Today many children are "plugged-in" and do not engage in hands-on games that involve mental strategies. Games like Sorry, Trouble or even Tic-Tac-Toe are among the few that come to mind that require a child to "think" before making a move. The 21 century child needs lots and lots of opportunities for application based game and games that require them to communicate their reasoning.
On Friday I spend the day in three 2nd Grade classrooms while they implemented Math Workshop. One of the "Math with Someone" games featured, was the game "Poison". It is an all time favorite of mine and can be played with students Kindergarten through 8th grade.
You can find the directions to this game at my website http://strategicinterventionsolutions.org/uploads/Poison.pdf
Here is a video of some of the students playing. Listen carefully to the student communicating his reasoning as to how there would be no way for him to win.
Stay Tuned: I will feature more parts of their workshops this week!
Labels: Math