Away in a Manger Guess What’s Next

One of my favorite ways to review primary songs is through competition. This Away in a Manger Guess What’s Next review game is a great way to get the kids competing in a fun and friendly way. This activity is best for Senior Primary but can be adapted for Junior Primary too!

For more ideas, see our Away in a Manger Singing Time Ideas post!

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Away in a Manger Guess What’s Next Game

The idea behind this activity is similar to a fill-in-the-blank activity but with a little twist. You can quiz children on the lyrics by having them fill-in-the-blank. Prepare some prizes ahead of time because children will be eager to play this game!

How to Play Away in a Manger Guess What’s Next:

Print out the lyrics to the song in short phrases. Choose a word from the phrase to replace with a blank. Cut the phrases into paper strips.

Split the room into 2 teams. If you have a larger primary, you can choose more teams.

Sing the entire song through once using this Away in a Manger flipchart if your primary kiddos need a reminder

Have a table set up with buzzers. Alternatively, you can have an object for the children to hold up when they have an answer.

Invite one child from each team to come up to the front.

Read one phrase, and have the children “buzz in” if they know the answer. Let the child who hit the buzzer first try to fill in the missing word. If they get it right, have them write in the word (or find the missing picture in Junior Primary) on the word strip and hang it on the board. Award points for the team who answers first.

If children are struggling to answer, they can choose to phone a friend for half points.

Materials:

• Guess What’s Next printable below
• Guess What’s Next Visuals printable below
• Classroom Buzzers
• Marker/Crayon – to fill in the blanks
• Tape – to tape up the pictures in the blank

Alternative Ideas for Junior Primary:

Junior Primary kiddos may struggle remembering all the words on their own, so having visuals often helps. Print out pictures that match the missing words and tape them on the board. When the children come up to fill in the blank, allow them to choose from the pictures.

Extension Ideas:

• Add another song or two to the mix!
• After guessing the missing word, sing the song again, clapping instead of singing on the missing word.
• Have one side of the room sing the phrase, and the other side sing the blanks.

If you notice children are struggling to remember the words, refer back to Away in a Manger Flip Chart to review the song with your primary.

If you’re loving this activity, we’ve also created a fun What’s Next game for I Will Walk with Jesus!

Away In a Manger
Printable Guess What’s Next Game

This free printable Away in a Manger – Guess What’s Next contains fill-in-the-blank pages for all 3 verses of the song. The first page includes instructions for playing the game so you can save it for another activity.

It is 13 pages in total, so feel free to focus on the verses your primary kiddos are learning. Use each page for a different round of the competition.

Each verse is 4 pages long. Just print out the pages for the verses you want to review and save the rest for later.

Guess What’s Next Visuals Printable

If your kids are visual learners, this Guess What’s Next Visuals printable will be perfect for your primary. This printable includes pictures for all 3 verses of the songs. Simply print and cut the pictures and lay out the pictures one verse at a time.

For another fun way to teach this song and even help decorate your Primary room or home, try this next Away in a Manger Trace and Draw singing time idea!

Head over here for more ideas to review Away in a Manger.

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