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Games

Games to Play in Your Classroom

February 5, 2017 by Jodi 1 Comment

Great ideas for games to play in an elementary classroom.

Playing games in your classroom is the perfect way to review skills while keeping students engaged in their learning.  I like to make sure that I always have some games prepped and ready to go.  Not only do I purposefully place games into my lesson plans for the week, but I also use games when I see that my students may be losing focus and we need to change things up.

Great ideas for games to play in an elementary classroom.The Benefits of Playing Games

Playing games has so many benefits for students.  First of all, students LOVE playing games.  Games grab their attention and keeps them engaged in their learning.  Students can also learn a variety of important skills while playing games.  Not only can they learn academics, but games allow children to work on critical thinking skills as well as learning good sportsmanship and teamwork.

There is plenty of research to prove that games are beneficial in the classroom.  “Studies show that, on average, using academic games in the classroom is associated with a 20 percentile point gain in student achievement.”  (Haystead and Marzano, 2009.)

What are My Favorite Games to Play in our Classroom?

I love to transform classic board games and give them an academic twist.  You can do this in many different ways, and the possibilities are truly endless.

These ideas are perfect for giving classic board games an academic twist.I have way too many Candy Land games in my classroom, maybe more than I care to admit.  However, I love using this game for reviewing many different skills.  To create a sight word version of Candy Land, just write a sight word on each colored square.  Before the player can move to that color, he/she has to read the sight word.  I have also created math fact Candy Land where the player has to tell the answer to the problem before moving to their color.  Other ideas for transforming Candy Land include: letter sounds, blends and digraphs, synonyms and antonyms, rhyming words, etc.

These ideas are perfect for giving classic board games an academic twist.Connect Four is another game that lends itself to academics.  I just write on the chips, and the students are ready to play.  In the first picture, I wrote addition math facts on each piece.  The player had to say the answer before putting in their chip.  The second picture has beginning blends and digraphs on each chip.  The players had to say a word that began with that blend or digraph before putting their piece into the game.

These ideas are perfect for giving classic board games an academic twistAnother idea is to use Jenga.  For the game above, I wrote ending punctuation on each block.  Before pulling out the block, the player had to say a sentence that ended with that punctuation mark.

These ideas are perfect for giving classic board games an academic twist.We also use Chutes and Ladders to review words with particular vowel sounds.  In the picture above, I wrote a vowel on each section of the spinner.  Before moving their piece, the student had to say a word that contained that vowel sound.  You could use this with short or long vowel sounds.  Another idea is to have the student say a math fact that equals the number they landed on before moving their game piece.  For the Sorry games above, I wrote letters on each square.  As the students move around the board, they have to say the letter sound.  For the one on the bottom, I just wrote tasks on each card.  For example, “Say a word with 2 syllables.”

These No Prep Games are perfect for the classroom. They review so many different skills.I also love to have other games on hand in my classroom.  Each month, I print off the games from my monthly NO Prep Game packets.  I almost always print the black and white versions, but sometimes I print off colored copies and then laminate them.  At the beginning of each month, I print classroom copies of each game and place them in a drawer.  Anytime I notice that we need a change of pace or we have a couple extra minutes, I can pull out one of these games.  Each month has a variety of math and literacy games that are perfect for reviewing skills that we have been learning.  You can check out each month or the entire bundle HERE.  The TIC TAC TOE game is from my Phonics TIC TAC TOE packet that you can check out HERE.

These No Prep Games are a perfect addition to the classroom. They are easy to use and review so many skills.These math fact games are also great to have on hand.  Our math series really lacks in math fact practice, so I like to use these to make sure that my students are getting plenty of practice with these skills.  You can check the addition and subtraction games HERE.

Want to Pin this post for future use?  Feel free to pin the image below or any of the pictures above.

These games are the perfect way to focus on academics in your classroom while keeping students engaged.

What are your favorite games to use in your classroom?

Filed Under: Curriculum, Math, Reading Tagged With: Games

Sight Word Games

September 1, 2015 by Jodi Leave a Comment

Learning sight words is such an important skill for beginning readers.  Goodness gracious though!  Who came up with some of the spellings of our common sight words?  Why does it have to be so confusing?  We teach these phonics rules, and then throw more than a hundred words at our students that don’t follow those rules.  It definitely makes teaching sight words challenging, but it doesn’t have to be boring.
I wanted to find a way to make learning sight words a little more exciting, so I created some No Prep Sight Word Games for us to use.
The first thing I did was to assess my students on their sight word knowledge.  I really like the Dolch Sight Word lists from A is for Apple, B is for Blog.  This gives me an idea of which sight words my students still need to master. 
Then, I can differentiate my games, and have my students play with the words that they still need.
I have included 10 different No Prep sight word games using the 220 Dolch Sight Words.
 Most of the games are available in both color and black and white.  This gives you the option of printing in color, and laminating to use over and over again, or just printing in black and white for your students.
I will be using some of these games in a whole group setting, but most of them will be perfect for small groups and a sight word center.
You can check these out by clicking on the picture below and heading over to my Teachers Pay Teachers store.
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Sight-Word-Games-No-Prep-2062385


Filed Under: Reading Tagged With: Games, Sight Words

January Games Galore & A Teacher’s List of Favorite Christmas Read Alouds

December 15, 2014 by Jodi 2 Comments

I finished my January NO PREP Games packet this weekend.
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Games-Galore-No-Prep-Math-Literacy-Games-for-January-1607273
 
This packet includes 5 Language Arts and 5 Math games as well as 2 whole group games.  They are NO PREP…just print and play.
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Games-Galore-No-Prep-Math-Literacy-Games-for-January-1607273
 
If you have purchased my Games Galore Bundle, you can go and redownload it to get the January packet.
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Games-Galore-The-Bundle-1458011
 
Last week on my Facebook page, I asked teachers what their favorite Christmas read alouds were and I wanted to share some of these with you.  There were quite a few that I did not have in my classroom library and I will now be adding them.

