Since becoming a teacher, one thing I have always felt strongly about is that students learn best when they are in a class that they actually enjoy and want to be in. So I have always strived to find ways to make practice more interesting for my students. While I would occasionally use worksheets or have students complete practice problems independently, I have always preferred finding more exciting ways to have students practice the concepts that they are learning. One of top strategies for making my math classes fun for students is to use a lot of games – and that is how ClassGRIT was born!
I play team review games before every test and most quizzes in my classes. (While I am not a huge fan of “bonus points,” I have found that offering an extra credit point or 2 on the test to the winning group is a great motivator to get students to really try their best during the review games.) The ClassGRIT Game Show, Claw Machine, and Moving Targets games are perfect games for pre-test reviews! For each of these games, I break my classes up into groups (the games support score-keeping for up to 5 groups each). I have groups take turn selecting questions (choosing category/point value for the jeopardy style game show games, or coming to the board to drop the claw for the claw machine game, or tossing a koosh ball to select a question for the moving targets games). Once the question is selected I have EVERY group work together to come up with an official group answer to write on their team mini whiteboard (with their work shown so I can address any misconceptions). After an appropriate length of time, I have all the groups hold up their answers and then pull up the answer in the game. Groups that had the answer correct gain however many points the question was worth, while groups with incorrect answers lose that many points. We go through all the questions this way and then the group with the most points at the end of the game wins. This has been a very effective way to review for assessments and is always well-received by the students!
In addition to end of unit review games, I like to play games as practice after individual lessons on random class days. If I am doing a game on a single lesson, BINGO is typically my go-to game of choice. The digital BINGO boards on ClassGRIT make it no-prep and easy to use! I give every student a mini whiteboard to work out the problems and they each have their own digital board on their chromebooks, while I have the Bingo Caller up on my interactive whiteboard. Once I bring up a question on the whiteboard, students need to solve it on their boards. Once an appropriate amount of time has passed, I have them hold up their boards (so I can see who gets it and who needs help) and then bring up the answer on my board. Students mark the answer on their boards and then we go to the next question. Stickers or candy make great prizes for Bingo and students are more willing to put the effort into the work because it is gamified (and, of course, because they want the prize)!
When reviewing something “fast” (something like mental math, math facts, or vocabulary), Faceoff is an awesome way to get students having fun! It is fast-paced and definitely best for topics that don’t require a lot of written work, as it is a speed-based game. The class gets split into two teams for the game. One student from each team races against each other to answer a question and earn points and a possible power-up. The power-ups only add to the excitement as they can quickly turn the tide of the game! It’s a game that definitely sparks enthusiasm in the classroom!
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention one of the all-time favorite ClassGRIT games I have played with my classes – Attack! I use Attack sometimes with individual lessons and sometimes to review multiple lessons or even a full unit. It is also a great game to pull out on a day where I didn’t plan to play a game, but see that the students need more review of a previous lesson. The beauty of Attack (in addition to the fact that the students absolutely LOVE it), is that I don’t have to have already come up with the questions before I start playing. I can just use questions from my textbook, worksheets I have laying around, or just make them up as I go while playing the game on my Interactive Board. I simply break the class up into 5 groups, ask a question, pick a random group to answer, and then if they get it right they get to come to the board and attack 2 other groups’ sand castles (or rebuild any damage on their castle). If they are wrong, I attack their castle and then call on another group to answer. The last castle standing (or tallest one left if we run out of time before all others are eliminated) is the winner. Students get super competitive and into this game (often forming alliances and such) and don’t even think about all the math they are doing in the course of the game! This one doesn’t even need any kind of prize – bragging rights go a long way with Attack!
So those are just a few of the ways that ClassGRIT has transformed my math classroom! I have definitely seen success in gamifying my classes. By adding a dash of fun and friendly competition through these interactive games, I have not only seen academic success but also a real excitement for learning in my classroom!
If you have not yet tried ClassGRIT games, I encourage you to set up a free account and try the free games with your classes!
