What Are We Playing For?

"What are we playing for?"  any given student in Bell's class first thing in the morning.

This has become the standard question on Monday mornings in my classroom.  It is what excites kids and motivates them.  They have become accustomed to us having a weekly challenge of what we play for with the scoreboard game.  I chose to keep the prize the same for a week so that I wouldn't have to think up something new daily.  The idea of that overwhelmed me.  I can usually plan something on the weekend for the following week whether it's a utube search or a pinterest find.

This past week, we played for five minutes of free time.  Prior to WBT entering my life, I would have given my students five minutes for free but no longer.  We maximixe our learning time and usually have a one minute reward that students try to earn everyday.  For them to have five whole minutes was truly a treat and one they used well.

This next week, we will be playing the hand-clap game of sevens.  I'm excited about it!  Not only will it energize them, it will work on midline skills which always enhances learning and focus not to mention increasing eye strength, team building and will be just plaing fun.

Here are two girls who have excellent instructional videos on a variety of hand-clapping games as well as some other links that I have used so far this year.

Sevens:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3knQAUN1kcY

Dance like you have ants in your pants:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYWycl8vR5c

Thriller animation:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v