Happy Summer!

Hello avid readers :)

This post has been a long time coming... I apologize for the lapse in posts, however, I AM going to be better about posting things! To make up for it, today I am going to post a couple of things. I hope you enjoy them!


The first is an idea that I remember my third grade teacher using. He turned an ordinary Jenga game, into a learning opportunity. What you had to do was, on your turn, someone took a Jenga block from the tower like normal. Except this time, if you successfully got the block out, then you would have to read the state then you had to say the capital. The capitals were on the opposite side of the block so you could check your answer.


This particular idea I found is the same idea except with multiplication Jenga. Here is the link:
http://www.theorganizedclassroomblog.com/index.php/blog/turning-noneducational-games-into-learning-fun

If you follow it, you can see this game, get the templates, and even find other ideas for turning regular games into educational ones!



My second post is a game that I learned at the summer camp I'm working at! This can be a fun outdoor game, or just a game in the classroom to get the kids up and moving. It's called riverbank. Have the kids stand on a line, tell them that to the left of the line is the river, and the right of the line is the bank. You then shout out words like: river, bank, hank, sliver, etc. When you say river, they hop with both feet over to the left (the river side) then if you say bank, they hop to the other side. You can repeat words, alternate them and even change the speed. If a student jumps to the wrong side, or if they mess up, they're out. We usually let the kids who get out be the judges, just so they're still engaged. 

It's a fun game and it's secretly a cardio workout too! The kids will love it, trust me! Plus you can use it with pretty much any age. We play with 5-12 year olds and they all play very well.

I hope you found these games to be something helpful for you :)

Enjoy!

Photo credits: 
http://www.theorganizedclassroomblog.com/index.php/blog/turning-noneducational-games-into-learning-fun
http://www.steeplemorden.cambs.sch.uk/steeple/pupils/year4.php