Why Play Still Belongs in the Elementary Classroom and How to Make Sure it's There

Introduction: Somewhere Along the Way We've Decided They're Too Old to Play

Have you ever been in a kindergarten classroom? It's filled with bright colors, fun activities like blocks, pretend play, centers, manipulatives, games, and lots of movement activities. Early elementary classrooms are expected to follow best practices and include those in their setup. But, once you step into an upper elementary classroom, you will see that those things have largely disappeared. The blocks are gone. The centers go away and things seem more serious. Worksheets and textbook learning takes over leaving little room for play. Students are expected to sit quietly, listen, and work on page after page.

Play doesn't have to be something you squeeze in after learning. Play is often how some of the best learning takes place.

1. Play Increases Participation

When I tell students to complete a math page of 20 problems, for instance, I may hear some moans from across the classroom. But if I say, find a partner, we're going to play a game to practice these facts, the excitement is real. The skills are the same, but the energy has totally changed. I remember when I gamified the classroom with my circus multiplication activity. Students were excited about their learning overall and much more engaged. They raced through the activities, working carefully to unlock the next levels. They were looking forward to earning tickets for our carnival-style circus games where they could also earn prizes. 

2. Games Give Kids a Reason to Practice

Many skills involve lots of repetition for students to master. Skills such as multiplication facts, division facts, fractions, vocabulary, and even grammar need lots of practice. Worksheets give that repetition, but games can provide that too. The difference is that students actually want to practice when a game is involved. 

If you give your students page after page of math worksheets you can be sure you will hear some sort of disgruntled sounds or words from the kids. But students will happily solve many math facts when they are trying to beat a friend in a game. 

3. Play Teaches Things That Aren't on the Worksheet

While students are playing games, they are not just practicing math or any other skill. They are also learning important life skills such as:

• taking turns
• following rules
• communication
• solving disagreements

4. Play Lets me see my Students Differently

When I am walking around my classroom while students are playing games, I have the opportunity to observe students in a different light. I might hear a student explaining their thinking to their partner. I can see who understands a concept but needs a bit more confidence in the skill. I notice who has a strategy for solving the facts. I can see who is following procedures without really understanding them. 

Some of a teacher's best informal assessment happens when students don't even realize they are being assessed. The pressure is off and they can really let their knowledge shine through.

5. Play Gives Kids a Chance to Be Kids

Yes, upper elementary students may seem quite grown up when you compare them with kindergarteners, but remember, they are STILL little. They still enjoy being silly. They still like pretending. They still want and need to move. They get excited about competitions, challenges, themes, dice, cards, and ridiculous classroom games. 

Often districts pressure teachers to have kids produce something tangible and measurable. But, I do not believe, for even one second, that school has to look completely serious to be valuable. 

6. Play Doesn't Mean a Classroom is Out of Control

Many teachers think that if there is noise or fun in the classroom it must be because learning is not happening and it is out of control. Classrooms with productive play still have expectations, routines, and boundaries. It is all about the training. Students have to learn:

• how loud they can be
• where materials belong
• what happens if there is a disagreement
• when the game ends
• how to clean-up 
• what appropriate competition looks like

As a teacher, I spend time teaching my students how to play classroom games at the start of the year because it will continue to pay off throughout the year. 

7. Play Doesn't Have to be Complicated

There are lots of things you can do, starting tomorrow, that are simple and free. 

Math: Dice games, card games, around the room challenges, multiplication races

Reading: Reader's theater, vocabulary charades or headbands, acting out parts of speech

Grammar: Silly sentence challenges, grammar games

Science: Building challenges, observation games

Brain Breaks: Quick movement challenges

Indoor Recess: Board games, drawing, building puzzles

8. What I've Learned After Years in the Classroom

I have taught for long enough to have seen plenty of educational trends come and go. State expectations change. Standards change. Curriculums change. Kids don't change. 

