I’m all about different ways to modify current games for the classroom, especially if I can make them go beyond the traditional Q/A trivia game. One way to make poetry writing more playful was introducing Jenga Poetry to my students.

The concept is super simple. On each block, I wrote a noun, verb, or occasional adjective. When students pulled each block, they wrote down the word before returning the block to the top of the tower. Once the tower fell over, players could then use their word list to write their own poems or combine their words to write one group poem.

The concept proved to be super fun, and students often replayed the game. This made me think of other ways the game could be played:

1. Thesis Development. Place a topic on each block. With each block pulled, the players have to form a thesis about that topic. This could give them practice in creating theses but also ignite some ideas in their own mind.

2. Idea Development. Actually, my original plan for the Jenga blocks was to write questions on them for my seniors to reminisce about their high school memories before beginning their Last Lectures.

3. Concept Webs. Blocks could contain any major ideas or vocabulary that’s currently being taught. Students can create webs based on the words they’ve pulled.

No doubt there are dozens of other ways Jenga could be applied to your classroom. Get creative and design one!