King/Queen Frog
Focus: Active listening
Materials: None
Level: Grades 3 and higher
Suggested Procedure
1. Have students sit in a circle.
2. Start by showing the motions of a King or Queen Frog (that is you), and have everyone practice it.
The King/Queen frog motion consists of placing one hand in front of you, palm up, and slapping it
with the other hand, followed by an upward motion (a jumping motion).
3. The person next to you indicates another animal using motions only. For example, he may
represent a skunk by holding his nose. The next person might signify a bird by flapping her arms.
This continues until everyone has created a unique motion, and everyone has practiced them.
4. The game is now ready to begin. You start by showing the King/Queen Frog motion, and then
another one (say, the skunk – hold your nose). You have just passed it to the person who is the
skunk.
5. Skunk now does his own motion, holding his nose; then he flaps his arms, thus passing it to the
bird. This continues until someone makes a mistake by taking too long, forgetting a motion, or doing
a motion wrong, for example.
6. That person then becomes the King/Queen Frog and takes your chair. Everyone else moves over
one chair until the empty chair is filled. This often means that only part of the group moves, while
the others stay put.
7. The catch is that the animal motion stays with the chair; it does not move with the person. So,
those who have just moved have to learn the new motion.
Sample Processing Questions for King/Queen Frog
 Did you ever feel put “on the spot?” When?
 How much concentration did it take to stay focused on the activity? What strategies did you use?
 Are there things that we all did that helped us stay focused, or distracted us during this game?
 Was this activity communication? How do you know?
 What other forms of nonverbal communication are there? Can you demonstrate some?
 How can you tell how someone might be feeling by his or her body language?
Variations/Modifications
Have someone who knows sign language teach the symbols for the various chosen animals.
Facilitation Notes
Once this activity gets started, it is possible to hear a pin drop. Great concentration is required, and
students really get drawn into this quiet game. Although it is possible to do this in large groups, it is
best done with groups of about 10 - 15. If you have a large class, teach it in a large group, and practice
for a while. Then have the class split into smaller groups to play. Generally, making a mistake is of little
consequence in this activity because the person just takes a different spot in the circle. If it appears
that it may be a problem (e.g., where someone is chided for making the mistake or appears to be
making the mistake on purpose), then it may be necessary to have a short discussion about put-downs
or hidden agendas. This is a good activity to pull out when the class needs to calm down after a loud
and rambunctious project.
© 2004 Laurie Frank
LSFrank@mac.com