Games that Motivate Students to Learn
Materials Required: flashcards, spelling lists, or review facts
Activity Time: varies: 5-30 minutes
Concepts Taught: Review math facts, spelling words and content area facts
Students get so involved and excited playing games, they forget they are learning.
Baseball
Use this game to practice math facts or to review facts in Science or Social Studies. Divide the class into two teams. Decide with the class where the batter will stand, and where the bases will be. Call team 1 up to the front of the room. The batter gets a question or math fact to answer. If he gets it right, he moves to 1st base. If he misses it, that is an out. I usually play 5 outs so we don't have to change teams as often. Students chalk up their runs on the board as they come in. The other team sits in their seats and holds up fingers to show the number of outs. This game was the class favorite, and we always played it at recess on rainy days.
Heads Up/7up with a new twist
Another rainy day favorite is Heads Up, but the kids always peek to see who tapped them, so I've changed the rules a bit. Select 7 players to come up front. Call out, "Heads down, all around." Each child taps someone and then goes back up front. Call out,"Heads up, 7 up", and the ones who were tapped stand up. Give each student a math flash card fact or review question to answer. If she gets it right, the one who tapped her must sit down and the new player goes up front. If she is wrong, she sits back down and the one who tapped her gets to stay up front.
Tic Tac Toe Bingo
This is a favorite of mine. It works well with any kind of Math facts or vocabulary definitions. For each round, the kids draw a tic tac toe grid on paper. They write in 9 answers, putting them anywhere they want. That way, everyone's grid is different. The teacher calls out problems, words, or letters. The first one to get three in a row, just like tic tac toe, is the winner.. Have the students make a new grid for each new game. For vocabulary words, the teacher says the definitions.
Around the world
This is another math facts practice game. Start at the front of the room with the first 2 kids. They stand. Hold up a flash card. The first one to say the answer gets to move on and challenge the next student. The one who loses, sits down wherever he is. Only give them one chance. If one child says the wrong answer, the other one gets a chance. If they both miss, they both sit, and go on to the next two kids. The winner is the first one to get back to his seat. This can take awhile, but the kids love it. (Hint: Just skip anyone who won't be quiet while waiting, and they will get the hint.)
Drop the clothespin/ or eraser basketball
Divide into smaller teams for this game, either by rows, reading groups, etc. Call up one team. Each time a student gets to right answer (I like to use spelling words), she gets to drop a clothespin into a jar, or throw an eraser into a wastebasket placed several feet away. Let one of your students give out the words (Or math facts) and another keep score, and you can just sit back and settle any disputes.
Sparkle
This is a spelling practice game. It also forces them to be good listeners. Again, divide into smaller teams of 6-8. Call up the first group. Pronounce the word that is to be spelled. The first child says the first letter. The second child says the second letter. The third child says the third letter, etc. If they miss, they sit down on the floor and the game continues. Do NOT repeat the word and do not repeat the letters that have already been called out. After the last letter of the word has been given, the next person must say "Sparkle." The person after the sparkle person has to sit down. Pronounce the next word.The last person left standing is the winner. Then go on to the next group.
Math Wars
This is a great game for reviewing difficult Math calculation and story problems. Call about 5 or 6 students up to the chalkboard. Give a difficult math problem. Ex. For third graders, I might give: 423-179. The first one to solve it correctly and sit down on the floor gets a piece of candy or a sticker. Then she goes to her seat, and you call up another child to take her place. Continue till everyone has a chance to come to the board and win. This game also works great for story problems. As a shorter variation, call up one row at a time. After someone wins, have the whole row go back to their seats and call up the next row.
Math relay
Ahead of time, prepare two large grids on the board, for counting from 1-100 or 400-500, a multiplication chart, etc. Divide into two groups and line them up, facing the board. Each child gets to write in 1 number and then goes to the end of the line. If a child sees a mistake, he may correct it instead of writing a number. The first team to complete the chart correctly is the winner. (Hint: I enforce a no talking rule during this game. Anyone who talks must go to their seat.)
Another math relay
This is a variation of the other relay. You can have the kids count by 2's, 3's, 5's, or 10's beginning with a certain number and working until they reach a certain number. Write the beginning and ending numbers on the chalkboard. For example, Count by 2's from 324 to 398.
Greater than/ Less than
Students always have trouble with this concept, so I came up with this idea. I like to play it with a few students at a time, waiting in line for lunch, the bus, etc. You say, "I am thinking of a number between 1 and 25." Give each child a guess and after each guess, you tell them if the answer is higher or lower than their guess. Let them keep guessing until someone gets it right. Reward them with a piece of candy. Keep using more difficult numbers as their skill level increases. Ex. "I'm thinking of a number between 7
Pictionary
A great way to review just about anything is to use the game pictionary. I break the class into teams of three and four students. I prepare five levels of note cards ahead of time. On each note card I write single word concepts or definitions. Level one cards are easiest and level five cards are very difficult. Each level card translates to equal point values. For example, a level three card is worth three points.
When the game begins a team gets to pick a level card prior to viewing it. They must send one drawer up to the board. The drawer has forty-five seconds to get their team to guess the word/concept on the card by drawing. The drawer cannot use numbers, letters, or symbols, if they do, the team's turn ends. If the team guesses correctly, they receive the point value. If they guess incorrectly, the card is passed to the next team and an extra point is accumulated. So, if a two point card is missed twice, it counts as four points if that team guesses correctly. I have also added the rule that if I hear the word/concept aloud in the classroom during a teams turn they automatically receive the points. Additionally, to keep the class controlled, if another group is rude or loud they automatically lose one point.