Category: Games

Games, K-12, spatial reasoning

Gifts for the Gifted — Wooden Calendar Puzzle

Terri Eichholz

Several years ago, I thought I would help out the parents of my gifted and talented students by writing about some games, toys, or books that I thought might make good purchases during the holiday season.  I called the series of posts, “Gifts for the Gifted,” and I have continued to do it annually (except for 2019) every November and December.  These gifts are suggestions for any child – not just those who qualify for a GT program. Sometimes I receive a free product for review, but I am not paid for these posts, and I never recommend a product that I wouldn’t buy for my own child.  For past “Gifts for the Gifted” posts, including my 2021 list, you can visit this page. I also have a Pinterest Board of Games and Toys for Gifted Students. 

Welcome to my first “Gifts for the Gifted” post for 2022! Today’s recommendation was suggested by a reader of the blog, Cara M., in Kansas. She e-mailed that she uses this puzzle in her K-5 gifted classroom. “I chucked the answer guide when it arrived, and they are currently making their own with photos of their solutions.” 

I love the idea of the students making their own answer guide! Of course, I like to try out each of these recommendations myself, so I ordered one for our house. When I did a search for “wooden calendar puzzle” I found many options, so I opted for the colorful version below. It didn’t even come with any answers, so there was no danger of any of us cheating!

My husband is always intrigued by the spatial puzzles I get, so it was no surprise that he immediately set to work to try to figure out how to position the pieces to show that day’s date. It took him about ten minutes, and he stated that he really likes those kind of challenges.

Of course, one of the fun parts about this is that it’s a different puzzle each day of the year. You may recall that I’ve shared a digital version of this in the past that’s hosted on the Mathigon website. But it’s admittedly more fun to have some tangible pieces to move around.

I like to try to find independent toy stores to link to for my recommendations, but the versions I’ve seen are mostly at Walmart and Amazon. You can also find some on Etsy, though. And if you have a makerspace, you can try to create your own with this 3d printer file and/or lasercut file. There is even a “popper” version of the calendar puzzle that you can order for a bit more.

As you can see from my rubric, this is a good game to practice spatial skills, and has great replayability as there are basically 365 challenges. As for durability, if you order a version with a box or bag, that will help to keep the pieces together. If I was a classroom teacher right now, I would have this as a center or option for early finishers.

Thanks to Cara for the recommendation! For a similar game (also recommended by a reader), check out last year’s post on Genius Square. Tune in next week for another suggestion, and/or click this link to see the archives from past years.

Games, K-12

13 Little to No Prep Halloween Activities

Terri Eichholz

I know that not everyone who reads this blog celebrates Halloween. But I have seen an uptick in people visiting my Halloween posts in the last week, so I thought I could put this out there to help out any teachers looking for some quick Halloween Brain Breaks.

My Halloween Wakelet has over 70 bookmarks, but some lessons require a bit more prep than others. So I combed through it in order to highlight a few for you that could be last-minute time-fillers. You know, for those moments your class gets called to take school pictures and you end up waiting in line for twenty minutes, or when you need to conference with a student and want the rest of the class to be engaged, etc…

Cartoon Students Presenting to Class
3-12, Creative Thinking, Fun Friday, Games, Independent Study, Research, Student Products

Host a Classroom PowerPoint Party

Terri Eichholz

My daughter began college in 2020 when the majority of her classes were still on-line and most extracurricular activities were still shut down. She lived in the dorm, but was definitely not experiencing the typical first year for obvious reasons. When she started talking about “PowerPoint Parties” that her close friends would host, I thought that was another amazing example of how creativity can be born from constraint. They couldn’t go out to many places, so they found a way to entertain themselves inside.

PowerPoint parties are when small groups of people meet and — you guessed it — show PowerPoint presentations. But these are not the “Here is what I learned about Abraham Lincoln” kind of presentations. Sometimes there is a theme for the the party, such as “The Best TV Show Ever” or sometimes participants are just invited to do one on whatever they’re passionate about. One of the favorites that my daughter’s friends have shared is when they pick which Disney character each of their friends would be. It seems that, usually, the purpose of the presentations are to persuade — and to entertain, of course. Sometimes they offer prizes at these parties, but not always. There are also parties where the presentations are timed (usually 3 minutes) or there is some kind dress code that goes with the theme.

I recently saw a TikTok from a teacher (Noelle Cheney) where she let her students have a PowerPoint Party in class (wouldn’t this be a fun class reward?) and here are some of the topics her high school students did: why you should give us a free day every other Friday, why baby trucks (aka compact trucks) are stupid, why the Shrek tetrology is a piece of cinematic brilliance, and why Miss Cheney should get a fish as a class pet.

