Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Classroom Hack: Tic Tac Penguin



I love, love, love dollar stores. I've found my best classroom hacks in dollar stores, and now that I'm preparing for the holidays, it's good to know I can rely on them for excellent ideas for activities.

Just $1 (plus tax) was enough to pick up this tic-tac-toe game with a penguin. My goal: to make a review activity for students.

First, I inserted labels in the spaces. Using labels allows anyone to change the format of the game at anytime. Whenever it's time to make a change, just remove the old labels and insert new labels!



Next, I selected a set of 9 task cards on topics students need to review. Task cards with QR Codes work well because they allow students to self-check their answers while working. I used triangle inequality task cards for this game, but any task cards will work. Instead of two students playing tic-tac-doe with another student as scorekeeper, only two students are needed when using QR codes. That means more engagement. Win, Win for everyone! I also downloaded a free snowman spinner from Creative Clips and added numbers. The game was ready for a math center!



Playing "Tic-Tac-Penguin" is as simple as the traditional game! Students use the spinner to determine which card to use. If the calculate the correct answer, they can place an "x" or an "o" on the corresponding number on the tic-tac-toe board. A student will lose a turn if he or she spins a number of a card that has already been solved.

Kids will LOVE this alternative to traditional review as we all prepare for the holiday break. It all started with $1!!!



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