ClassX Video Lessons Sanford Harmony Game Room: An App for Classroom Ice Breakers, Games, and Discussions
Hello everyone! Today, we’re excited to share some cool news about a fantastic app called the Sanford Harmony Game Room. This app is perfect for teachers and students who want to have fun while learning and getting to know each other better. Let’s dive into what makes this app so special!
The Sanford Harmony Game Room is a free app that offers a variety of activities designed to help students connect and communicate with each other. It’s a great tool for teachers to use at the beginning of the school year or anytime they want to bring some excitement into the classroom. The app is packed with fun games and activities that encourage teamwork and friendship.
One of the coolest features of the app is the connection cards. These cards have questions that students can discuss to learn more about each other. It’s like having a bunch of icebreakers ready to go! Some cards even involve doing activities with a partner, like creating a funny handshake. These activities are not only fun but also help everyone feel more comfortable and included.
Another exciting feature is the “Battle the Bully Bot” game. This game teaches students about social-emotional learning (SEL) strategies to handle bullying. It’s a great way to learn how to be kind and supportive to others. Students can play this game in pairs or as a whole class, making it a fun and educational experience for everyone.
The app also includes a section called “Relaxation Station: Bloopers and Boosters.” Here, students can explore different scenarios to see if characters are using good communication skills. It’s a fun way to learn how to communicate effectively and stay calm. The activities are designed to be engaging and easy to use, making them perfect for classroom use.
The Sanford Harmony Game Room is designed to be user-friendly. Teachers can project activities on a screen for the whole class to see, or students can share a device to play together. This flexibility makes it easy to incorporate the app into any classroom setting.
If you’re interested in more free educational tools, you can visit commonsense.org/education. They offer a wide range of resources and reviews to help you find the best tools for your classroom. Plus, you can check out their YouTube channel for weekly reviews of new educational apps and tools.
We hope you enjoy exploring the Sanford Harmony Game Room and all the fun activities it has to offer. It’s a great way to make learning exciting and build a strong classroom community!
Pair up with a classmate and take turns drawing a connection card from the app. Discuss the question on the card and share your thoughts. This activity will help you learn more about each other and build new friendships.
Using the ideas from the connection cards, work with a partner to invent a unique class handshake. Practice it together and then teach it to the rest of the class. This will be a fun way to promote teamwork and creativity.
Join forces with a classmate to play the “Battle the Bully Bot” game. Discuss the strategies you learn for handling bullying and think of ways you can apply them in real life. This activity will help you understand the importance of kindness and support.
In small groups, choose a scenario from the “Relaxation Station: Bloopers and Boosters” section. Act out the scenario and discuss whether the characters used good communication skills. This will help you practice effective communication in a fun way.
Work in groups to explore different features of the Sanford Harmony Game Room app. Prepare a short presentation to showcase your favorite feature to the class. This will help you become more familiar with the app and share your discoveries with others.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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Hello everybody, it’s Tanner and Chrissy back again with huge breaking news! I had a hair appointment that was canceled, and I have hockey hair. Everyone’s going to have to deal with the hockey hair for the duration of this episode. Hopefully, the hockey hair will be fixed by next week. It might need to become its own segment! I almost wore a hockey jersey, but it would have ruined the surprise for you.
[Laughter]
So, every week we go over a recent review on Common Sense Education, which you can find at commonsense.org/education. Chrissy, you’ve got a review for us this week. What are we going to be talking about?
We are going to be talking about an app called Sanford Harmony Game Room. It is free, and there’s a website you can go to where you can sign up for a full program that is also free. There’s professional development to train you on how to use this SEL program, but we’re not talking about that today. The reason we’re not talking about that is because the app has really practical, hands-on, accessible activities that I think would be great for the beginning of the school year. So, I wanted to show some of the assets in this app that might be helpful to you.
