Penguins of Madagascar Games for the Classroom

All that the kids are talking about right now is the ‘cute and cuddly’ penguins from the Penguins of Madagascar, and all they do is request me to play Penguins of Madagascar games with them in class! While I certainly am a fan of using technology to teach kids, it’s not always feasible to use engage them with online games. So, here I am with a handful of those games tweaked to suit my needs and preferences.

Bright Classroom by Kim Rodriguez

Penguin movements

Introduce children to various action words related to penguins  - waddle, jump, slip, slide, swim, float, and dive - with this game inspired by the Penguins of Madagascar.

How to play: Perform each action to the class. Feel free to use the floor to demonstrate actions such as float and slide. Write the different action words on chits. Have each child pick up a chit and read it. Call out an action and all the children will have to demonstrate the action within 5 seconds. Whoever fails to enact the word is disqualified. Continue to play till you have a clear winner.

Educational value: verbs

Penguins’ relay race

Do you remember the penguins swinging from one point to another in Penguins of Madagascar while on the mission to rescue Private? Yes, let’s put that into a game and engage the class in useful physical activities!

How to play: Have the kids race against each other, but with a twist! Have them race like the penguins – choose an action for them, like wade or hop. Choose 5 finalists and play a second and decisive round with them.

Educational value: physical exercise

Penguin rookeries

Instead of a game, this activity can be played with the kids as a team-segregation exercise before starting to play a real game. Sneak in a little counting and number recognition activity along with this game!

How to play: Cut out strips of white construction paper. Write a number from 1-5 on the chits. For example, if you have 25 students in the class, 5 chits will have 1, 5 will have 2, 5 will have 3, and so on and so forth. Distribute the chits among the class. Have a child paint her thumb and press it firmly on her chit – number of thumb prints will be equal to the number that’s mentioned on her chit. Have her make eyes, nose and wings with colored pens on the thumb prints and make penguins of them. Now, call out a random number from 1-5 and the kids with the called out number chit will have to form a rookery! Let the real game begin after everyone has been divided into teams.

Educational value: counting and number recognition, team bonding

Go as you like

Role playing is a wonderful way to get the kids to open up and develop their confidence. Here is a role-playing game that will inspire the whole class.

How to play: Assign a character each from the movie Madagascar to the kids. You can play a lucky-draw to select the Madagascar characters. The kids don’t have to dress like the characters necessarily, but it will be fun if they bring any movie-inspired item from home like a soft toy or make up like one the characters, for example draw a mooch like Alex’s. The end-of-day task will be to enact any scene from the movie or say a dialogue of the character. The kids will have a good time practicing for the small performance!

Educational value: public speaking

Involve the kids in these Penguins of Madagascar games and have them learn with fun!