Your students will learn about science (magnetism) and math, as they play this fun Winter Olympics Speed Skating Game.
It's a great game to keep in your game cabinet, too.
Materials:
- Free Winter Olympics Speed Skater Race Template
- Box
- Glue
- 2 paperclips (1 per game piece. Two players at a time is recommended for this game.)
- Crayons or colored pencils
- 2 strong magnets (One for every game piece. I’d recommend 2 for this scale. Test the magnets strength before you make the craft. Hold the magnet under a sheet of paper. Set a paperclip on top. Can it easily drag the paperclip? If it is difficult to do you may need a stronger magnet. The game piece will be taped to the paperclip, so it needs to have a strong magnetic pull.)
- Timer (shows seconds)
- Pencil and paper to record time
Instructions:
Game Pieces
- Color and cut out the Winter Olympics Speed Skating template.
- Fold the game pieces in half and tape at the bottom.
- Tape or clip a paperclip under each skater.
Speed Skating Game Rink:
- Color the speed skating game rink (page 2).
- Cut a 7.5 X 10 inch hole in the box.
- Glue the speed skating game rink template over the hole in the box along the edges & let it dry completely.
Game Instructions:
- Set your Olympic skater athlete game piece on the starting line.
- Put your magnet underneath the Olympic skater athlete game piece.
- Test out the magnet to make sure the paperclip and magnet have a strong magnetic pull. Make any needed adjustments. Make sure your friend is all ready to go, too. (warm-up)
- Say, “On your mark. Get set. Go!”
- Pull your Olympic athlete speed skater towards the finish line using the magnet underneath the paper.
- The first speed skater to reach the finish line wins!
- What is your time? Record your time.
- Have several races and practice division by calculating your average time.
The pumpkin seed math game is perfect to use while studying addition or multiplication. You may like to keep it in a box inside your game cabinet to use on rainy days, too.
Materials:
- Free "Pumpkin Seed Math Game" Template
- construction paper (orange for pumpkin & green or brown for stem)
- cardboard
- egg carton
- tape or glue
- pumpkin seeds or beans (1 seed per student)
- black marker
- A piece of scratch paper to keep track of scores.
Instructions:
Day #1
Teacher
- Use the free template to trace a pumpkin onto the cardboard.
Students
- Cover the cardboard pumpkin with orange construction paper.
- Glue or tape on the green stem.
- Cut out 7 cups from the egg carton.
- Paint each cup yellow. (Let the paint dry.)
- As the paint is drying, write a number "2" (or whatever # you want to practice) on each seed with the permanent black marker. (1 seed per student).
Day #2
- Write the numbers 1-7 inside each yellow cup.
- Glue or tape the cups to the orange pumpkin in the shape of a Jack-o'-lantern.
Play the Game
Each student has 3 beans or pumpkin seeds. Each seed has the number of study on it (e.g. 2)
Try to throw the seed/bean inside the cups. Each time you make it in the cup add or multiply (depending upon if you are studying addition or multiplication) the total on the seed and the cup. For example, if you have 2 on the seed and you have a 5 on the cup and you were studying addition, you would add 2 + 5 = 7. (If you were studying multiplication, 2 x 5 = 10.)
Let each student playing the game do this three times. Take one turn and then give the seed to your neighbor. You will take turns until you each have three tries.
The person with the highest score wins.
Additional Uses:
Different Season - You could also make a heart, apple or snowman instead of a pumpkin.
Division or Subtraction - You could also use the number on the seed and the number in the cup in a subtraction or division problem.
Differentiate Instruction - After assessements, you can assign each student a seed with the number most challening to him. For example, if the student finds multiplying by 3 challenging. Give the student a seed with the number 3 on it.
Each student will make a unique Addition Ladybug. Adding the dots on each wing solves the addition problem. This craft comes with a free template.