I’m going to go ahead and share this video, and I want to show you the different activities that you can access. Here we have some connection cards, and what I really like is that they have tons of options. The idea in this section is that kids, both in early childhood and upper grades, can discuss these questions to get to know one another. This way, the teacher doesn’t have to spend a lot of time coming up with icebreakers and get-to-know-you activities at the beginning of the year; this app does a lot of that hard work for you.
Here we have some other quick connection cards that involve actually doing an activity with a partner, which is pretty cool. Some are expected, and some are more fun, like the “hokey handshake,” where you make up a funny handshake with a buddy. You can see how these would be fun and silly, getting people interacting in a non-threatening way. This set right here is for the whole class, so everyone can come together as a community; it’s not just partner-based. There are lots of activities to choose from for both early childhood and upper grades.
If we go back to the main menu, next is the “Battle the Bully Bot” game. This is a game that talks about SEL strategies around bullying and how to avoid it, not how to do it. This is a perspective-taking activity, so there are lots of things you can explore either in pairs or as a whole class. I strongly encourage everybody to check this out.
There’s also a section called “Relaxation Station: Bloopers and Boosters,” which is scenario-based, where kids can figure out if characters are exhibiting strong communication strategies or not. This can be helpful for kids in a non-threatening way, along with ways to breathe and focus. The design is really nice; it’s pleasing to the eye and friendly, easy to use. It’s one of those things that at the beginning of the year, when you’re trying to think about community building, especially if you’re back in the classroom, these activities might be just what you need.
That’s so true! They look really easy to implement; anyone can do them. It’s great for the beginning of the year or just when you need a change of pace in the classroom when the energy level might be low.
I have a question: I noticed the player counts vary. Although most seem to be able to be done solo, if you have more than one person, can everyone share the same device, or do people need to have their own device?
It appears that in some of the games meant for pairs, you could use your own device. There’s an activity where kids pick a virtual crayon with a question on it, and it looks like they could share a device and do this together. I also imagine that the teacher could project these things on the screen, choose a question, and project it, so you don’t have to worry so much about the device.
I wonder if there’s a physical version of this, as I could see that being compelling, like a deck of cards for the classroom.
If you explore the home website, there are a lot of resources, and I think there might be a physical component because there are different editions. They recently came out with a new edition, so there might be a physical version if that’s better for your classroom.
We gave this one four stars—a great rating for Sanford Harmony Game Room! Totally free! We’ve been on a roll with free tools. If you want more free tools, every Tuesday at our YouTube channel, you can tune in for more of these reviews, or you can go to commonsense.org/education to browse our full review library and a ton of great tools.
Let me roll the old bumper here—the beautiful bean footage!
So, like I said, we’ll be back every Tuesday with a new video. Make sure to like this video and subscribe if you want to stay tuned for those videos. We will see you next week!
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This version removes any informal language, filler words, and maintains a professional tone while preserving the essence of the conversation.
App – A software application that can be used on electronic devices to help with tasks or learning. – Many students use an educational app to learn about history in a fun and interactive way.
Students – Individuals who attend a school or educational institution to gain knowledge and skills. – The students worked together on a project about ancient civilizations.
Activities – Tasks or actions that are done for enjoyment, learning, or as part of a program. – The teacher planned several activities to help the class understand different cultures.
Communication – The process of sharing information, thoughts, or feelings with others. – Good communication is important when working on group projects in social studies.
Teamwork – The combined effort of a group of people working together to achieve a common goal. – Teamwork was essential for the students to complete their community service project successfully.
Friendship – A close and supportive relationship between people who care about each other. – Friendship can help students feel more connected and supported at school.
Bullying – Unwanted, aggressive behavior that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. – The school has a program to prevent bullying and promote a safe environment for everyone.
Kindness – The quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate to others. – Showing kindness to classmates can create a positive and welcoming classroom atmosphere.
Learning – The process of gaining knowledge or skills through study, experience, or teaching. – Learning about different cultures helps students appreciate diversity.
Community – A group of people living in the same area or having shared interests and goals. – The community came together to celebrate the local cultural festival.