Your students still want to laugh, have fun and move. They still want to create. They want to play with their friends. And, if I can combine those things with learning, I don't consider one second of that instruction time a waste. I consider it quite the opposite, great teaching. 

How do you make room for play inside the four walls of your classroom? I'd love to hear about games, traditions, activities, or crafts that your students never seem to outgrow.  

Looking for more ideas? Check out my TPT store games right here. 

Math Game Monday: Dots & Boxes Multiplication Edition

What's not to love about a traditional game of dots and boxes? This game, although a classic, is still a hit with my class. Students can practice one set of facts at a time for extra focused learning.

How to play Dots & Boxes

I like to either laminate or slip these into a sheet protector so I can use them again and again. Each student will use a different colored whiteboard marker.  They will select a set of multiplication facts to practice (number of fact set is located on the top left of each game board). Students roll a 12-sided die, multiply it with the number on the top of the sheet, and find that number on the board. They will draw a line between two of the dots that are around the product. Take turns rolling and connecting two dots. If you complete a square, write your initials inside it. That is one point for you. At the end, whoever has drawn the most boxes wins.

Tips and Tricks for Dots & Boxes

One thing I like to do is use this as a partner game. I find that if I have more than 2 students together, it can get a little bit noisier than I would like while I am working with small math groups.

Last Thoughts

You will have this game ready to go in no time. Just print and go. Your students will be practicing their math facts in no time with this easy-to-play game. What are you waiting for? Snag this one today and make your life a bit easier. You will no longer be asking, "What will my students do while I am in small groups?"

You can find it right here. You will also find a link to a short video that shows how to play.

 Happy playing!

Who Was Books About Students & All About Me Student Autobiographies

I love to start my year by getting to know my students a bit better. Here are two fun writing projects that I have used in my classroom that do just that. These are great for the beginning of the year, but I have used the autobiography one in the middle of the year with great success too, so timing is not really a huge deal on either of these projects.

Autobiography Writing Project

The thing I absolutely LOVE about this project is that it includes having students interview their parents about before they were born and when they were little. It traces the student's lives from their parents finding out they were going to have a baby all the way up until their current age. 

Students dive in one interview and piece of writing at a time. I usually start with the very earliest stage of their lives and work up to their current life. I send home an interview paper on the first day. They are supposed to interview their parents that night and return the information the next day. Then they use the questions and answers to create a paragraph that tells about their life. We repeat that process for several days, sending interviews and then writing the paragraph the next day. Toward the end, students can do their own work without needing to interview their parents. The result is a super sweet keepsake autobiography pocket book for each student to display. 

I just LOVE this project so much! I learn a lot about each student and they learn about themselves as well. They take home a beautiful project that will be a keepsake for years to come. 

This comes with so many different forms for different nationalities and looks of children. 

Who is Books

This is another fun way to have students write about themselves and this is completely different from the last activity. The information in each is unique. First, I start by having the students write in 4 different ways about themselves. Here's what that looks like for me. 

1. Bio Poem

This is a fun way for students to practice writing poetry without it being too challenging. This poem is a formula (just search bio poem in your search engine and it will pop up with directions for how to have students write this poem). 

2. Hopes and Dreams (Goals)

Students write about things in school that they hope or dream for their year. This is basically a list of goals they want to achieve that are school-related.

3. One Little Word 

Students choose one word to represent something they want to strive for this year. They also write about why they chose that word.

4. Favorites

Students write a list of favorites such as: color, number, sport, subject, animal, friend, etc. 

Once the writing is done, I used AI to create book covers. Sometimes I have to play around with this for a little bit, but this is the basics of what I do:

Upload a picture of the front cover of a Who Was book from my library or on the web. I also upload a picture of one of my students and tell the prompt to create a Who Was style book. I tell it to name it using my student's first name. I also pick a theme if wanted. This time I had it create them in a sports pose playing their favorite sport and wearing their favorite color. That was about it. I made sure that it made the head big and the body small in each picture to match the actual artwork on these books. 

