Creative whiteboard games provide students with a unique opportunity to think outside the box, develop their storytelling abilities, and foster their imaginative capacities in a fun and interactive manner.

Whiteboard games offer an exciting array of options for both fun and learning. They are a great way to integrate interactive display activities in your lesson plans, promoting student engagement, and making learning more dynamic.

Whether you’re an English teacher, a business meeting coordinator, or just looking for fun group activities, whiteboards offer a plethora of possibilities. So, grab your dry-erase markers and let the games begin!

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