You’ve Changed has been a game-changer in my classroom (pun fully intended).
I learned this game at an Orff workshop a few years ago and it has become my go-to when I need to kill time – like while waiting for the classroom teacher to come pick up their class. By keeping their brains and bodies focused on the game, I can keep them from honing in on other interesting activities… things like touching every instrument on the shelf.
How to Play
One person will be “it” each turn. You could have students play this in pairs, in small groups, or as a whole class (what I like to do). Make sure the person who is “it” is visible to everyone else.
Whoever is “it” chooses a statue pose. The students who are not “it” (the guessers) get a few seconds to carefully observe their pose before they have to look away. As they are looking away, the guessers sing the You’ve Changed song. It goes like this:
(I unfortunately can’t remember who taught this song to us, and I can’t find any evidence of it online. But shoutout to whoever shared this – and shoot me a message if that’s you, so I can give you credit!)
While the guessers are singing, whoever is “it” makes one small change to their pose. (The “one” part is important!) When the song is over, the guessers look back at the student who is “it” and guess what they’ve changed. When we play as a whole class, I like to have students raise their hands and wait to be called on in order to guess. If we can’t get it right in 3 guesses, the student who’s “it” has to reveal what they changed and a new person becomes “it”.
Students of all ages beg me to play this game! The best part? They know we pretty much only play it when we’re lined up to leave, so they’ll get in line quickly and quietly in the speed of a flash to make sure they have time to play!
If this got your gears turning about creative ways to engage students while leaving the music room, check out my blog post on exit procedures for more ideas!
