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Transcripts
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[00:00:27] Brittany: Howdy.
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[00:00:35] Brittany: Because
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[00:00:45] Ellie: Yeah, not today. Today we're talking games, creativity, laughter, and a whole bunch of classroom tested ideas that are as easy to prep as they are fun to use.
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[00:01:16] Ellie: So whether you're in need of a midweek, pick me up or a full on classroom refresh. This episode is packed with ideas to spark engagement, joy, and maybe even a little chaos. Just a little. The good kind.
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[00:01:40] Ellie: Okay, so we've got a dice game called Roll and Respond. Each pair of students gets a die.. You prep six questions, label them one through six. Students' roll answer the corresponding question, and keep going. And you could add a twist. After each correct answer, they do something silly like clap five times or do a desk dance or something.
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[00:02:26] Ellie: so like anything you want or even review stuff.
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[00:02:54] So in math you could do addition, subtraction, multiplication facts, obvious choice.
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[00:03:04] Ellie: Mm-hmm.
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[00:03:12] Ellie: I like
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[00:03:13] Brittany: In science, you could create atomic numbers. Flip cards and form elements, and identify the element from the periodic table.
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[00:03:24] Brittany: And in ELA, you could do a part of speech race where you flip a card, match a word with the correct part of speech.
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[00:03:34] Brittany: In foreign language, you could do vocabulary practice. Flip two cards, form a sentence using the assigned vocabulary.
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[00:04:58] Brittany: I don't know why this came up my head, thinking about catching the beach ball.
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[00:05:02] Brittany: My daughter's best friend, was born without all of his fingers. He has like three on one hand and four on the other.
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[00:05:13] Brittany: and they actually had to cut off his big toe and make it into a thumb because they felt like a thumb was more important than a big toe.
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[00:05:23] Brittany: But I was thinking about him trying
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[00:05:28] Brittany: up the thumb under, know, the question under the thumb. And was like, would he be able to catch it?
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[00:05:35] about those things.
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[00:05:38] Right
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[00:05:55] Ellie: In this one, each group gets 10 straws and a yard of tape, and the goal is to build the tallest free standing tower in 10 minutes. And as an extension of that, it could be to try to balance a small object on top or see which tower survives a wind test, like a fan or a teacher blowing on it. That sounds like fun.
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[00:06:20] Brittany: You could create a game, let students invent their own review game. You could pick a topic, design the game format, whether it's a quiz game like that one that's on TV by Ken Jennings. It might be a board game or a card game, or a dice game.
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[00:06:42] Brittany: Then you write the rules and the questions. Then let your classmates play it to test it and give you feedback.
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[00:06:56] Ellie: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Students always love doing that.
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[00:07:01] Ellie: Alright. You could also create an invention box and basically fill a bin with random craft or classroom supplies, like foil, string, cups, tape, rubber bands, and give students a challenge of building a bridge or making something that moves or designing a Rube Goldberg style contraption, which is open-ended, low risk, and perfect for brain breaks or stem time.
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[00:07:52] Ellie: well, thank you. My goal was to create math activities that feel like games, so students are thinking critically, practicing key skills, and enjoying every second.
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[00:08:11] Ellie: Yeah, you can find drag and drop games, truth or dare games, matching, and even some mini lessons and quizzes at cognitivecardiomath.com slash digital math activities. It's not about drill and kill, just about building skills through math practice with real engagement.
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[00:08:35] digital as well.
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[00:08:46] Ellie: So you could have students rewrite lyrics to a song in order to explain a concept and then sing it in front of the class. And as an optional bonus, you could join in with a mic and some dramatic flare.
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[00:09:03] day jar. Let kids submit jokes all week and pull one out each morning. It's an easy mood booster and they'll beg to be the one who gets to read it aloud.
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[00:09:20] . You could have a mystery balloon time. So before the week starts, stuff balloons with slips of paper that say things like extra recess or Kahoot break or read outside or dance party and then pop a balloon when the class earns it. It's a positive reinforcement with a pop.
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[00:09:47] start. Mystery student
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[00:09:52] Brittany: quote of the day or quote wall.
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[00:09:59] Brittany: Monday meme day.
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[00:10:04] Brittany: Pat on the back or a positive sticky note day.
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[00:10:11] Brittany: Ooh, good one. This is getting harder. I used to do an egg hunt at Easter time, but you could do quarterly reward hunts
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[00:10:25] Ellie: That sounds fun.
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[00:10:32] Brittany: oh, those are some great ideas.
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[00:10:43] Brittany: And don't forget, check out Ellie's awesome digital games at cognitivecardiomath.com slash digital math games. Your students will thank you. Possibly with less groaning during math class.
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[00:11:08] Brittany: Until next time, keep teaching, keep laughing, and always remember you've got this.
