Engaging Classroom Games for any Subject: Series IV

This is week four of Engaging Games for any Classroom Series. The last two engagement games will be introduced. You can use these games in your classroom for any grade and any content. All you need are problems written on tiny pieces of paper. 

• If you missed week one’s games, click here for the post.  

• To check out week two’s games, click here for the post. 

• To read about the games in week three, click here for the post. 

Join my email list for more games like these and an exclusive EDITABLE math freebie to get you started right away.

This week’s games are called Surgery & Sticky Hands. 

Surgery

Materials: 

- Tiny Problems cut out. (One set per group-different colors for each group)

 

- Tiny Problems Recording Sheet

- One glue stick per group

- Doctor’s Clipboard Freebie (One copy per group in their team color.)

- Large silhouette of “Operation Man” drawn on butcher paper. (I trace it from the Smart Board)

*The following items are optional but will make your students feel like they are real doctors. 

- Clipboards

- Hair nets 

- Gloves 

- Tweezers 

- Surgical masks 

- Name tags that have their last names on them. Ex: Dr. Cahill

- ER sound effects for background sounds

Set up: 

Split your class up into groups. Lay the “Operation Man” out onto the floor in the center of the room and tape the edges down. Fold all the Tiny Problems up and place them on the body of “Operation Man.” Each group should get the Doctor’s Clipboard Freebie for their team.

If you choose to use the operation items for your students, pass those out in advance so they are “dressed” and ready to perform surgery. 

How to play: 

• Tell the students they will be giving surgery to the sick patient in the operating room. The object is for each group to remove the germs (Tiny Problems) from the patient by solving them.

• Split students into teams and assign each team a specific color. Give them 15 seconds to establish an order of who is going first to last.

• One person at a time will retrieve a germ with their tweezers and carry it back to their group. 

• When they return, they will read the question to the group and EVERYONE needs to answer it.

• When the whole team has answered, they write it in the recording sheet in the corresponding numbered box. 

• When that question is answered by every group member, it can be glued to the Doctor’s Clipboard Freebie for their team. 

• The next student is off to grab another germ. This continues until all the team’s colored germs are glued to the clipboard. 

There are many ways you can change up this activity to suit your needs. If you have a small class, you can make an “Operation Man” for each group. You can even partner students up or give each child their own color so they can work independently. 

Sticky Hands

Materials: 

- Tiny Problems cut out. - Make a separate color for each group to collect. 

- Tiny Problems recording sheet

- sticky hands (Amazon link)

Set up: 

Put all of the Tiny Problems face down on a table, desk or flat surface. Split your students into groups in advance. Each group member gets a sticky hand.

How to play: 

• Students get out a Tiny Problems recording sheet and a pencil.

• Give your students 15 seconds to establish an order of who is going first to last.

• One student at a time will head to the Tiny Problems table, shoot their sticky hand at the table to pick up a problem and bring it back to their group. 

NOTE: This DOES have a learning curve and some students might struggle at first. I tell them to try three times then just bring a problem back to the group. If they pick up more than one problem, they should return all but one to the table and head back to their group. 

• EVERYONE in the group needs to answer the question.

• When the whole team has an answer, they write it in the recording sheet in the corresponding numbered box. 

• The next student to retrieve a Tiny Problem needs to return the old problem, face down, to the table before “sticky handing” a new one for the group.  

• This continues until all the Tiny Problems are solved.  

You can go over the answers in class or collect the recording sheets. If you want to make it more competitive, set a timer and the group who completes the most questions correctly wins!

Thank you for following along with this blog series, Engaging Games for any Classroom. I hope you found it helpful and you were able to take away some ideas for your classroom. Please feel free to join my email list for more games like this and an exclusive EDITABLE math freebie to get you started right away. Have a great day. 

Happy Teaching!

Kelly

Engaging Classroom Games for any Subject: Series III

        This is week three of Engaging Games for any Classroom Series. Two more engagement games will be introduced that you can use in your classroom for any grade and any content. All you need are problems written on tiny pieces of paper. 

• If you missed week one’s games, click here for the post.  

• To check out week two’s games, click here for the post. 

Subscribe to my email list for more games and an exclusive EDITABLE math freebie to get you started right away.

This week's games are called Egg Hunt and Jenga.

Egg Hunt

Materials: 

-Tiny Problems cut out. (Only one set.) 

 

-Tiny Problems recording sheet

-Plastic Eggs (one per question) 

-Clipboards (optional)

Set up: 

Place one Tiny Problems question inside each egg.  Write the number of the question on the outside of the egg so your students know where to write their answer on their recording sheet. Finally, hide the eggs around your classroom. Be sure they are in places you want your students looking. I usually hide them in plain sight. This way they are easy to find when the activity is over. 

How to play: 

• The teacher will tell the children they are going on an egg hunt. 

• When they find an egg they must answer the question on their recording sheet. 

• Before they move onto another egg, they MUST put the question back in the egg and return it EXACTLY where they found it. This way, their friends can answer the question too. 

