Classical Conversations Review Game Ideas?

[ashmac]

Hey, everybody! I'm a tutor for CC, and we've been playing "Trivium Pursuit" for our review game for SIX WEEKS, but it would be nice to have other review game ideas to rotate out. Anyone have any ideas? If so, PLEASE provide rules and details, because I'm just one of those people who needs things broken down "Barney style." I know that some people play the Jeopardy-type game, but I confess, I don't even know the rules for Jeopardy! I need some serious help! LOL!

 

I'll be happy to trade the Trivium Pursuit game idea for anyone who is interested.

[Riverfront Headmistress]

We just played Jeopardy this morning at home. :)

 

What I did was write each category on the board with numbers 1-7 (we are on week 7). If I had a class of older kids I would use numbers 100-700. If you wanted to go in detail, you could insert a few daily doubles.

 

Each child picked a category and number and I would give the answers - for history, I would give the sentence, but leave out the date.

[mom2abcd]

I *think* the way you do the Jeopardy game is to make a big board with the names of your topics at the top (History sentence, Science Q, Latin, English Grammar, etc. I think my friend had 6 categories.) Draw a grid and beneath each category, write the number of points... 600, 500, etc.

 

The kids can choose the category and the number of points they want to try for. You have made up questions corresponding to each value in each category (or you can ask an easier question for kids who are challenged or to keep scores even, etc.) If the child gets the Q right, they get that many points.

 

Hopefully someone else can clarify.

 

How do you play the Trivia Pursuit game?

 

I'd love ideas to help the littles review CC topics.

[byhisgrace]

Someone had mentioned the hopscoth grid and using it to advance to the number when they get a question correct.

 

You can also use a mini-trampoline at home to jump while doing the math facts.

 

Please share any others you may have!!

 

Blessings, Donna

[angela in ohio]

I m a director who is trying to help out. I am making a game for my tutors called "History Squares" which is like Hollywood Squares. The students call on a "star" (G. Washington, Statue of Liberty, etc.) who is then asked a question and gives an answer. The student agrees or disagrees. If they are correct, they get an X or O (whichever they are) in that box, trying to make a tic-tac-toe.

 

One of my tutors plays chair tic-tac-toe. She lines up nine chairs in a square, and for a right answer, the team gets to seat a player.

 

Another tutor of 4/5 yo does calisthenics to their math facts - toe touches, jumping jacks, etc.

[ashmac]

You just saved my bohunkus, Angela! The kids like Trivium Pursuit, but we've been playing it for 7 weeks now, and I'm ready to mix it up a little. The chair tic-tac-toe thing is AWESOME! Raddy-O, Daddy-O!

 

THANKS!

[ashmac]

I made a Trivium Pursuit board via this page and some poster board. I took some foam core and put a red circle on it and a green one. That's in lieu of the little plastic pie tins in the real Trivial Pursuit game. I got some reversible, colored index cards and made pie pieces that fit into the foam core circles. I laminated the game board and the pie pieces. I also put adhesive velcro on the foam core circle board and the laminated pie pieces so the pie pieces would stick and detach easily.

 

I used cards that coordinated with the pie pieces and game board spaces--just to write the categories on (the blue card says "geography" and the blue space on the board is for geography, etc.). I put them on the dry erase board ledge so the kids can all see them at all times. I took a red guy and a green guy from an old Candy Land game and bought some dice.

 

The kids group up into two teams of 4--the red team and the green. They take turns rolling and answering questions. They all crowd around on the floor to play the game.

 

The green card/space is MES (math, English and science), btw. All other colors correspond with ONE subject. We use purple for Bible, and since we're in cycle 3 I just have the kids say the whole thing by now. We'll start doing it in Latin when everyone has mastered the English. Etc.

 

The kids try to answer the questions for pie. Whoever gets all the pie pieces has to go to the center and answer a question of their choosing. They don't have to exact-roll for that final space in the center, and we don't do "doubles rolls again" or "correct answer rolls again." We just take turns. This team, that team, and so forth.

