Have you ever heard of the game Sink or Swim? I love playing games in the classroom because it's fun and something different. The students love anything and everything game related so it's win-win! We played this game today, and the students and I thought it was just about the best thing ever!
Here's why Sink or Swim is awesome:
1. 100% student participation (Yay, engagement!)
2. Soooo fun
3. NO PREP!
4. You can modify it to fit whatever objectives you are working on - Today we were working on double digit addition.
5. Competition
5. Competition
Back to the game, you want all of your students engaged so they all need something to write on. I used white boards today, but you can always use a journal or scratch paper.
Everyone solves or answers ALL problems. Today I wanted students to practice solving problems by drawing it out in base ten, and I really just wanted the students to solve a bunch of problemsI didn't make copies of a worksheet and couldn't find one (and didn't look for one) without any regrouping problems.
Assign each team a student 1, 2, 3, through however many kids you have in your class. Today, each team had 1-12 since I had a few students absent/out of the room at this point. This is important because ALL students solve ALL problems!
To begin, write a problem (or pose a question, depending on what you're working on) and have all the students respond on the white board (journal, etc). Give them adequate time to solve it and then call out a number - say number 12. The student who is number 12 on team 1 and 2 will show you the answer. The right answer allows them student to "sink" someone on the other team, or "save" someone who has been sunk on their team. If the student gets the answer wrong then they are sunk. When you're sunk, you sit in your chair instead of on your desk. BUT IT'S OKAY IF YOU'RE SUNK - YOU STILL HAVE TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS! You can either be saved by someone on your team, or if the teacher calls your number, and you get the answer right, then you can get back in the game. The winning team is the team with the most people who are still "in" the game.
Here are some unwritten rules I play by:
1. I always do an extra tricky question at the end that's worth sinking or saving more people at the end to keep it interesting.
2. Arguing with me or showing poor sportsmanship results in the student being sunk until I say otherwise (Be careful and be reasonable with this - usually the students who argue or show poor sportsmanship are the ones that NEED engaging activities like this)
3. You talk out of turn or cheat - you're out! The only person who can save you is the teacher - with good behavior once being out, of course. Remember, this is an academic activity and we want ALL students answering ALL questions all the time. The student just would not have the option to save themselves OR sink someone until the teacher has allowed them to be back "in" the game.
4. Keep the game moving - don't give them too much time to solve the problems. It needs to be fast paced in order for the students to be engaged and STAY engaged. Give them enough time to solve the problem, but if the students you call aren't finished - they're out. I'll say something like "I need a final answer!" because sometimes they know the answer but couldn't write fast enough, but if they aren't finished then they're out. You don't want to sit around waiting for everyone because you'll be waiting forever. This is why being "out" isn't a big deal - keep the game moving fast and they won't be upset that they didn't finish in time. Also, they know that if they sit around wasting time then they could be out, which gets rid of a lot of kids just spacing out.
What games do you play in your classroom that are quick and easy?
Everyone solves or answers ALL problems. Today I wanted students to practice solving problems by drawing it out in base ten, and I really just wanted the students to solve a bunch of problems
Assign each team a student 1, 2, 3, through however many kids you have in your class. Today, each team had 1-12 since I had a few students absent/out of the room at this point. This is important because ALL students solve ALL problems!
To begin, write a problem (or pose a question, depending on what you're working on) and have all the students respond on the white board (journal, etc). Give them adequate time to solve it and then call out a number - say number 12. The student who is number 12 on team 1 and 2 will show you the answer. The right answer allows them student to "sink" someone on the other team, or "save" someone who has been sunk on their team. If the student gets the answer wrong then they are sunk. When you're sunk, you sit in your chair instead of on your desk. BUT IT'S OKAY IF YOU'RE SUNK - YOU STILL HAVE TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS! You can either be saved by someone on your team, or if the teacher calls your number, and you get the answer right, then you can get back in the game. The winning team is the team with the most people who are still "in" the game.
Here are some unwritten rules I play by:
1. I always do an extra tricky question at the end that's worth sinking or saving more people at the end to keep it interesting.
2. Arguing with me or showing poor sportsmanship results in the student being sunk until I say otherwise (Be careful and be reasonable with this - usually the students who argue or show poor sportsmanship are the ones that NEED engaging activities like this)
3. You talk out of turn or cheat - you're out! The only person who can save you is the teacher - with good behavior once being out, of course. Remember, this is an academic activity and we want ALL students answering ALL questions all the time. The student just would not have the option to save themselves OR sink someone until the teacher has allowed them to be back "in" the game.
4. Keep the game moving - don't give them too much time to solve the problems. It needs to be fast paced in order for the students to be engaged and STAY engaged. Give them enough time to solve the problem, but if the students you call aren't finished - they're out. I'll say something like "I need a final answer!" because sometimes they know the answer but couldn't write fast enough, but if they aren't finished then they're out. You don't want to sit around waiting for everyone because you'll be waiting forever. This is why being "out" isn't a big deal - keep the game moving fast and they won't be upset that they didn't finish in time. Also, they know that if they sit around wasting time then they could be out, which gets rid of a lot of kids just spacing out.
What games do you play in your classroom that are quick and easy?
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