I like the class pet idea if you work with younger kids. Some others could be: things you like that no one else does, the best board game, which fictional character would make the best president, the best super hero, where your class should go on its next field trip, or even a theme proposed by your students.

PowerPoint parties can be a fun class reward, interspersed as Brain Breaks, used on those chaotic class days right before a holiday, or an introduction to Genius Hour. You could also make them “semi” educational. For example, if your class has just finished a novel you could host a PowerPoint party where they argue which dog each character would be and why.

What are the benefits of PowerPoint Parties? Practicing persuasion, research, technology, and presenting skills, giving students the opportunity to use their creativity, learning more about each other, and bringing some laughter into your classroom!

Do any of you use PowerPoint parties in your classroom? Comment below!

@noellelovessloths This is a genius idea that you can use for several different lessons. 10/10 recommend #powerpointnight #teacherlife #highschool #noellelovessloths ♬ original sound – matt
Students sitting on the grass in a circle
3-12, Critical Thinking, Games, Gamification, Teaching Tools

Socratic Smackdown

Terri Eichholz

I originally learned about the “Socratic Smackdown” from the Institute of Play on Richard Byrne’s blog way back in 2014. We did Socratic Dialogue discussions frequently in my gifted classes, and my students enjoyed switching things up every once in awhile with this gamified version. The original source of the “Socratic Smackdown” file seemed to disappear for a few years, so I hesitated to recommend it even though I have the PDF already downloaded. However, I am happy to say that I received an email last week that the Institute of Play has transferred its files over to Connected Learning Alliance. You can find and download the “Socratic Smackdown” by going to this link, and clicking on the “Learning Games” button. Here are the rules:

Rules for “Socratic Smackdown” from Institute of Play

The “Socratic Smackdown” packet provides discussion strategies (my students loved “Devil’s Advocate”), score cards, a rubric, and more. You can, of course, make whatever adaptations you need to account for the number and ability levels of students participating.

We didn’t use “Socratic Smackdown” every time we did a Socratic Dialogue, but it was definitely requested every time. Even when we didn’t use it, I could tell that students were more mindful of the discussion strategies that they used, so their metacognition definitely increased.

“Socratic Smackdown” can be used with any class, not just gifted pull-outs — though it probably is best with 3rd grade and up. In fact, this is actually one activity that benefits from a bit higher numbers in your class because you can have more teams and a more lively discussion.

There are other free resources available for download on this transplanted Institute of Play site, including a “Systems Thinking Design Pack,” so I encourage you to check some of those out as well.

Boy writing I Love Sudoku on chalkboard
Games, K-12

International Sudoku Day

Terri Eichholz

When I was looking for great links to include in my September Wakelet, I discovered that September 9th is International Sudoku Day. Of course, I can’t ignore that because I literally play Sudoku every single day. It’s my favorite “down-time” activity. I put several links in the Wakelet to help you celebrate this auspicious day, including some online Sudoku games and some places you can find free printables. There’s even a link to a free picture Sudoku you can download from TPT. And, don’t forget to check out the interactive Sudoku bulletin board ideas that you can find here.

I used to like using Jigsawdoku with my students because it allows you to choose different options in order to scaffold. For students who need some extra challenge, you can have them try Mystery Grid (click on question mark for instructions) or Inkies (also known as Ken-Ken Puzzles or Mathdoku). And if you have some students who get really passionate, you can try one of these alternatives.

For some more Sudoku-Similar Solving ideas, take a look at these posts on Donna Lasher’s blog, some of which include video tutorials.

3-5, Games, Math

Wordle Stats Slow Reveal Graph

Terri Eichholz

I discovered an posted about Slow Reveal Graphs back in 2020. I love the concept of gradually divulging a bit of information at a time, engaging students with suspense as they attempt to make meaning of the graph. It immediately got bookmarked in my Math Sites That Won’t Make You Fall Asleep collection.

I recently revisited the site to take a look at the page full of Slow Reveal Graphs for elementary students, and was delighted to see one for Wordle Stats by Andrew Gael (@bkdidact). It provides a Google Slides presentation ready to go that includes a Jimmy Fallon clip where the Tonight Show host plays Wordle, apparently for the first time. This is great for two reasons: students who haven’t played can learn along with him, and he models how to learn from failed attempts as he plays. After the clip, students are shown the Stats page which many of us are familiar with, and information is filled in on each slide so that students can try to figure out how the chart will eventually be completed.

If you’re looking for fun ways to begin the school year, this could be the ticket for you. Do the Slow Reveal Graph, and then have students either make their own Wordles or try one of the many variations that I’ve collected here.

I encourage you to read more about using Slow Reveal Graphs with students, and try this routine with one of the many resources provided on this amazing site!

From Wordle Stats Slow Reveal Graph by Andrew Gael