STEVE SUGAR KIM KOSTOROSKI SUGAR
P RIMARY AMES G Experiential Learning Activities for Teaching Children K-8
P RIMARY G AMES
STEVE SUGAR KIM KOSTOROSKI SUGAR
P RIMARY AMES G Experiential Learning Activities for Teaching Children K-8
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Copyright © 2002 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Jossey-Bass is a registered trademark of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 750-4744. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158-0012, (212) 850-6011, fax (212) 850-6008, e-mail:
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The Jossey-Bass Education Series
C ONTENTS Preface xv Acknowledgments xxiii The Authors xxv
PART ONE
T EACHING WITH G AMES Chapter One How Games Can Promote Learning 3 Chapter Two Selecting an Appropriate Game 11 Chapter Three Developing Game Content 19 Chapter Four Setting Up and Running a Game 29
ix
PART TWO
T WENTY-F IVE G AMES Activity Cards 43 Alphabet Soup 57 At Risk 71 Balloon Juggle 81 Batter Up! 91 Bingo 1: Letter Bingo 103 Bingo 2: Math Bingo 117 Bingo 3: Wall Bingo 129 Bits and Pieces 147 Bubbles 155 Crosswords 163 Dilemma 175 Fast Track 187 Grab Bag 199 Granny Squares 209 Guesstimate 219 Guggenheim 233
x Contents
Knowledge Golf 243 Lightning Round 257 Medley Relay 267 Music Time 279 Scavenger Hunt 289 Spin Off 303 Three-in-a-Row 313 Trash Ball 325
PART THREE
F INDING THE R IGHT G AME Appendix One Game Summaries 337 Appendix Two Sample Game Lessons 345 Appendix Three Games for Special Situations 353 Appendix Four Game Match Matrix 359
Contents xi
This book is dedicated to all educators who create the future every day in their classrooms.
P REFACE The Sesame Street experience has taught us this— if you can hold the attention of children, you can educate them. —Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point
T
he games in this book bring the joy of learning back into the classroom. These games create a cognitive engagement between the student and the topic in a flowing, smiling environment—where successes are memorable moments of shared triumph and celebration and where mistakes mean only that the student is being stre