Getting To Know You Activity with Jenga

Playing Jenga in the classroom is my new favorite way to review and practice math and language skills. But, it doesn’t have to end there! You can also use Jenga as a fun back to school activity. On this post, I will share a getting to know you activity using Jenga with options to play this in small groups or as a whole class activity.

Amazon affiliate links provided if you wish to purchase the Jenga blocks mentioned on this post.

Getting to Know You Game Materials:

To have your students play this game, you will need the following::

Colored Jenga blocks —> I buy the precolored ones from Amazon here.

Getting to Know You Activity Directions —> available for free at the end of this post or click here to download.

Basic Directions for Playing:

This Jenga game is played differently than the other games I have shared on my blog (click here to see all of the Jenga games I have made and shared for free). For this game, the students will choose a colored block to remove (either by allowing them free choice or having them roll the dice included with most sets). The students will find the color in the table on the directions page. Then, they choose to read and share answer ONE of the three questions for that color.

The idea is that each time they choose the same color, they will answer a different question from the table.

Here are the actual student directions:

Directions: Choose a block to remove. Choose ONE question to answer that matches the color of the block that you want to remove. Repeat with each turn.

Here are just a few of the questions:

Tell about one of your hobbies.
What subject in school do you like the best?
What is your favorite memory from last school year?
What is your favorite movie?
What makes you laugh?
Do you have any pets? What kind?

Tips for Playing the Jenga Getting to Know You Activity in Small Groups:

Tip 1: Use this as an opportunity to each your expectations and any management concerns you have if you wish to have your students play Jenga throughout the year.

Tip 2: Have all of the students select their colors and then answer their questions right after each other before anyone moves a piece. Then have the students take turns moving their pieces. This will keep all of the students on-task, which will cut down on behavior problems.

Tip 3: If possible, keep your group sizes small, around 4 members. If you have multiple Jenga games, then you can have several games going on at a time. If you only have one Jenga game, then you could play this game at your teacher table or place it in a center. Having larger group sizes causes the Jenga to fall more quickly and less time is spent on the actual getting to know you activity.

Want to Play the Jenga Activity as a Whole Class?

Here are some suggestions if you want to do this as a whole class getting to know you activity.

1. Choose a student to roll or choose a color. Have that student choose a question from the printable. Have the students answer that question in their tables or groups. Then, have the original student move a Jenga piece. Repeat until all of the students have moved a piece (rebuilding the Jenga tower as needed).

2. Choose a student to roll or choose a color and then a question. Have that student answer the question to the class and choose a few other students to answer the question. Then have the original student move a colored piece from the Jenga set. Repeat until all of the students have moved a piece (rebuilding the Jenga tower as needed).

How Can I Get this Getting to Know You Jenga Activity for FREE?

Click here to download the Getting to Know You Activity Printable.

Want more activities for back to school?