Once I get an image, I save it and I upload it to a Powerpoint and center it on the right side of an 11x8.5 document. I type out the four pieces of writing (two on one slide and two on another). Then I print the writing front to back and print cover. I fold it all like a book and staple the single sheet inside the front cover and it's done. I hung these on the wall outside my classroom and got a lot of attention from other students and staff. Super fun...and free!

Here's where you can find the autobiography for your class. 

Math Game Monday: Football Season Games

I don't know about you, but my students LOVE sports. And every fall, with the start of football season, I start thinking about how I can capture their love with some sports-themed activities. One easy way is through the use of football centers. 

Football season begins around labor day and it is the perfect time to introduce these football activities to my class. 

Football Multiplication Worksheets

I love this set because it comes with some worksheets where students can practice basic facts, equal groups, arrays, commutative property, and more multiplication strategies as well. There are 17 different multiplication activities from cut and paste, to writing, to flip books, there is a lot of value. 

Football Multiplication Games

Also included are three different football multiplication games that are perfect for math centers. I love finding ways to keep my students learning while the other students are in small groups and the use of centers is the perfect activity. 

I love a quick and easy game of War, and this bundle includes that with a fun football theme. It also comes with a spinner bingo-style game that has students practicing different multiplication strategies. It includes another game that is a touchdown game that allows students to move back and forth on a board scoring touchdowns as they solve multiplication facts. 

All of these games are so easy to put together with minimal cutting. I would suggest that you laminate because it will highly extend the life of your games for years to come. 

More Football Multiplication Games

If you are interested in even more football games, I have this companion set that has three additional games. 

All the games are easy for students to learn and engaging to play. The first is a game one that is called Four Yards in a Row. It is played very similarly to Connect 4. The next game is a card game that has a few surprise cards thrown in and may have you giving a card to your opponent or losing all your cards, so be careful with that one. The final game is a dice-rolling game where students are racing to be the first to cover all the products on their team jersey. 

Where can I get These Games?

I'm glad you asked. I will leave the links below. Be sure to stock up for the season!

Football Worksheets and Game Bundle

3 Football-Themed Games for Math Centers

Print, Cut, Go

Teaching Art & Loving It

Even though I am working in a self-contained classroom in a small school (we have 3 teachers K-8), I am excited that we decided to do some electives together instead of independently. I was named the "art" teacher for the school, and I have big plans. I am having so much fun. I love the project we recently finished in my 3rd-5th grade class and are finishing up in the 6th-8th one next week. 

We created these super cute graffiti walls. Students used a graffiti generator online to write their names. They took a screen shot on their Ipads and then traced it with tracing paper. They used tongue depressors and hot glue to build fences. At this point they could decide to paint their backgrounds or keep them plain. Afterwards, they used carbon paper to trace their names (that were written on tracing paper) onto their fences. Then they used paint markers to color their names. They could add some designs to their fences if they wanted to. 

Finally, we painted some foam to look like grass, cut a slit in it and glued in their fences. Then they added plants and rocks. They turned out so cute and the students loved them too. 

Here's a little peek at the ones that are done so far. 

Math Game Monday: Find Five

If you are looking for a fun way for small groups or partners to work on multiplication skills, the game Find Five is a fun way to get in some practice. There are three different boards for different levels of play. Each board has just a few sets of the multiplication facts so students can review as they master the sets. The sets are 2-5, 6-8, and 9-12. 

If you like the game Sequence, you will love this game. It is based off of Sequence, but with a spy theme and multiplication facts. 

How to Play the Game Find Five

Students will shuffle the deck of cards, placing them upside down. Teams or players will take turns flipping one card over. If the team or player answers correctly, they can cover the product on the board with one of their game pieces. The other team or player will go and play will continue until one team or player covers five spaces in a row. The corners are free spaces and be careful of the word cards, they may remove one of your pieces or allow your opponent to add a piece anywhere. Each product is shown twice on the board, so players can choose the best spot.