 

We DO allow stealing. So if one team answers incorrectly, the other team can steal it and get pie by answering it correctly. They still get to roll and try to answer their own question for pie. Stealing keeps the game alive and gives incentive to the team that lands on a color for which they already have pie--if they can't answer it or don't answer it correctly, the other team can steal if they need the pie piece. It keeps everyone interested in answer the questions each time.

 

Did I leave anything out?

[mom2abcd]

I made a Trivium Pursuit board via this page and some poster board. I took some foam core and put a red circle on it and a green one. That's in lieu of the little plastic pie tins in the real Trivial Pursuit game. I got some reversible, colored index cards and made pie pieces that fit into the foam core circles. I laminated the game board and the pie pieces. I also put adhesive velcro on the foam core circle board and the laminated pie pieces so the pie pieces would stick and detach easily.

 

I used cards that coordinated with the pie pieces and game board spaces--just to write the categories on (the blue card says "geography" and the blue space on the board is for geography, etc.). I put them on the dry erase board ledge so the kids can all see them at all times. I took a red guy and a green guy from an old Candy Land game and bought some dice.

 

The kids group up into two teams of 4--the red team and the green. They take turns rolling and answering questions. They all crowd around on the floor to play the game.

 

The green card/space is MES (math, English and science), btw. All other colors correspond with ONE subject. We use purple for Bible, and since we're in cycle 3 I just have the kids say the whole thing by now. We'll start doing it in Latin when everyone has mastered the English. Etc.

 

The kids try to answer the questions for pie. Whoever gets all the pie pieces has to go to the center and answer a question of their choosing. They don't have to exact-roll for that final space in the center, and we don't do "doubles rolls again" or "correct answer rolls again." We just take turns. This team, that team, and so forth.

 

We DO allow stealing. So if one team answers incorrectly, the other team can steal it and get pie by answering it correctly. They still get to roll and try to answer their own question for pie. Stealing keeps the game alive and gives incentive to the team that lands on a color for which they already have pie--if they can't answer it or don't answer it correctly, the other team can steal if they need the pie piece. It keeps everyone interested in answer the questions each time.

 

Did I leave anything out?

 

 

I wonder if my 3-7 year olds could manage this. It sounds like fun!!

[ashmac]

I think they could.

 

We just tried to play hangman for review, but I found that I had to do two teams and then let teams "steal and zap!" to keep them all attended to the material. I.e., if one team misses the question, the other team can try for it. If the other team gets it correct, it hangs yet another part of the other team's man! They liked that OK but not as much as tic-tac-toe or Trivium Pursuit. Someone said something about using Twister for review. That sounded fun, but like I said: I need everything broken down Barney Style.

 

So, anyone else got any ideas? Class is Friday, and I need ideas BIG TIME!

 

:-)

Ash

[newlifemom]

Oh dear,

 

Please do not let my director see this thread. She will find out what a terrible tutor I have been. :tongue_smilie: It never even occurred to me to make a game out of it. (duh!) What I have been doing is bribing them. If they can give me two weeks in a row of everything then they earn whatever it is I bring them. I just started this b/c as we have been advancing in weeks (we're at 11 this week) I am noticing that they have wks 1,2 down pat. The last two weeks pretty good, but it is getting kind of cloudy in the middle. KWIM? I thought of really zeroing (sp?) in on 2 weeks rew at a time. I am also doing it with my dc at home. Dd 5 just is not memorizing the math facts at all. She does the rest pretty well, but not the math. Thanks for this thread.

[Kathie in VA]

A really quick way to put together a Jeopardy board is to make use of the new Flash Cards that CC sells. I just got a big poster board and taped some paper to it in 6 rows and columns. One column per subject and one row per week. Then I just put the current week in the first row, marked for 100 points. Then last week in the second row for 200 points. etc (we cover 6 weeks this way). I break the kids into two teams. If the person going can answer on their own their team gets all the points, if they want help from their team and get it right then they can still get 1/2 the points. I even made my one flash cards for the timeline so we didn't skip it. I also put in a mystery column where I put older cards in there, but they can't see which subject it is till they have already picked it.

