Submitted by Tami Mangusso, Aurora, Colorado

Idea posted June 15, 2010

I've always played the Swat Game with laying cards on the floor. I have the cards scattered all over the floor. I have never organized them into a grid (e.g., 4 x 4). My students either sit in a big circle on the floor and the cards are in the middle of the circle, or they sit on the risers. I call two students at a time. The one who swats the correct card first stays up and the other student goes and sits down. Then, I call another student.

When I play using rhythm cards, I have three levels. Level One is where I say the rhythm using rhythm syllables, and then I have a small deck of cards that have the same rhythms as the big cards on the floor. I place the card under my visualizer so the students can see what the rhythm looks like. Level Two, I say the rhythm using rhythm syllables, but they don't get to see the rhythm. Level Three, I say the rhythm using a neutral syllable (e.g., bum bum bumbum bum) or I will play it on a non-pitched percussion instrument.

I've also done this game with lyrics to a song. Level One is where I sing one phrase from the song, and the players must find which phrase comes next. Level Two, I sing the phrase using a neutral syllable (e.g., da, da, da), and the students must find the phrase that matches what I sang.

We also use this game for identifying instruments (both non-pitched and Orchestral). I make two cards for every instrument. One card has the characteristics, and the other card has the just the picture with the instrument's name. Level One, I read the characteristic and the players must find the card with the picture of the instrument. Level Two, I say the instrument's name and they must find the card with the characteristics on it. Kindergarten and 1st Grade only play Level One with the non-pitched percussion instruments. 2nd through 5th Grades play both Level One and Level Two.

My students just walk around the cards. I have never had any pushing or diving for the cards. The thing they like to do is follow each other side-by-side rather than traveling their own pathway.

There are a few rules to the game:

  1. You can only swat once. The swatter can only touch the floor once, so be careful with how you carry the swatter.
  2. If a player does swat a card and is wrong, the other player has a countdown starting on 5 to find the correct card before they are also out OR they have to go up against me and if they can beat me, then they can stay in the game.
  3. If both players take too long to find the correct card, I give them a countdown starting on 10.
  4. If there is a tie, then we call another clue. Most ties can be determined because you can see which swatter is on the bottom, but if they don't swat in the same place, then it's hard to determine.

It's a great game to use for all grade levels. It's also a great game to leave for substitutes. It takes about 15-20 minutes for everyone to have a turn.