Games for Teens on Noah's Ark

Pair teens into teams of two. Have each team line up facing each other about 20 yards apart from each other, or as much room as you have outdoors. Tell them they are going to run a Noah's Ark Relay. A referee stands behind the line on each side. To start the race, the referee on one side calls out the name of an animal. Everyone on that side must move like an animal across the field, making a noise like that animal, and tag her partner. Before the initial racers get to the other side, the referee on that side will have called out another animal. The racers from that side have to return to the other side, moving like that animal. Anyone who starts running or walking like just a human -- unless "human" has been called -- is disqualified and the team is out. Continue until each side has run five times. The team that completes all of the animals first is the winner.

Play a variation on charades after teaching the story of Noah and the ark to teenagers. The first rule of this variation is that only animals can be acted out. The second variation is that, because Noah took the animals two-by-two onto the ark, they will act out the charade in teams. Write up a deck of cards before the lesson so that each team can draw a card that will have the name of an animal on it to read just before their time begins. Be sure to include unusual animals, such as a platypus or a blue-tailed skunk. Award two points to each team that has its animal guessed within two minutes and one point to the team that guessed the correct answer.

The alphabet memory game can be a great game to play on the bus during long trips or at the end of a class period when there is a little extra time. The first person starts by saying, "Noah was boarding the ark, and he took..." The person then completes the sentence with something that begins with the letter "A," such as "an aardvark." The next person would then say, "Noah was boarding the ark, and he took an aardvark and ...." completing it with a word that begins with B. Continue going around until the entire alphabet has been completed. You can play it as a cooperative game, or you can call someone out who gets an animal wrong and keep going through the alphabet multiple times until only one person is left. That final person must then say all of it backwards or the other semifinalist gets one more turn.

Some teens might find this game too simple, but others might appreciate the change of pace and the variation on a children's game. Divide participants into three groups. Tell one group of kids they are cows, one group they are dogs and a third group they are birds. Play this game like Simon says with the following rule variations. First, it is "Noah says" rather than "Simon says." Second, when the person says, "Noah says bark," everyone barks. When the person says, "Bark," only the dogs bark and they bark even though Noah didn't say. The same is true for "moo" and "chirp." Halfway through the game, assign each group a different animal.