 

hth

[Woodland_Mom]

Here Tutor May I?- Ask MM questions I turn. If they answer correctly and ask, “Tutor, may I?†they can advance the steps and in the way you determine. Ex: bunny hops, baby steps, etc.

 

Last Person Standing- Great for timeline or English grammar. All stand behind their chairs. Begin with student on far left and proceed around the circle with each child saying the next card or word that comes in order. If the student answers the next card correctly, he remains standing. If incorrect, he sits down in his chair. Last person standing wins!

 

Around the World-Use with geography. Let class sit on tables with legs dangling toward center of circle. Pick 120child to begin. He stands next to the child to his left. These two are competing for this question. The tutor points to a location on the map. The first child to yell out the correct answer gets to move on the next person in order, while the child not fast enough remains seated where he was. Object of the game: to move as many spaces away from where you started as you can. The winner is the one who returns all the way back to his home spot no matter how many times he competes. He is the one who has traveled “Around the Worldâ€.

 

Label Relay- geography or Latin. Get a mom to help. Collect same number of labels for each team for two different maps or Latin charts. Divide class into 2 even teams. First child runs to their adult and gets a label to place correctly. They have two choices. Either put the label up or run back and hand it to the next person in line. Adults will remove any wrong labels and hand to the next child when they come up. The first team to have all labels placed on map or chart correctly wins.

 

Beanbag Pass- Tutor and students sit in a circle and pass the beanbag while singing the math tables. If it comes to you, say the next number. If you do not get it right, you move out of the circle. Pass the beanbag as quickly as you can to practice the songs.

 

Lots of boxes- Math game that helps make sense of multiplying or skip counting. Need graph paper and pencil for each child and 1 die for each pair of20children. The first child in a pair rolls the die and draws a line on his paper to show that number across (the bottom of a rectangle). Then he rolls the die again to get the number for how many squares up the rectangle goes and draws that line. He can then box in the whole rectangle. He should then write the number of total squares in the figure inside the box. His partner then gets a try at making a bigger rectangle by throwing the die and drawing his box. Determine who the winner is by who has the largest rectangle. Can play 2 out of 3 and add all 3 scores if players are older.

 

Number Sentences- Works with History Sentences and Science Questions. Have a bowl with #’s in it. Children take turns drawing a number from the bowl. The tutor gives the MM prompt for that numbered sentence in the predetermined subject. Ex: Child pulls #3. Tutor says, “Crusadesâ€. Child should recite History Sentence #3 correctly. If she does, she or her team get a point. Variation #1-Break class up into teams and compete for points. Variation #2-Child chooses # from bowl and can also choose which of the two subjects to correspond to the # drawn from the bowl.

 

Under the Table Timeline Game-All students line up on one side of the room. Move chairs away from tables. First child says the first timeline card. If she says it correctly, she gets to crawl under the tables to the other side of the room. If wrong, she goes to the back of the line and can try again.

 

Will the Winners Lose?

Brief Description

In this review and reinforcement game, negative scoring means that even the winners could lose!

Objectives

Students will

· Answer questions related to a review topic.

· Use the math to figure out their team's score.

Keywords

Chance, review, reinforcement, skill

Materials Needed

· cards containing game instructions

· prepared cards (or a prepared list) with questions for review and reinforcement

Lesson Plan

Before the Activity

Prepare two sets of cards in advance of the game:

· Prepare a set of 25 "scoring cards." On each of those cards, write a different instruction, for example:

* Earn 100 points

* Lose a turn

* Take 50 points from the other team

* Earn 70 points

* Double your total points

* Take an extra turn

* Earn 500 bonus points

· On the other set of cards, write 25 questions related to the topic or skill(s) you want to review and reinforce. (Note: Questions might be created in list form rather than on cards.)

Introduce the stack of scoring cards to students. Shuffle the cards. Put the stack face down on a desk.

Alternative idea.

You might post the 25 scoring cards in random order on a bulletin board or chalkboard. Post the cards with the blank side facing students and the scoring instructions hidden from view.

Arrange students into two or more teams. Decide which team goes first, and then pose the first question to a member of that team. If the student answers correctly, he or she draws a scoring card from the stack (or removes one from the bulletin board or chalkboard). The score on the card determines the score the student earns for his or her team.