Here's a look at the board game and you can find it in my TPT shop over here.  I bet your students will love it as much as mine do. 

How I Teach Students to Play Math Games Independently

Do you ever wonder how to teach students to play center games independently? It comes down to a few different things for me. Let me show you how you can easily and successfully train students to play center games independently. 

1. Teach the Game

When I introduce a new game, I try to give my students a little sample of it by playing through one round with them. I explain how to play and then actually play a quick round. If it is a longer game, I might just play for a few minutes until they get the hang of it. 

2. Include the Instructions

Including instructions for each game at the center is a good idea. Students will be able to refer to the instructions if they forget a rule. 

3. Partners are Best 

I especially like to have students play with one other person. It keeps things quieter during math rotations and the two of them can work out the rules if needed. 

4. Repeat Similar Games with Different Themes or Math Topics

I have a lot of games that follow the same instructions or style. It helps students play them even quicker and easier. I change out the math skill or the theme (for holidays or seasons). Keeping games of a similar style is great for independence. 

Those are a few of my favorite ways to keep things simple at my math rotations and help students be more successful with playing independently. 

If you are looking for some center games to get you started check out these links.

Place Value Game

Rounding to 10's & 100's Math Game

Addition & Subtraction Game

Multiplication Game

Division Game

Fraction Game

Math Game Monday: Tic Tac Toe War

I'm here with another fun and easy game to put in your math centers. This game is called Tic Tac Toe War and it combines the best of both Tic Tac Toe and War together in one game. In this game, students will practice multiplication facts to build fluency. 

How to Play Tic Tac Toe War

Choose one Tic Tac Toe War board to share between two players. Mix up the cards, deal them all out, and place them face down in two even stacks (one for each student). At the same time, both players flip one card and place it at the bottom of the board. Students will each solve the card they flipped over. Whoever has the highest product will place a counter on the board. I like to use two different colored army guys that I found at Dollar Tree. It makes it more fun and students stay with the theme of war. 

Students will continue to flip cards, solve, and place an army guy on the board. The first player with three in a row wins. 

Teacher Prep for Tic Tac Toe War

It's a cinch to set up for this game. Teachers will print whichever boards they want. There are six different color options. There is even a blackline option for ink saving. Print and cut one set of multiplication cards. I like to laminate all my games so that I can use them year after year, but that is totally up to you. Add in some type of counters or mini erasers. I like to use two colors of army guys to make it more fun for my students. 

Give me the link!

If you have students who would love this game, look no further. Just click the link below to be taken to the game. You can find it right here. 

My Newly Designed Sports-Themed Classroom

This year I totally revamped my classroom (at the last minute, as I sometimes do). We had a fabulous start to the new year and the students were thrilled with the new classroom vibe. 

Some of the things I did to make it special:

First, I created a whole vibe with different sports ball paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling. I purchased a soccer field rug to place under my table. I got a basketball hoop that I mounted to my whiteboard. It will be perfect for games. 

At open house, I passed out our team playbook. This was definitely a labor of love and completely matched our theme. The students and families each got one of these to take home. It told all about the classroom and me as their coach (teacher). It told about some of the special ways we will celebrate together. 

For a welcome back, I gave each student a little soccer pouch that was filled with snacks. I placed a World Cup Little Debbie snack cake inside as well as a bag of Pirate's Booty.  These were so fun and the class loved them. On a side note, my dad went to school with the real Little Debbie...Debbie McKey. So fun!

For birthdays, I have tall plastic soccer cups with straws that I will pass out. inside each one will be a soccer ring pop as well as a sports pencil and eraser. They are super cute. This coming week I will be giving these out to all of my summer birthdays. Can't wait to see their reaction to that. 

We are using a mini-economy, so even the classroom money has a sports theme. We are using "All Star Dollars." Each money amount has a different sports featured with an equal amount of female and male athletes. 

