Hand game
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Hand games are games played using only the hands of the players.[1] Hand games exist in a variety of cultures internationally, and are of interest to academic studies in ethnomusicology and music education.[1][2] Hand games are used to teach music literacy skills and socio-emotional learning in elementary music classrooms internationally.[3][4][5]
History
[edit]Hand games are among forms of play dating to ancient times. Slahal is an ancient bluffing game in which teams try to identify marked deer bones hidden in players' hands.[6] Indigenous hand-game traditions such as an element of the Ghost Dance may have ritual importance or revert to just being games.[7]
Simple hand-clapping games have a long history in Europe, with Pat-a-cake recorded as early as 1698.[8]
Education
[edit]Hand-clapping games can provide time for children to play with traditional songs.[9] Music educators may use hand-clapping to help students feel pulse and rhythm.[10]
Research shows that finger counting games and activities supports children’s learning by teaching early mathematics concepts. Fingers have the advantage of being easily countable items that is almost always available. Pairing hand gestures with speech helps them understand numbers, counting order, the base-10 numeral system, and addition.[11][non-primary source needed]
Finger counting games provide a "sensory-motor experience that helps build abstract thinking skills." In addition to counting, they help in the understanding of one-to-one correspondence, cardinality and subitizing.[12][non-primary source needed]
Finger counting games also aid children who struggle with dyscalculia by engaging their senses.[13][promotional source?]
Examples of hand games
[edit]- Arm wrestling
- Bloody knuckles
- Chopsticks (sticks)
- The circle game
- Clapping games (Pat-a-cake and variations like Mary Mack)
- Fingerhakeln
- Give, Granny, Fire! [bg]
- Hand cricket
- Mercy
- Morra (finger counting)
- Odds and evens
- Red hands (or hand-slap game)
- Rock paper scissors
- Sansukumi-ken
- Thumb war (or thumb wrestling)
- "Where are your keys?" (language acquisition game)
Less strictly, the following may be considered hand games:[citation needed]
- Fingers (drinking game, but debatable since game can be played without the drink)
- Jacks (uses jacks)
- Knife game (uses knife)
- Spellbinder (uses paper and pencil)
- Stick gambling (uses a stick)
- String games, such as cat's cradle
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 Edward Norbeck, Claire R. Farrer, ed. (1977). "Forms of play of native North Americans". Proceedings of the American Ethnological Society. St. Paul, Minnesota: West.
- ↑ Catherine McLaughlin (2009). "Cultural hand games inspire students". Alberta Sweetgrass. 4 (16): 8.
- ↑ Gluschankof, Claudia; Kenney, Susan Hobson (2011). "Music Literacy in an Israeli Kindergarten". General Music Today. 25 (1): 45–49. doi:10.1177/1048371311414880. S2CID 144182018.
- ↑ Jacobi, Bonnie S (December 1, 2012). "Opportunities for Socioemotional Learning in Music Classrooms". Music Educators Journal. 99 (2): 68–74.
- ↑ Lau, Wai-Tong (October 1, 2005). "Twentieth-century school music literature in China: a departure from tradition". Journal of Historical Research in Music Education. 17 (1): 33.
- ↑ Heffernan, Trova (2015-08-03). Where the Salmon Run: The Life and Legacy of Billy Frank Jr. University of Washington Press. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-295-99795-7.
- ↑ Zogry, Michael J. (2010-07-22). Anetso, the Cherokee Ball Game: At the Center of Ceremony and Identity. UNC Press Books. ISBN 978-0-8078-9820-8.
- ↑ Fox, Adam (2000-11-09). Oral and Literate Culture in England, 1500-1700. Clarendon Press. p. 202. ISBN 978-0-19-154229-9.
- ↑ Randles, Clint; Burnard, Pamela (2022-12-30). The Routledge Companion to Creativities in Music Education. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-77330-9.
- ↑ Michelson, Sonia (2011-01-13). New Dimensions in Classical Guitar for Children. Mel Bay Publications. ISBN 978-1-61065-480-7.
- ↑ Oswald, Madeleine; Hurst, Michelle A.; Levine, Susan C. "Math at Your Fingertips! Easy Counting Activities Using Number Gestures". stanford.edu. Stanford, CA: Development and Research in Early Mathematics Education (DREME). Retrieved July 5, 2026.
- ↑ Gano, Diann (June 1, 2023). "Fingers, Fingers, 1-2-3!". earlymathcounts.org. Early Math Counts. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
- ↑ Shenoy, Roopesh (October 13, 2025). "8 Tactile Math Games That Build Number Sense in Dyscalculic Learners". monstermath.app. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
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| Clapping games | |
| Finger-counting | |
| Other | |
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