· If the team has 0 (zero) points and the card selected reads "Earn 50 points," the team gets 50 points.

· If the card reads, "Double your present score," the team doubles its score of 0, for a total of 0 points.

· If the card reads, "Deduct 50 points from your score," the team subtracts 50 from 0, for a score of -50.

If the student answer incorrectly, the first student on another team to raise his or her hand earns the right to "steal" the question. A correct answer earns that student the opportunity to choose a scoring card...

Of course, the scoring card could carry a negative message, so answering a question correctly is no guarantee that a team will earn points; as a matter of fact, the team could lose points! A team could conceivably answer all the questions correctly and lose the game. That's why the game is called "Will the Winners Lose?"

A Couple More Twists

· You might have each student track the score for each team. Students track the team scores on their own. At the end of the game, each student who correctly calculated each team's final score might earn 50 bonus points for his or her team.

· You might introduce another rule. Since no team member knows whether the scoring card he or she selects will earn or lose points, you might allow students the option of not selecting a card when they answer correctly. If the student thinks the next card in the stack might carry a negative scoring instruction, he or she is free to pass and earn (or lose) no points for the team. Students only learn whether that was a good move or not if the next student to choose a card reveals the scoring instruction on the card.

[mom2abcd]

Here Tutor May I?- Ask MM questions I turn. If they answer correctly and ask, “Tutor, may I?†they can advance the steps and in the way you determine. Ex: bunny hops, baby steps, etc.

 

Last Person Standing- Great for timeline or English grammar. All stand behind their chairs. Begin with student on far left and proceed around the circle with each child saying the next card or word that comes in order. If the student answers the next card correctly, he remains standing. If incorrect, he sits down in his chair. Last person standing wins!

 

Around the World-Use with geography. Let class sit on tables with legs dangling toward center of circle. Pick 120child to begin. He stands next to the child to his left. These two are competing for this question. The tutor points to a location on the map. The first child to yell out the correct answer gets to move on the next person in order, while the child not fast enough remains seated where he was. Object of the game: to move as many spaces away from where you started as you can. The winner is the one who returns all the way back to his home spot no matter how many times he competes. He is the one who has traveled “Around the Worldâ€.

 

Label Relay- geography or Latin. Get a mom to help. Collect same number of labels for each team for two different maps or Latin charts. Divide class into 2 even teams. First child runs to their adult and gets a label to place correctly. They have two choices. Either put the label up or run back and hand it to the next person in line. Adults will remove any wrong labels and hand to the next child when they come up. The first team to have all labels placed on map or chart correctly wins.

 

Beanbag Pass- Tutor and students sit in a circle and pass the beanbag while singing the math tables. If it comes to you, say the next number. If you do not get it right, you move out of the circle. Pass the beanbag as quickly as you can to practice the songs.

 

Lots of boxes- Math game that helps make sense of multiplying or skip counting. Need graph paper and pencil for each child and 1 die for each pair of20children. The first child in a pair rolls the die and draws a line on his paper to show that number across (the bottom of a rectangle). Then he rolls the die again to get the number for how many squares up the rectangle goes and draws that line. He can then box in the whole rectangle. He should then write the number of total squares in the figure inside the box. His partner then gets a try at making a bigger rectangle by throwing the die and drawing his box. Determine who the winner is by who has the largest rectangle. Can play 2 out of 3 and add all 3 scores if players are older.

 

Number Sentences- Works with History Sentences and Science Questions. Have a bowl with #’s in it. Children take turns drawing a number from the bowl. The tutor gives the MM prompt for that numbered sentence in the predetermined subject. Ex: Child pulls #3. Tutor says, “Crusadesâ€. Child should recite History Sentence #3 correctly. If she does, she or her team get a point. Variation #1-Break class up into teams and compete for points. Variation #2-Child chooses # from bowl and can also choose which of the two subjects to correspond to the # drawn from the bowl.

 

Under the Table Timeline Game-All students line up on one side of the room. Move chairs away from tables. First child says the first timeline card. If she says it correctly, she gets to crawl under the tables to the other side of the room. If wrong, she goes to the back of the line and can try again.

