I have a confession. I knew I wanted to do one last challenge but I didn't want it to be too time intensive on my part, so I thought creating a game would do the trick. I was SO wrong! First off the level of participation and involvement was huge, and secondly I just couldn't skim through each entry - they were way too cool! Because sharing pictures takes me too much time on the blog, I won't be doing so. However, I will be tweeting out as many as I can - so look for them there. And of course I was compelled to write a note for each student to let them know how much I appreciated their effort and ideas.
Last week I spent time with Ms. Hunter's class while they shared their Math Games with each other, and was absolutely blown away by their creativity, thoughtfulness, and effort. Over the weekend I looked through a car-load (no lie, the back of my car was full!) of games made by 1st through 5th graders. Again, I was struck by how well thought out the games were, and how much effort the students put into them. This week I will be visiting more classrooms (Ms. Ward, Ms. Shaw, and Ms. Abshire) to see, and hear about, their games. I can't wait!
GAME NAMES - aka 'Creativity Unleashed'
Twist Battle Mania It Figures Decimal Jeopardy Road to the White House Math Mania Math Dash Say it Fast! Backwards then Forwards Mathmania Mathopoly Exponents to the End Moneyopolis Roll to 100 Addition & Subtraction Race Math Star Puzzling Addition Sorry Fun Time Hit the Hole Making Time Lazer Time Subtraction Up Zap Money Bing0 Roll & Round Zillionaire Guess & Flip Make Multiplication Smiley Snakes & Ladders Geometry Wars Money Mayhem Decimal Dash | Playdate Logic The Math Path Flash Cards X Battle Barter Multiplying for Beginners Zap! Money Math Trivia Pink Orange Blue Balancing Math Game of Time Math Cars Race the Storm Moving to Win Build! I Have Who Has Math Mirror Trouble Mathopoly Addition Attack 17 Stops to Home The Path of Math Hang Math Time Game Fractions What Time Is It? Money Land Number Run Journey Sky Mania Crazy Family + and - Back and Forth Slips & Slides Adopt a Whale! 10 Up! | Math-Z Multiplion Zero - Infinity Math Jeopardy #Hard Messy Chessy Multi-Vison with Dares Money Run Temple Time X + - / ! Hang Spider Break Out Dolphin Land The Matching Game Multiplication Hop Magic Island The Life of Animals Math Race Number Land Math Time Math Chess Lava Maze Decimal Run Math Flash Multiplication Pairs Money Farm Count the Fish Times Two Line Dot Pond-opoly Race to the End: Math Adding Up House Math Money Thief |
There were many components to this challenge that allowed the students to personalize their work and to put their creativity into it - choosing a name, deciding on the topic, creating the materials/cards/boards, and employing all of those components of games that they've learned and experienced over the years.
There were "endless loops", short cuts, penalties, rewards, cooperation, trading spaces, etc...
There were card games, bingo games, jeopardy games, board games, dice games, logic games, speed games, combination games ...
There were also some really fun rules, strategies and comments that I also want to share:
"It will get tricky at the end."
"Instructions: Do not cheat. Have fun!"
"Need 1 table, 6 chairs (joke)"
"Materials: Two dice and on the board there are 31 squares and a lot of cards."
"Do not destroy anything please."
1. No cheating 2. Math only. 3. Fun 4. Play correctly.
"Rules: Try to get home but you can't, there is so much to do like someone robbing a bank or someone stole a hair brush. You win when you get home. Have fun!"
And one game had a dangerous whirpool AND a tornado in it!
The students' thoughts about the challenge were also amazing and incredible to read. Yes, I know, there are A LOT of comments below, but I really couldn't bring myself to cut anyone out. Please take the plunge and read through them. You'll be glad you did!
I thought this challenge was:
Amazing and fun. Really fun and exciting. A good way to get your creative juices flowing. Very creative and fun. Best math challenge yet (in my opinion). I hope you have fun playing our game! I worked hard and kept trying. Fun but complicated. It was challenging and hard. Very fun but challenging. Thank you Ms. Francisco Very hard. It was so interesting. Fun and a little hard. It was fun and good. I love it. A fun exciting challenge & that is cool! Fun but a little frustrating. Fun because my friend helped me. Super hard but fun! My challenge was time ... and not having a partner. Really fun for our school. It was so AWESOME! Fun brain exerciser. A cool idea for the last math challenge. Very exciting and fun. I learned a lot from this challenge and it was very interesting. Very exciting and fun but still hard. It is my favorite math challenge of all. Yay!!! Yay!!! Yay!!! Fun, and a way to test our creativity. Challenging but super fun to work on. My challenge was making the division cards because I had to make sure they were easy and hard. PS this was awesome to make! To make the pieces with the 3D pen. Pretty hard to make a game. Challenging, hard, not simple and I persevered. I did it. I DID IT! | It was hard because we had to change things a lot. Very fun. It was the funnest math challenge I ever tried. Fun because the puzzle was hard to make. Fun because we worked hard. Easy and hard but fun. I thought it was hard but challenging. Kind of easy to come up with a game, hard to make it. Super cool and I learned a lot. Thank You! Challenging because there were a lot of materials. Cool and challenging. I thought this was hard at 1st but I realized it was fun too. Really fun, and it also made you think about what a good game includes, and try to incorporate that into a math game. IT WAS AWESOME! Fun and forced our group to cooperate. Fantastically Fun! The challenge was thinking of the game and then making it. Super fun! Awesome! Thank you! My challenge was making the board. Fun and, well, challenging! Really hard to come up with, it was easier once I knew what I was doing. Super fun and probably the best one. Fun because it was challenging and challenges your mind. Fun because I think everyone got creative with the idea of a math game! Fun and hard and well, a bit of a challenge along the way. Very creative and fun because we get to make a game connected to math. Fun and a good last challenge for the year! |
Some of the students took my question as to say what was challenging for them while making their game. I love how honest they were and how some shared a feeling of pride and success. Another thing that struck me was how many students said "Thank You". I feel like these 2 simple words are becoming more and more rare with both kids and adults these days. Seeing how many times I was thanked, really made my day and gave me some hope that this sentiment is not yet lost.
So yes, I thank you!
Thank you parents and families for helping your children at home. You gave them the opportunity to express themselves, to think outside the box, and to feel successful.
Thank you teachers for supported your students with this challenge. You gave them the opportunity to be creative and independent learners. You were also a helpful source of materials and supplies - ranging from duct tape, dice, cards, and even laminating! You gave your students the chance to share their games with each other, and with you, as well.
Thank you students for taking this challenge, for being thoughtful about the games that you created, and for all of the hard work and effort that you put into them. Thank you for sharing your games with me and with each other - you are truly inspiring!
Lastly ... Thank you for saying "Thank You"!