Play Pass the Ball in Class with This Fun Classroom Tool

If you’ve never played Pass the Ball before, it’s super simple. While the music plays, students pass a soft ball (or any classroom object) around the room. When the music stops, the student holding the ball must complete a quick challenge, like answering a question, saying a word, spelling something, or doing a silly dance. You can adjust the rules to fit your lesson, so it works with any subject or age group.

How To Play

Before you start, it’s a good idea to go over the rules with your students. Make sure they understand that the ball should be passed, not thrown — throwing it usually leads to dropped balls and breaks up the flow of the game. It also helps to demonstrate the direction the ball should be passed so students don’t pass it backward or across the room, which can interrupt the rhythm. And finally, choose a soft object to use as the “ball” — students tend to get very excited, so it’s best to keep things safe and classroom-friendly! Here’s how to play Pass the Ball with this tool.

Step 1: Choose a mode — Classic or Automatic

In Classic Mode, you’ll control the start and stop buttons manually. In Automatic Mode, the app will stop the music at a random time — perfect if you want to join the fun too.

Step 2: Click “Start” to play the music

Once you click start, the music will begin and the ball will start spinning on screen. Students should begin passing the object around the room.

Step 3: Click “Stop” (or let it stop automatically)

When the music stops, the student holding the ball must complete a quick challenge before the game continues. This could be answering a question, saying a vocabulary word, spelling something out loud, acting something out, or doing a fun action — whatever fits your lesson.

Step 4: Click “Start” to restart the music

Once the challenge is done, click “Start” to begin the music again and keep the game going. Play as many rounds as you like!

Suggested Ways to Use This Tool

The best thing about the Pass the Ball game is that it can be used in lots of different ways. Here are some of our favorite ways to use this Pass the Ball game tool in class.

Warm-Up Activity

Use Pass the Ball as a fun warm-up to get students energized and ready to learn. When the music stops, ask the student with the ball an icebreaker question, like “What’s your favorite food?” or “What did you do yesterday?”, or a simple question related to the lesson topic.

Get-to-Know-You Activity

It can be hard to get students talking when you first meet them, especially in a new class. Use Pass the Ball to ask simple “getting to know you” questions when the music stops — or flip it around and let the student with the ball ask you a question. It’s a fun, low-pressure way to build rapport and get conversations started.

Review Activity

Use Pass the Ball to review content you’ve already covered. When the music stops, ask the student with the ball a question about the topic — this could be vocabulary, grammar, facts from a reading, or anything you’ve taught recently. It’s a quick and interactive way to check understanding without a formal quiz.

Combine with Another Activity

Use Pass the Ball as a fun way to choose a student at random for another classroom task. For example, when the music stops, the student with the ball could come up to the front to draw a clue for a Hangman game, answer a quiz question, or lead a short activity. It’s a great way to mix things up and keep everyone involved.