Grudgeball

Ahh!  Spring Break is here!

Even though we didn't plan a trip, these past two days have been extra relaxing simply because I know that I have this entire next week to work on school things.  The most I've done this weekend in regard to school is sort through a stack of papers and read a few chapters out of our next novel.  The rest of my time has been spent hanging out with Kyle, exploring Bartlesville, and reading the ridiculously amazing (and long) book, Unbroken: AWorld War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption.  I'm not big into history, but I've learned so much about WWII by reading this biography of Louis Zamperini.  He was an Olympic runner, bombardier, and POW survivor.  Most biographies I've read are tedious and somewhat boring (Can I say that, as a teacher?), but this one has had me hooked!  More action than most fiction stories.  I cannot wait until the movie version is released in December.  If there is anything special planned for December 25, I may be out of commission.  That's not a big day, is it?

Anyway, there have been plenty of bloggable classroom moments come up recently, but I never seem to actually write the darn thing.  Some day soon I will write a blog dedicated to how awesome my coworkers are (seriously, though), and I'm sure I'll write a rant about state testing and how it has infiltrated every aspect of my brain/teaching.  I might even show off my Pre-AP kids' Holes projects. But not today.

Today I want to share possibly my favorite review game EVER.  (I realize that statement doesn't carry much weight, since I am "first year," but I do think I'll use this every year, for every grade.)  I found this game when I stumbled on to a fantastic teacher's blog.  We call it: GRUDGEBALL!

One of the things that many teachers struggle with is making sure that every student is engaged.  I've found that some hate working in groups, some don't work in the mornings, and some are way too cool for whatever is going on in the classroom at any given time.  I love this game because rather than encouraging them to participate, I was asking them to "calm down! Don't get so into it!"  The teacher from whom I stole this game said it perfectly, "What I needed to do was capitalize on the middle schoolers need to interact and torture each other."

The premise of the game is to answer questions correctly in order to knock other teams out of the game, rather than score points for your own team.  Hence, the name: Grudgeball.  I was worried that some of my kids might get really upset by it, but only 1/100 had an issue with it, so I'd say it was a success.  :)  The basic rules are below.  I could see this work wonderfully in high school.  Strategy would play a bigger part in who wins and looses.  In middle school, the only strategy is girls versus boys because "she said I like her and I don't so now I'm mad at her and her friends won't leave me alone and they keep texting me and saying that I'm dumb and so I snappchatted her and....." sigh.

Grudgeball

1. Divide kids into 5 teams.

2. On the board, make a chart that gives each team 10 Xs.

3. Ask a member of the first team a question.  If they get it right, they can erase 2 Xs from other teams.  They may split the Xs, or take them both from the same team.  No suicide!  (Make sure that the teams alternate who answers the questions.)

4. If they answer the question correctly, they also have a chance to shoot for an extra point.  I used my recycle bin and a plush basketball.  I made it a difficult shot so that very few made it.   If they make the shot, they can erase one more X!  (3 total).  If they miss, I still let them take 2 off.  Basically this step was just to get them out of their seats.

5. (I added this one) If a student doesn't know the answer, they can ask their teammates.  However, they can only earn 1 X if they answer collectively, and can't shoot for the extra point. I had to add this one after kids were embarrassed that they didn't know one.  It was too much pressure for some of them.

6. If a team is eliminated, they are STILL required to play.  In some cases, eliminated teams came back to win!  Here's how: Teams that have zero Xs still go through the rotation.  In order to get back on the board, however, they have to answer the question correctly and make the basket.  If they miss, they have to try again next turn.

Bumps will come up along the way, but just be creative in how you handle them.  Also, beware: the further along in the game, the louder the kids get- especially during the shoot-outs.  If a team has 3 Xs left, and their arch enemies are shooting to erase 3 Xs, the kids are very invested!

Welp, off to read more of my book!

-Mrs. Combs

P.S. If you're a teacher wanting better instructions and pictures, I'm sure the original teacher's blog is much more clear.