 

Will the Winners Lose?

Brief Description

In this review and reinforcement game, negative scoring means that even the winners could lose!

Objectives

Students will

· Answer questions related to a review topic.

· Use the math to figure out their team's score.

Keywords

Chance, review, reinforcement, skill

Materials Needed

· cards containing game instructions

· prepared cards (or a prepared list) with questions for review and reinforcement

Lesson Plan

Before the Activity

Prepare two sets of cards in advance of the game:

· Prepare a set of 25 "scoring cards." On each of those cards, write a different instruction, for example:

* Earn 100 points

* Lose a turn

* Take 50 points from the other team

* Earn 70 points

* Double your total points

* Take an extra turn

* Earn 500 bonus points

· On the other set of cards, write 25 questions related to the topic or skill(s) you want to review and reinforce. (Note: Questions might be created in list form rather than on cards.)

Introduce the stack of scoring cards to students. Shuffle the cards. Put the stack face down on a desk.

Alternative idea.

You might post the 25 scoring cards in random order on a bulletin board or chalkboard. Post the cards with the blank side facing students and the scoring instructions hidden from view.

Arrange students into two or more teams. Decide which team goes first, and then pose the first question to a member of that team. If the student answers correctly, he or she draws a scoring card from the stack (or removes one from the bulletin board or chalkboard). The score on the card determines the score the student earns for his or her team.

· If the team has 0 (zero) points and the card selected reads "Earn 50 points," the team gets 50 points.

· If the card reads, "Double your present score," the team doubles its score of 0, for a total of 0 points.

· If the card reads, "Deduct 50 points from your score," the team subtracts 50 from 0, for a score of -50.

If the student answer incorrectly, the first student on another team to raise his or her hand earns the right to "steal" the question. A correct answer earns that student the opportunity to choose a scoring card...

Of course, the scoring card could carry a negative message, so answering a question correctly is no guarantee that a team will earn points; as a matter of fact, the team could lose points! A team could conceivably answer all the questions correctly and lose the game. That's why the game is called "Will the Winners Lose?"

A Couple More Twists

· You might have each student track the score for each team. Students track the team scores on their own. At the end of the game, each student who correctly calculated each team's final score might earn 50 bonus points for his or her team.

· You might introduce another rule. Since no team member knows whether the scoring card he or she selects will earn or lose points, you might allow students the option of not selecting a card when they answer correctly. If the student thinks the next card in the stack might carry a negative scoring instruction, he or she is free to pass and earn (or lose) no points for the team. Students only learn whether that was a good move or not if the next student to choose a card reveals the scoring instruction on the card.

 

Thanks, Angela! Great ideas.

[Guest jeoffsrib]

Hi everyone, I'm so glad I ran across a thread for classical conversations. Would you let me know, for the younger ages, what math facts they're learning?

 

Is it just all addition and subtraction facts?

[mom2abcd]

Hi everyone, I'm so glad I ran across a thread for classical conversations. Would you let me know, for the younger ages, what math facts they're learning?

 

Is it just all addition and subtraction facts?

 

Skip counting.... all ages in Foundations.... to 12.

[NCMom]

Skip counting (or multiplication facts if they are older) to 15, formulas for area, circumference, some unit conversions (like 1000m = 1km), and some laws (associative, etc.)

 

hth,

Georgia

[Hedgehogs4]

i made up a game that my kids are crazy for, and they ask to play it week after week. we call it simply "the stick game." i have written on craft sticks each subject (two sticks for each subject). then i have other sticks that say "you pick," "boys pick" "friend picks" "girls pick" and you could add others such as "free point" or "lose a turn." i hide the end of the sticks in my hand that have the writing on it and go back and forth between teams (we do boys v girls). a student draws a stick that will have either a topic or a "pick" on it. we had to make the rule that a team could only "pick" one history sentence per game (in addition to the ones in the bunch) because they were racking up too many points, and just answering history sentences. then i randomly choose one of the colored flash cards from the deck and ask the question. if they get it right, they get a point. if they can't get it or want to pass, a teammate who thinks they know the answer can "pull them out." if the teammate misses, the chance to answer goes to the other team and they get one chance to answer. we kept a running score each week for a while. they loved this game! we would dock points for helping a teammate, or would not award a point...something like that . you can set your own parameters. have fun!

