Fun & Games
By Amy Jacobs and Julie Kohl

Imagine that you are a life-size game piece on a galaxy of fractions. You move along a 7' x 9' game board decorated with math fraction problems and planet trivia. As you roll a TV-size die, you answer questions like 2-1\5 x 2\15 = ? Correct answers move you toward your ultimate goal of Pluto. Answer incorrectly and you might be sent – as the game's title suggests – "To the Sun!"

Game with a goal. You've just had a glimpse of what it was like to be part of a game designed by students in our fifth-grade class at Olive Martin School in Lake Villa, IL. Students combined a math concept of fractions and a science theme of space exploration to create a unique, life-size game that reinforced content learned throughout the year.

Our goal was to capture student interest and generate enthusiastic participation during the last weeks of school. We wanted to create an activity that reviewed major academic concepts introduced during the school year and reinforced teamwork, strategic planning and higher- level thinking.

Plotting the course: Kids try their hand at a student-created game (image above); Players plot a vertical maneuver in the Civil War-themed "The War of the States"

Getting organized. The first thing we did was sort students into small groups – we found that groups of two or three worked best.

Next, before meeting with our students, we made a list of all of the major academic concepts covered during the school year. We chose math, science and social studies. Then we created lists of topics for each content area.

Students randomly chose from a hat three math topics and ultimately selected one of those topics as their main math concept. They then browsed the science and social studies concepts and as a team selected one to use as their game's main theme.

Planning the games. After teams had selected their math concept and decided on a science or social studies theme, they got down to work. Our students spent the first day or two planning their games and collecting materials they thought they might need. To facilitate this, each team filled out a page that listed their academic content, the materials they would need and the basic plot line of their game. It was also essential for students to create a title that summarized their theme. As mentioned earlier, the team that created the life-sized space game entitled it "To the Sun!"

Once we approved their plot line (we were pretty strict on games being based on historically and scientifically accurate themes), the students worked together to brainstorm content area questions and made sure that the game included both math and science or social studies content.

Finally, the teams began constructing their game. They worked for approximately two weeks during a 50-minute class period. The students did some work at home, but most of it was done during class. We scheduled one of our work sessions in the computer lab so that the kids could type up questions or print graphics to enhance their game board.

A rubric for reference. Students were evaluated using a rubric that they received on the first day of the activity. Our rubric gave students 0-10 points in 10 different categories, for a total possible 100 points:

Playing to learn. When the project was finished, we received six innovative, creative games. Each team had been able to effectively blend their science or social studies concept with their math content.

For example, two of the games were "Kilometers to Kalifornia" and "The War of the States." "Kilometers to Kalifornia" was a game that required students to answer math questions about different types of measurement in order to move from Europe to North America. Once in North America, students continued on until they reached the West Coast, and ultimately became rich! "The War of the States," a Civil War-themed game, combined measurement and fractions. At the beginning of the game, players chose whether they would like to add or multiply. They then rolled two fraction dice that determined how many inches to move. Using a ruler, players could move in any direction on the board, including vertically up trees or fences. The ultimate goal: to capture all of the soldiers on the opposing side.

Full participation: Students literally get "To the Sun!" up on its feet, since they serve as the playing pieces in this truly interactive board game.

Let the games begin. This project was extremely successful as a culminating activity for the year, as students were required to revisit math, science and social studies topics. Since the kids were called upon to write clear, concise directions, it was also an excellent review of writing fluency and conventions. By doing this activity at the end of the school year, we were able to keep student interest high until the last day of school.

It also gave us a fantastic activity for the last day of classes: playing our games!

Amy Jacobs is a gifted teacher in Antioch District 34, Antioch, IL. Julie Kohl is a seventh-grade math teacher at Cary Junior High School in Cary, IL.

January, 2007, Vol.37, No.4