It's going to be a great year! I hope your year is just as great.

Math Game Monday: Place Value I-Spy

I am back again to introduce you to another place value game for Math Game Monday. I LOVE this one. It gets the energy flowing with my students and gets them excited. Place Value I-Spy is a fun and easy way to practice those place value skills of the three different number forms: standard, expanded, and word. 

Students start by putting the large board together to form a rectangle. They each choose some sort of colored counter, different from the other players, to mark their spaces on the board. Then they shuffle the deck of cards and place it upside down. The students will then take turns flipping one card at a time and trying to be the first to spy the answer on the board. Whoever finds it first will place one of their counters on that space on the board. 

Students continue flipping cards one at a time and finding the matching answer on the board. Whoever finds the most answers wins the game. 

This is such a fun game that can be played with one partner or even a small group. 

Be sure to snag this one right away for the school year. Your students will enjoy it so much!

You can find it right here.

How I Teach Multi-Grades: Tips & Tricks

The other day, a teacher acquaintance on Instagram mentioned that she was going to be teaching in a multi-grade classroom this year. I reached out to encourage her and tell her that it is not as hard as it might seem and that I have taught in multi-grade for 27 of my 29 years. She asked me a little bit about it and I was able to give her some advice. So then I thought maybe this would be a great thing to share here on my blog. 

A Little Background on my Experience Growing Up

When I went to school, it was at a small two-room school that included all grades from 1-9. I went there for all nine years before moving to a more traditional classroom. The class sizes were generally small and it was a nice "family" atmosphere in the school. Everyone knew everyone. The teacher would rotate us through our lessons one grade at a time. It was great for kids who were ahead, like me because my first year I was able to do reading class with the second grade class since I was not a beginner like most. Kids who needed extra reinforcement could also get help by doing class with the younger kids. It just seemed normal to me. 

 College Life

In college, I began my studies as an elementary education major. It was assumed that when I graduated, I would get a job for the same private school system I had gone to since first grade through college. This system is the largest parochial system (next to the Catholics) and has schools world-wide. Most schools are small one or two teacher schools with a few larger schools in big cities. 

My First Teaching Placement 

I began my teaching career at a small three teacher school in Delaware. That year I started with seven students (which grew to nine second semester). I taught first-third grades. I also had fourth grade for a couple of classes. My multi-grade teaching experience started right out of the gate and continued for most of my teaching career. There have been just two years that I have taught one grade level...second grade. 

How do you Teach Multi-Grade?

If you are not used to it, this can sound like a super complex and even foreign concept. The secret is there are many schools that purposely use this model, including pricy Montessori, private schools, and even some public schools. So it is definitely NOT unheard of. 

I currently teach a combo class of third-fifth grades and quite a bit about those levels goes together nicely. 

First, there's the math. In my grade levels the curriculum basically follows the same plan. Students begin with place value & rounding, move to addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Then they go on to fractions, area/perimeter/volume, measurements and conversions, geometry, etc. The great thing is that I can teach the same topics for each grade level and just go a little deeper and deeper as the levels go up. Many classrooms use the structure of small groups and in multi-grade teaching that is a MUST. I give each math class about 20-30 minutes with me and then they move into independent work. That also means that I must have math centers that they can work at when they are not with me, or when they are done with their work or are waiting for their class. I have a whole post about math centers over here.

I do the same for reading. In a regular single-grade classroom, students do not read on the same level and so that is where reading groups come into play. Students are grouped according to level and taught for 15-20 minutes at a time while the rest of the class practices through the use of centers. The same is in play in a multi-grade classroom. It is great that advanced students can be bumped up to more challenging groups and students who are struggling can be placed in groups for remediation. It just works. 