[amtmcm]

It's that time of year again when CC tutors are attending training, so I'm resurrecting this thread and adding a few suggestions:

 

Pictionary w/ Geography & Science (& Math in the spring)

 

Duck Duck Goose saying math facts or timeline cards

 

Relay races on the white board - works well for math & english (anything with lists) and they love to write on the board!

 

Math races on paper (have each child take out a piece of paper and see who can write the times tables or skip count the fastest)

 

Around the World with math flash cards or timeline cards.

 

Sorting - kids love this! Write any memory work that needs to be in order on index cards and have them put them in order. This works great with Latin or you can even do this for history sentences. Put part of a sentence on several cards and have them put the sentence in order.

[i.love.lucy]

Thanks for pulling this up Ann!!!!

 

I will have the Abecedarian group, so I am most concerned with games that the little ones can do.

 

Our state director is most familiar with tutoring the littles so she was a wealth of information at my Practicum! She mentioned breaking up the day with times when they sit in a circle around you for certain things like tin whistle (they might have to put the whistle on the floor behind them to keep from messing with it during the lesson). Breaking up the day with lots of movement and songs for this age group. DO not have them do notebooks or try to write too much. So marching to songs, and jumping jacks, games with hopscotch or duck-duck-goose, etc. There are some of those games in the thread that Ann just linked to above.

 

I heard a great idea where you use a Twister game. You will pick the colors for each subject, like yellow for history, green for latin, etc. Then get a silly little plastic frog or something and toss it on the game mat. Where ever it lands you ask a question. The first person to raise their hand to answer and gets it right gets a ticket or a popcicle stick or something. Then you could have a prize for the winner. Or give them a special sticker or something.

 

For geography they mentioned a great idea... blow up the current map and laminate it, one for each child. Then give them some playdo and have them make playdo snakes and trace the outline of the current map. Then take away the map and make the outline on the table. The only thing I don't have a grasp on is how you'd have enough time to do this. Might have to do it on a day when you'd know you'd have enough moms to help.

 

More ideas for ABC's???:bigear:

[populatingdakota]

When I tutored the ABC's we ended eachclass by playing a gmae for review. By this time thier attentions apans were used up so it was a good way to keep them focused for the rest of class. Some ideas:

 

Pick any boared game or kid's game: Go around the circle, ask each child a random review question. If they get it right they get to take a turn at the game. Depending on the game, you can split them up into teams. Games that work well: Jenga (individual, not teams), Jumping Monkeys, Pick up Sticks, Cat in the Hat, Battle Ship for older kids, etc, etc.

 

Play a version of Doggy, Doggy Where's your Bone: One kid goes outside the door, another child hides the eraser (or whatever you have). Child #1 comes in and has to find what was hidden. The rest of the class sings or says a review sentence while he's looking. The class (who knows where it's hidden) sings louder if the child is close to the hidden object and quieter if the child is far away from the hidden object. This works great for timelne, history songs, bible, science songs, math songs, etc. This is my kid's all time favorite game! You may have to put a time limit on how long they have to hide it though, they really get into it!

 

Draw pictures for the sentences (especially history) to teach them sentence, then cut it up and let the kids put it together as a puzzle.

 

Stick Memory Cards to the bottom of the kids chairs before class. At the end of class split them into teams and let them pull them off one at a time and answer the questions. They can get a point for each one they answer correctly.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Susanna

Mom of 8 ages 12 - 1 (and one more blessing on the way!)

[Woodland_Mom]

I have posted several review games for Classical Conversations on my blog. Some of the games include:

 

Will the Winner Lose

Pick - up - sticks Review

Pass the Chicken

Spiders and Candy (very fun to play in the Fall)

 

Scroll down beyond the post about Math Games to see the posts about review games.

[MeganW]

Thank you so much for these ideas!!!