Inside: How to play The Marker Game. The Marker Game is a fun game for Spanish class. An interactive and fun Spanish class activity to practice True/False statements.
Author: Allison Wienhold
Published: March 1, 2017 & most recently updated October 2, 2024.
The Marker Game
After posting the picture above on social media, I had a lot of interest in how to play the marker game. The original great idea came from Cynthia Hitz in this post. It is a low-prep way to review a story, chapter, or chapter of a novel. All you need are true/false statements.
Many people have different versions of how they play this game. Some people call this game “Pencil Grab” “The Pencil Game,” or “Marker Partner Game.” Here is my specific version of The Marker Game with 2 teams.
How to Set Up for The Marker Game
Before starting, I project the rules, which are listed below. When I had tables, partners were across from each other at tables, and the inside circle would rotate after three statements to switch it up. Now that I am deskless, we just set up two lines facing each other. (Make sure students lean down to do a head check to make sure they will not bonk heads. This step may have been added for that reason:)
If you have an odd number of students 1 student is the “judge” and scorekeeper on the board. After about 3 statements, rotate the extra student into one of the teams. Each student will shift one person down. The student at the end is the new judge/scorekeeper. This also gets students to have a new partner to face.
Alternate Marker Game Version
Have students sit on the floor with any object between them. Below you can see my Spanish 4 sitting on the carpet using mini stuffed animals. You could also use small poof balls, popsicle sticks, or whatever else you have. Fun fact, some of the same kids are in both pictures. They are in 2017 in Spanish 1 in the OG & in March of 2020 in Spanish 4. (Yes, just days before the world shut down!)
The Marker Game Rules
True statement: students race to grab the marker & hold up.
- The team with the most members holding the marker receives 1 point
False statement: students do NOT touch/pick up markers.
- If nobody on the team touches/picks up a marker, the team earns 1 point (Both teams have the possibility of earning a point.)
- If both teams hold up a marker, the team with the most loses 1 point
- If a student touches the marker & throws it back, the person sitting opposite stands up silently. The team with a student who threw the marker loses 2 points!
Support all students with the Marker Game
To help out my visual learners, I have the true/false statements projected on a slide. I have them transition in one by one with my awesome clicker as I read them. It helps to also transition in the answer (T or F) after each statement so they can check who gets the point.
>> Differentiation in Spanish Class has more ideas of how to support all learners.
Below you can see an example from chapter 8 of the novel Brandon Brown Quiere un Perro.
Here are previous posts for novels that include the marker game as well.
- La Calaca Alegre – Review of Ch1-5
- Fiesta Fatal – Review of Ch1-3
- Vida y Muerta en la Mara Salvatrucha – Ch10
More Fun Games for Spanish Class
- Fun Spanish Classroom Games to Increase Engagement
- 1, 2, 3, ¡SALTA! game to get class moving
- Running Dictation in Spanish class
- Name Game Speedball
- Engaging Vocabulary Games in Spanish
Want a fun way to start every day in Spanish Class?
Get NEW Spanish Bell Ringers Para Empezar 2024. Plus get a free sample below
have pictures of your students playing the marker game? I would love to see them! What are your student’s favorite review games to play in class?
