• Helping students to think by using classroom games.thinking woman image by Mat Hayward from Fotolia.com
  
  According to author and motivational speaker Earl Nightingale, school teaches a lot of things but it often doesn't teach students how to think. One of the ways to remedy this problem is by stretching your students' brains in new and unusual ways. If you have been concentrating too much on memorization or problem solving lately in class, shake things up. Mix up class by using a game that causes your students to think creatively and constructively.
  
  

TriBond

• TriBond is a variation on the old "Tonight Show" trick in which Johnny Carson would determine how three separate items were related. The trick to making this game a thinking exercise is to have the items seem as unrelated as possible. One TriBond question is "how are an icy airplane, a naughty child and a wire connected?" The answer is that they are all grounded. Come up with as many three-word or phrase combinations as you can and sprinkle them in throughout your school day to keep your students sharp.
  
  

Acrophobia

• This game is based on a popular online chat room activity. Give students a random combination of letters, and they come up with a sentence or phrase as if the letters were an acronym for something. For example, NYST could be Never Yell Something Tricky. Each student comes up with an acronym and then says it out loud. The students vote on any acronym other than their own, and the one with the most votes wins. This challenges students to use their brains to come up with creative wordplay.
  
  

Crazy Uses

• Give your students a common household item like a blanket, a spoon or a ribbon. The students list 10 things you can do with that item. The trick is that you need to come up with unconventional actions with each item. As your students read their lists one by one, if another student has the same action they must both cross it off. The students who have unique answers receive points, and the student with the most points after several objects wins.
  
  

Business Brainstorm

• This complex activity could be used over the course of several class periods or be worked on periodically throughout the year. In this activity, students create an idea for a business. They create every aspect of the business that they might need. They come up with a budget, a list of items they will sell and a potential location. You choose whether to present the business idea or just let them do the activity for fun. Some students may go ahead and create the business on their own just because you gave them the time to brainstorm about it.