1. Games

2. Why Use Games/Mild Competition
Increases curiosity and motivation
Creates a student-centered learning environment
Reduces anxiety in the classroom
Allows for cooperative learning opportunities
Inherently differentiates learning
Engages individual learners simultaneously

3. Games Charades Crossword
Name that concept (Talk a mile a minute or Password)
Taboo
$10,000 Pyramid
Bingo
Jeopardy
Pictionary
Apples to Apples
Word Wall Password
Charades
Crossword
Password

4. Name That Concept Password Talk a Mile a Minute

5. Name that Concept!
Partner A: Provide clues to your partner without using the actual words, derivatives, or rhymes.
definitions, examples, descriptions, contexts
Partner B: Name the concept or component or say “pass” to move on to the next item.
Goal: Successfully communicate all items in one minute.

6. Words From Geometry Square Hexagon Sphere Cylinder Parallelogram
Rectangle
Pyramid

7. Words from Algebra Slope Y-intercept Equation Exponent Parabola
Pythagorean Theorem
Linear
Googol

8. Words From American History
Abraham Lincoln
capitalism
industrialization
genocide
Republic
President

9. Words from Language Arts
autobiography
protagonist
cliché
pronoun
simile

10. Talk a Mile a Minute
Students are given a list of terms that have been organized into categories.
Each team designates a talker.
The talker tries to get the team to say each of the words by quickly describing them.
The talker is allowed to say anything about the terms while talking but may not use any words in the category title or any rhyming words.
The talker keeps talking until the team members identify all terms in the category.
If members of the team are having difficulty with a particular term, the talker skips it and comes back to it later.

11. Things associated with weather
Tornado
Hurricane
Cold front
Cumulus clouds
Sleet
Barometer
El Nino

12. Things associated with oceans
Waves
Moon
Algae
Pacific
Ships
Tropical fish
George Clooney

13. Things Associated with the American Civil War
Robert E. Lee
Ulysses S. Grant
Gettysburg
Slavery
Antietam
Emancipation Proclamation
Abraham Lincoln 13

14. Units of Measure Inches Meters Gallons Hours Quarts Square Yards
Liters 14

15. Pyramid

16. Pyramid Game 200 points 100 points 100 points 50 points 50 points

17. Pyramid Game 200 points 100 points 100 points 50 points 50 points
Things
that
happened
in the 1970’s
200 points
Things
Albert Einstein
would say
Types of
Government
100 points
100 points
Liquids
Titles of Plays
Battles
50 points
50 points
50 points

18. Pyramid Game 200 points 100 points 100 points 50 points 50 points
Probability
200 points
Metric
measurements
3 dimensional
objects
100 points
100 points
Things that have 4 sides
Equations or Formulas
Measures of length
50 points
50 points
50 points

19. TABOO
Have the kids make up the game. Pick the words and have them determine the words that can’t be used. They play the game as a study/summarizing technique.
president
Bush
White House
Republican
Washington
Lincoln

20. TABOO Adverb Adjective Modify Part of speech Time Verb
Latitude & Longitude
Lines
Map
Globe
Parallels
Prime
Grid

21. TABOO cylinder Circle Shape 3-D Perpendicular lines 90 degrees
Parallel
Right angle
Square
rectangle

22. Taboo Teachers or students can make cards Index cards work well
More summarization with student-made cards
Index cards work well
Play demonstration game
Pairs, small groups, entire classroom
with two teams
The more “taboo” words, the more difficult the game. This can be used for differentiation.

23. Quick Draw Developing Spatial Sense and Communication Skills
Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, September 2008, p Kerry Richardson and Catherine Stein
Glance at a geometric figure for no longer than 3 seconds, then draw what you saw.

24. Look at This Picture

25. Draw What You Saw
When completed, look at the image and compare it with your drawing.
What did you see?
How did you draw it?
Compare with a colleague.
Did he or she draw the diagram differently?
How did you describe the image differently from your colleague?

26. Quick Draw
Students explain their thinking in multifaceted ways and teachers need to establish social norms in their classroom that enable students to communicate openly and freely.
Students see or describe the image differently than how they draw the object. Teachers should avoid making judgments about the correctness of the drawing.
Quick draw sees to draw out not only communication about spatial tasks but also mathematical language.

27. Other Possible Shapes

28. Toothpick Challenge
One person creates a shape with five toothpicks and does not let their partner see the shape.
Give directions to partner to create the shape.
Person giving directions may watch as their partner creates the shape and adjust directions given according how the shape is created.
Activity can be modified so that the person giving directions can not see what their partner is creating.

29. Pattern or Attribute Blocks
Set up a book between two students so that a small work area can not be seen by either student.
Student A creates a design using pattern blocks.
Once the design is completed student A gives directions to student B about how to build the design. Student A can not see what student B is creating. Student B can not ask questions.
When student A has provided all of the directions remove the books and compare shapes.

30. Pattern or Attribute Blocks

31. Others
Word Walls
Think-pair share