Game Day in the Classroom: Helping Middle School Students Reclaim Connection

A simple classroom game day helped my middle school students catch up on missing work, practice face-to-face conversation and reconnect with classmates—and the short reel I posted about it reached far beyond my usual audience.

I’ll be the first to tell you that my social media efforts lost steam when Twitter became X, and the world of “slow chats” and collegial sharing became anxiety-inducing. I was SO CLOSE to having 5,000 followers, which, for a teacher in the suburbs who writes, would have been pretty amazing. Then, I was hacked and someone stole my Twitter! I took this as a sign and deleted my account. I’ve forayed into Threads, and I am growing an Instagram following by accident. Facebook is my old standby—18 years and counting. I’m sharing this information because I recently posted a reel of my students on a “game day,” and while the reaction was far from viral, it has given me pause. Here’s the reel. 

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Why I Planned a Classroom Game Day

Last year, I entered a digital citizenship lesson plan contest for ORISE (Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education), and my lesson, “Phishing Scam,” won a $1,500 mini-grant. (There are contests running right now. Check it out here.) My students loved it, and it is included in my blog from last year, “Make it Memorable.” With some of my winnings, I bought a big collection of games—Battleship, Uno, Trouble, Sorry, Simon, Perfection, Monopoly Deal cards, Jenga and several others. My logic was simple: I needed to deal with the missing work from students’ chronic attendance issues (read Megan Ortmeyer’s blog, “Attendance Awareness: Looking Behind the Scenes,” for some insights into this dilemma), AND I’m on a personal mission to help students reclaim connection post-pandemic. I was worried before the pandemic (as you can read here), but post-COVID, students’ inability to converse casually has really concerned me. 

So, I planned a “game day.” If you didn’t owe any work, you could participate. I explained very overtly that the reason we were having a game day was to allow their classmates to catch up and to practice trying new things with people we don’t know well. Everyone had to be included, and in the way that seems to work best with my middle schoolers, I explained, “Don’t be a jerk. If someone is alone because their friends don’t happen to be in this class, then you invite them to play. Everyone is included, no exceptions.” This may seem very direct, but trust me, middle schoolers need things explained to them bluntly, and I’ve noticed, they don’t mind a bit when the grown-up in the room (me) tells the kids in the room (them) how they should act in given circumstances. 

What Happened When Students Played Together

On this game day, there were a handful of students who went into the hall to take tests, make up a quiz or finish an assignment. It isn’t punishment. It is a consequence. They were absent, I need to do all I can to help them be successful, and getting their work out of the way is very important. As I wandered around, I noticed so many positive signs. First, it was loud. I’ve taught students that when I need their attention, I clap and they clap back. Predictable, and frankly, I hardly ever have to use it. But, on game day, they were raucous and silly, and my heart healed just a little, as I kept needing to get them to be just a little bit quieter. Going Analog to Help Students Reconnect explains that our classrooms have the ability to serve as “third space” training grounds for conversation. Secondly, there weren’t any students who were alone. Even the most reclusive students had found each other. I ended up teaching a group to play Monopoly Deal cards, and it all just felt so perfectly wholesome while taking care of the messy business of catching up absent students. 

Why This Classroom Moment Resonated Online

I decided I’d post a reel because, to be honest, I was feeling a little lighter about the heavy load of teaching that day. What has fascinated me is that in a week, it has gotten over 10,000 views (to put that in context, most of my reels are getting between 800 and 1,300 views over a longer period). Interestingly, 23 people had sent this quick little video to someone else. Here are the stats for it: 

What interests me the most is that 98.9 percent of the viewers were not people I knew or even people who followed me. Why would so many people be interested in this tiny little reel of kiddos playing games in my classroom? Could it be true that others are seeing the need to reclaim connection and facilitate students’ socialization in our school communities? That’s what I’m hoping! 

If you are interested in reclaiming connection, I’m excited to share that my book, Reclaiming Connection: How Schools and Families Can Nurture Belonging in a Scared New World, is now an audiobook! If you are interested, you can search audible for “Reclaiming Connection.” As I watched the 2026 midterm election results come in, I was hopeful for the first time in a long time, and when students are too loud, I’m hopeful too—we are so back!