I do a lot of interactive and hands-on games where students receive a printable game board that they need to write on.
I used to photocopy a new set each time we played – so wasteful! Now I invested in several boxes of plastic sheet protectors. I put the game board in the plastic sleeve and give each student a black sock with a dry-erase marker inside.
Black socks are best because they don’t look dirty over time. Also, by putting the marker in the sock I need fewer storage bins, and I cut down on the time it takes me to pass out and collect materials!
They draw on the plastic page protector and erase with their black sock when they finish. Then I collect the pages and reuse them with the next class before storing them in a file folder for next year!
I know other teachers that use this method for stations. Rather than making each kid his/her/their own copy when you know they will throw it out later, make enough for 5-10 kids to work on it at a time, and then rotate stations. I’ve seen teachers use this strategy to make worksheets more fun too because kids are already more engaged when they get to use the dry-erase marker. All of the sudden math facts, grammar, and balancing equations aren’t so bad!
How to organize and store materials
I create a manila folder for each set of game boards. When students finish for the day, they erase the boards with their socks and the games boards go back into my folder and into my file cabinet. I organize my file cabinets sequentially by how I teach each topic.
The markers and socks live in a plastic drawer at the front of my room. At the end of the day, one person from each cooperative learning table is assigned to collect the markers and socks, and another person collects the boards to turn in.
3 reusable interactive games
Ladder races (free download!)
I play this game to teach conjugating verbs, but I guess it could be played with math problems, English parts of speech, or procedural events in science. Have students sit in rows of 3-6. Copy enough ladders for each team to have one and place in a plastic sheet protector. Give each student his/her own marker. Each student has to fill in a rung of the ladder and then pass it to the next person. The first team to hold its board up in the air with all the correct answers gets 2 points. Each team who is correct after that (within reasonable time limits) gets 1 point.
2. Plaza de toros (fly swatter)
This is a super fun and interactive table top game much more suitable to large classes.
- Give each student a game board in a plastic page protector and a dry-erase marker.
- Call out a word or a definition (math teachers could call out a mental math problem and have them find the answer).
- The first player to touch the correct answer gets to color it in or write his/her initials in it. I tell students to be fair judges, and if they tie, to each claim half. Students must start with their hands up by their face before each term is called. Before the final term, they put their hands all the way up in the air!
3. Tic-Tac-Toe
You can play this game with all sorts of language topics! Read more about how I have used this game to practice ser vs. estar, verb tenses, and numbers!