Click on any of the books below to find them on Amazon.

 
 
 









 

 
 


 
 
 What is your favorite Christmas book?

Filed Under: Math, Reading, Winter Tagged With: Christmas, Games

November Games Galore

October 18, 2014 by Jodi 2 Comments

Isn’t it crazy that we are over halfway through October?  It has gone by so fast and November is baby due date month!  Oh my goodness!  We still have SO much to do!
Anyways, I did get a chance to finish my November Games Galore NO PREP Math & Literacy Games packet.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Games-Galore-No-Prep-Math-Literacy-Games-for-November-1505647
 
This packet contains 5 Math and 5 Literacy Games intended for partner play as well as 2 whole group games (November Bingo &  Football Next Number Scoot).


http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Games-Galore-No-Prep-Math-Literacy-Games-for-November-1505647
 
All of the games come in a black and white version, but some also come in full color if you would prefer to print them off and laminate them for future use.

 
You can check these out by clicking HERE!
 
Don’t forget that if you have already purchased the Games Galore Bundle, you can go and redownload it to get the November packet for no additional charge.
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Games-Galore-The-Bundle-1458011
 

Filed Under: Fall, Math, Reading Tagged With: Games

Five for Friday{ish}

September 27, 2014 by Jodi 3 Comments

I know, I know…it’s Saturday, but I’m just now getting around to linking up for Five for Friday.
http://doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.com/2014/09/five-for-friday-linky-party-september_26.html
 
It’s been awhile since I’ve linked up with this Linky Party, but I felt like I had a bunch of randomness to share and this was perfect.
Now that it’s officially fall, we started writing about it.  I shared this writing freebie on my blog this week.
 

We have been waiting not so patiently for our butterflies and on Friday, we finally had one emerge from it’s chrysalis.  The students were SO excited.  “This is the best day of my life,” was said more than once.  Yes, they were hyper and yes, I felt sorry for our PE teacher because she had to have my class right after the butterfly came out, but I was so happy that they were able to see it and they didn’t miss it over the weekend.

 
This next week, we will be learning all about bats.  We will be reading tons of nonfiction books, but I also have a lot of fiction books about bats as well that I wanted to throw in and have some fun with.  I created this little unit that we will be using next week with our fiction books.
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fun-with-Fiction-Bats-1465998
 
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fun-with-Fiction-Bats-1465998
 
I’m so thankful for the amazing weather we’ve been having in Indiana lately because both of my girls are playing fall soccer and we are at the soccer fields three days a week. 
 
I have had a lot of requests to bundle my Games Galore packets and I FINALLY did.  I am not finished with November, December, and January yet, but they will be added as I finish them.
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Games-Galore-The-Bundle-1458011
 
These NO PREP games are perfect for centers, as a time filler when you just have a couple of minutes, or when you know your students need to move and do something different. 
If you just need the October edition, you can find it by clicking below.
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Games-Galore-No-Prep-Math-Literacy-Games-for-October-1453267

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Games-Galore-No-Prep-Math-Literacy-Games-for-October-1453267
 
Happy weekend everyone!


Filed Under: Fall Tagged With: bats, Fall, Games, Writing

October Games Galore

September 18, 2014 by Jodi Leave a Comment

Last year, I started creating my Games Galore packets.  These monthly packets include 10 NO PREP partner games {5 language arts and 5 math} as well as two whole group games.  I love having them on hand when I have a few extra minutes.  I also use many of them during small group stations.  Students LOVE playing games and they don’t really know they are learning and reviewing important skills 😉  It’s a win-win!
I just finished up my October packet last night.
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Games-Galore-No-Prep-Math-Literacy-Games-for-October-1453267
 
I am excited to use these with my firsties next month.  You can check out the packet by clicking on the picture above or the picture below.
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Games-Galore-No-Prep-Math-Literacy-Games-for-October-1453267
 



Filed Under: Fall, Math, Reading Tagged With: Games

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funinfirstblog

Definitely not my favorite of his costumes, but he Definitely not my favorite of his costumes, but he loves it, so that’s all that matters 🦴🎃
We will be completing our Halloween Challenge on F We will be completing our Halloween Challenge on Friday. It’s such a great way to make learning fun while working cooperatively.🎃
Check it out by following the link in my profile.
Thank you, Halloween!!🎃👻 Thank you, Halloween!!🎃👻
🌟Easy small group activity🌟 Give each studen 🌟Easy small group activity🌟
Give each student the vowels using foam or magnetic letters. Say a CVC word.  The students hold up the vowel to show the middle sound that they hear.
Super easy and effective💙
I could not be happier that Halloween falls on a S I could not be happier that Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, but that definitely does not mean that the kids will be calm this coming week🤪
If you can’t beat them, join them, right? We will be working on reading fluency using my Halloween Reading on the Move.
Check it out by following the link in my profile.🎃
I’ve definitely need some coffee to get through I’ve definitely need some coffee to get through this past week that I swear was actually 15 days long 😂 But, I’m officially done with my parent-teacher conferences✔️👏👏
We normally do a student pumpkin decorating contes We normally do a student pumpkin decorating contest at school, and the pumpkins are always AMAZING. Due to Covid, we had to cancel it this year, but each classroom created a pumpkin.
We finished ours today, and I actually think it turned out pretty cute🦁
At this point in the year, I am definitely feeling At this point in the year, I am definitely feeling like my soup of the day should be coffee.
I’m *almost* done with Parent-Teacher Conferences. Only 2 more left👏👏
How are you holding up? Do you need some coffee soup along with me?
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