There are many other options out there if you choose not to use plastic eggs. Use what works for your classroom and your students. I use the eggs all year round because I had tons of them at home. Thankfully, I didn’t need to buy anything new for this activity.

Jenga

Materials: 

- Tiny Problems cut out. (Only one set.) 

 

- Dry erase boards for students to record answers.

- 2 to 6 Jenga games

Set up: 

Split your class up into groups based on the number of Jenga games you have. Have the Jenga game set up in the center of the group. 

How to play: 

• The teacher will read a question aloud to the class.

• All students will answer on their recording sheet or their dry erase board. 

• The teacher will ask the students to flip their answer. 

• The teacher tells the class the correct answer.

• Any child who gets the answer correct will take a turn to pull a Jenga block from the tower. 

• This continues until the first tower falls. 

• Restack and  play again. 

                       

There are other versions of this game too. You can print a copy of Tiny Problems for each group to have their own set and the kids can take turns answering. You can just circulate the room and be a watchful eye. 

Stores also sell colored Jenga towers. You can make color coded Tiny Problems questions to match the blocks as well. Each color can be a different subject or concept you taught.

For social distancing this year, I bought the mini Jenga towers from The Dollar Tree. Each student had their own Jenga tower and played alone as they answered the questions I read aloud. 

I’ve also played BACKWARDS Jenga. All the mini Jenga blocks were up on my front table and children were asked Tiny Problems. As they answered correctly on their dry erase board, they earned a block. As they answered questions, they needed to build a tower using all the blocks they earned. 

There are so many different ways to incorporate Jenga tower games into your teaching. I like full class participation so I always have all my students answer the questions. This way, no one is waiting around for a turn to answer. 

That’s all for this week. Come back for the last three games in the series that will keep up the excitement and engagement in your classroom. Please feel free to join my email list for more game ideas like this and an exclusive EDITABLE math freebie to get you started right away. Thanks for stopping by and I will see you next week. 

Happy Teaching! 

Kelly

Engaging Classroom Games for any Subject: Series II

Welcome back to Engaging Games for any Classroom Series. This week I will be explaining two more high engagement games you can use in your classroom for any grade and any content. All you need are problems written on tiny pieces of paper. 

• If you missed last week’s games, click here for the post. 

Join my email list for more games like these and an exclusive EDITABLE math freebie to get you started right away.

This week’s games are called Suck it Up and Hot Potato. 

Suck it Up

Materials: 

- Tiny Problems cut out. - One set should be enough problems but if you want to make a separate color for each group to collect that is fine. I usually do one set for the class to share. 

- Tiny Problems recording sheet

- colored straws (I recommend plastic straws. Buy thin straws if you teach younger students. Thick straws make it a tougher challenge.) 

Set up: 

Put all of the Tiny Problems face down on a table, desk or flat surface. Split your students into groups in advance. Have straws divided so each group member gets a different color straw to avoid mixing straws between students. YUCK!

How to play: 

• Students get out a Tiny Problems recording sheet (Optional: Dry erase boards to use as scratch paper.)

• Students join their teams and pick a different color straw. Give them 15 seconds to establish an order of who is going first to last OR say, “Red straws go first, blue go second, yellow go third”….and so on.

• One student at a time will head to the Tiny Problems table, suck up air through their straw to pick up a problem and bring it back to their group. 

NOTE: This DOES have a learning curve and some students might struggle at first. I tell them to try three times to “suck it up” with their straw, then bring it back to the group.

• EVERYONE in the group needs to answer the question.

• When the whole team has an answer, they write it in the recording sheet in the corresponding numbered box. 

• The next student to retrieve a Tiny Problem needs to return the old problem, face down, to the table before “sucking up” a new one for the group.  

• This continues until all the Tiny Problems are solved.  

You can go over the answers in class or collect the recording sheets. If you want to make it more competitive, set a timer and the group who completes the most questions correctly wins!

Hot Potato

Materials: 

-Tiny Problems cut out. (Only the teacher will need a set.) 

 

-Tiny Problems recording sheet OR dry erase board and markers.

-A “musical” Hot Potato OR something to pass around music. 

Set up: 

Have your class sit in one big circle. Each child should have their recording sheet or a dry erase board for recording their answers. 

How to play: 

• Students will be sitting quietly in a circle ready to listen.

• The teacher will read a Tiny Problem aloud to the group and EVERYONE needs to answer the question.

• When each student has an answer, the teacher will tell the students to begin HOT Potato.

• The children will pass the potato until the music stops.

• The child who is holding the potato when the music stops gets to share their answer with the group. 

• The students check their boards, ask questions if needed and then prepare to answer the next question. 

You can even make multiple circles so more children get a chance to share an answer. I’ve had one giant circle with four or five stuffed animals circulating as potatoes. This is another way to give more children a chance to share their answers when the music stops. 

Thanks for stopping by today. Please come back next week for two more games in the series that will keep up student engagement in your classroom with minimal prep. Join my email list for more game ideas like this and an exclusive EDITABLE math freebie to get you started right away.

Happy Teaching! 

Kelly