In writing, I teach one writing class, but differentiate the expectations for third, fourth, and fifth grade levels. I do not expect the same quality of writing out of a third grader that I would from a fifth grader. Spelling and handwriting activities are done generally independently. Third grade starts handwriting with me since they are learning cursive, but as the year progresses, it moves to a more independent activity. 

For the rest of the classes, we do a rotation. One year students do 3rd grade Bible, social studies, and science. The next year they do the 4th grade and the final year in my room they do the 5th grade. The topics are similar enough that even if they do not finish in our system, they continue to circle back to many of the same topics year after year, and it is not a huge deal.  

That's how it works. Not too bad. It is very similar to a regular classroom with just a few adjustments. 

Benefits of a Multi-Grade Classroom

It is crazy to me how some people view multi-grade classrooms as somehow less than. It is completely a myth. There are actually many proven benefits to this system. 

• Peer-to-Peer learning: Younger students learn more by listening to older students and older students are reinforced in their learning by listening to the younger students.
• Flexible Pacing: Students do not have to be held strictly to grade-level content. They can bump up if they are ready or get extra time if needed.
• Pre-Teaching and Re-Teaching: Students in these classrooms get continuous exposure to upcoming and past topics. This helps to build stronger comprehension.
• Strong Leadership: Older students mentor the younger ones. This boosts their confidence and sense of responsibility. 
• Better Social Skills: In a mixed-age classroom, competitive pressure is reduced. There is a sense of family, and it is more cooperative.
• Reduced Anxiety: Students feel less pressure which can lead to a healthier emotional well-being. It can reduce behavior issues. 
• Extended Relationships: Students and families get to work with the same teachers for multiple years enhancing the student/teacher/parent relationships and allowing a deeper understanding of how each child learns and what he/she needs.
• Real-World Environment: Classrooms mirror the real-world. Just as future jobs will have many people of different ages, students in multi-age classrooms have the opportunity to learn to work with other children of differing ages.   

Math Game Monday: Place Value to the Thousands Place

I am always surprised each year at just how difficult students find place value to be. To me, it seems straight forward, but to them, well...they just struggle. That's why I LOVE to use learning games to get students engaged and practicing these important place value skills. This game is quick and easy, can be played multiple ways, and is very low prep. 

One way you can play this is as a scoot game. Place one card on each desk. If you do not have enough desks, you can place the rest around the room wherever you choose. Give each student a recording sheet. They will be given 30 seconds to 1 minute at each of the spots. As they rotate, they take their scoot sheet with them and record each answer on the matching spot. When the students have visited each spot, they are done. 

Another way that I love to play this is with whiteboards. I give each student a whiteboard, read the clues aloud, and have them try to figure out my mystery number. I love involving the whole class in this activity. It is fun and easy. 

You could also do this around the room (tape them to the walls and allow students to walk around answering and writing down their answers. You could have students work on these in centers or even small groups as well. There are so many ways you can use them.

This game comes with 24 mystery number cards. Students simply follow the clues, writing down one digit at a time until they have written the entire number. 

I love simple games that involve my entire class. This is one of those games. What are you waiting for? Give it a try this year. You can find it right here. 

Math Game Monday: Multiplication I-Spy

Need a fast-paced, competitive math game for your students to practice their multiplication facts? This I-Spy game is all of that! Your students will be racing to be the first to find the products to the equations on the card. Fact fluency is simple and fun with this easy to prep game. 

How to Play Multiplication I-Spy

Start by printing out the boards and cards. Arrange the boards to make a large rectangle. Shuffle and place the cards upside down. Take turns flipping a card for all to see. Everyone will race to be the first to find the product on the spy-themed board. When someone finds it, they will cover it with a counter. Each player will have a different color of counter. Students can play this with a partner or a small group. 

Continue taking turns flipping cards and covering products until all the cards are gone or time is out. Each player should count their counters. The winner is whoever has the most. It's as simple as that!

Where I can Find Multiplication I-Spy

If you would like to purchase this game for your own class, check it out at this link. This game comes in full color or blackline to save ink.