There are a few things that I do pretty well in class. One of them is getting quickly and easily thrown off-track when students make me laugh. The other is review games.
Earlier this week, a teammate sent me a Jeopardy game for Equations.
So we played Jeopardy.
Students volunteered to be Alex Trebek and select the category on the projector. “Combining Like Terms for 200: Three ex plus… uh… you can just read it.”
The students caught on to Jeopardy very quickly.
Vaudrey: …and in Final Jeopardy, each player wagers part of their score on the right answer.
Student: Oh, man! I don’t know anything! Can I wager negative?
Vaudrey: Then you would lose points if you got it right.
Student: But I’d gain points when I get it wrong.
Clearly, Randy understands the unit on negative numbers from last week.
I want the whole class to get a shot, so I had to rotate them out every three questions or so.
Vaudrey: James, make room for the newcomers.
Stef: I’m a newcomer.
Daniel: I’m a cucumber.
After Jeopardy, we played a game I made up called Drag Race. Using this projection on the wall.
Each team decides on their icon and the icon advances as their team advances.
White Students: We’ll be Team Cracker!
Vaudrey: That’s an Apple Pie.
White Students: Oh… well, that’s cool, too.
And after a few minutes of play:
Daniel: Justin Bieber is beating Mexico! Aw, hell, no!