Let's Talk about Games

I've always loved using task cards in my classroom - I jumped on that bandwagon years ago.  I use them for intervention, for review, for centers, for Scoot, etc.  Something that I've added to that list the last couple of years is using them in conjunction with interactive kid games.  That's a way to bump up engagement.

It's also only a special treat.  I only do this for review times, not for the everyday math lessons (we have other games/activities for those).  I want kids to have a foundation before they are having to multi-task.  Sometimes I'll add one of these games into a center rotation, but that's pretty unlikely as I won't be able to monitor as much when I'm working with my own group.  The focus has to stay on the math skills, the games are just the fun vehicle.   

Kerplunk

 So here's the breakdown of what I've tried:

Kerplunk - I have one giant game.  It's actually a pain to set up, but the kids love it.  I got it on major sale after Christmas one year.  It also takes a long time to reset the game, so when it's up I try to use it for many different things. 

I have used it for Classroom Management (Head Over Heels for Teaching idea) - where a hard working kid gets to pull a stick.  When the balls fall the entire class gets a reward.  

***With TASK CARDS all these games pretty much have the same routine:

1.  The player or team chooses a task card and EVERYONE solves it.  

2. The player checks their answers against every other player's answers, and they see if they match.  If they do, they notice the different ways they have solved the problem (what different strategies did they use) - using a number talk format.  

3. If they don't have matching answers, then they still have a conversation and teach each other how they did the problem, usually errors are figured out as to why it was the wrong answer (error analysis). 

4. At the very end, they can check their answer on the answer key, then the player gets a chance to play their turn (even if they got the math problem incorrect).  

Connect 4

The last couple of years I have only had one game of Connect 4.  It's on my list to get a couple more sets since the kids love it so much.  It's also good for rainy day games, since it's a quick reset.  They play similar to above - but are working in teams to choose the math problem and to place their game pieces.  Since it's a faster paced game, I have each member of the team get their own piece (so 2 pieces are played at a time).  Everyone still solves the problem, everyone still takes part in the discussion.

Basket Case

 Basket Case - My grade level has a couple sets of these in the workroom.  It's so much fun and the kids have a blast.  It's a quick set up, but there is definitely more skill involved with that pesky hand-eye coordination. Lots of laughs with this game.  Same idea as to how to play using task cards.  They all solve the problem, they all have those conversations, then the person who has it on their head is the one tossing the ball into the air and trying to catch it.

Jenga

Jenga - I actually have 8 sets of these in the classroom.  You probably do not need one for each group of 4, but they have come in handy over the years.  Sometimes we have an entire room of Jenga going at a time.  It does take a little bit of time to reset, little sand timers help with having the kids reset quickly.  If you are doing these on desks, I've found it's faster to use a small tray under the game so that kids build on that.  It seems to help when the blocks fall so they aren't falling all over the place.  

*Not pictured but other fun games:

-Battleship when learning coordinate graphs.

-Dominoes (not played traditional way) - the kids add a piece vertically to a growing trail, and then at the end the players knock the pieces to let it fall.  

-Board Games (Chutes and Ladders, Checkers, Candyland, etc)

Same idea with all of these - kids play a round after they've done the work.  

I hope this helps someone.  Try to add a game next year, your kids would love it!

Math Board Games

The last 3 weeks of school are always hard since we are done with our math curriculum.  I mean, we have to have covered almost everything by testing.  In our old math book, we had unit tests that we used to review - but this time around we don't have the option.

Every year my class has the discussion of different games - Monopoly, Chutes and Ladders, Connect 4, etc... From there they get into groups and design a board game that can work with many different cards and situations. 

After they designed the boards, the kids created specific questions on 20 index cards for the review of the day.  One day was all about Place Value and Rounding, another was on MultiDigit Multiplication, one on Long Division, and another on Fractions.  Next week we still have more review with measurement, line plots, etc..

The kids get so excited to use their board games every day.  They have full rein of using the colored counters for keeping track of their spaces.  I also let them decide if they wanted to use money, dice, or spinners in their games.  They are being responsible with keeping everything organized.     

Do you have your kids create board games?  I highly recommend it!

Revisiting Student Yearly Challenges

Hi everyone - I'm still somewhere in Alaska, so I found this post from last summer that you may not have read.  

Student Yearly Challenges - Reading, ELA, and Math

Last summer I had just read The Book Whisperer for the first time and wanted to make up my own form for my students to aim toward.  Instead of the author's 40 book challenge, I changed it to 32 books.  

How did it work out?  It was so great!  The readers were reading, the kids were excited.  I didn't push the different genres in my class, but we did discuss it together.  I just wanted them reading since so many of them started the year at least 2 years below grade level.  As they finished their charts, they had a choice of classroom tickets, extra credit, or our school cash.  I'm definitely going to continue this next year, I'm just thinking of making it cute before I print it again - adding some clip art or something... another summer project.

The other 2 charts I mentioned last year I mainly started pushing closer to testing time.  Throughout the year I had my students circle the different skills after we finished the specific standards so they knew what to practice.  As we started getting into main test prep, I went over their specific areas and made sure they practiced the ones they hadn't mastered yet.  

This is the Internet 4 Classrooms game board

This was for IXL.  

 All in all - highly recommend something to get the kids motivated to take responsibility for their own learning.  

Have a wonderful day!