Test Prep Game Centers - Mostly Free

        

        

I love using centers in my math class. It gives me time to meet with a small group of students to focus on what they need at their level. The rest of the class can use that time to practice skills they need to work on. After teaching math for several years - and getting a handle on what the kids REALLY need to practice vs what they pick up rather quickly - I started creating task cards by the boatload. Many teachers use my task cards to play Scoot, but a whole-class activity doesn't work for small group time.

Enter Game Time. What's really nice about the games above is that once the kids learn the games, you can switch out task cards and change up the skill they're practicing - without having to reteach the game. Plus, it makes the kids feel like they're doing something different each center rotation - when in actuality, they're just doing task cards. And set up...don't even get me started about how EASY it is to set up for these games! I keep a 6x9 manilla envelope labeled with each game, rules on the back for reference, and drop a new set of task cards in each week. Or, rotate the sets to a new game for more practice on that skill.

A few things...

Tic-Tac-Toe (FREE): Print out a couple of boards for partners to use and then leave them in the center. Change out the tokens every month to go with the season.

Boom (FREE): Not mine, but a favorite of my students. You'll need an oatmeal container (large, cylinder kind) and then you're good to go. My kids love this game.

Jenga (FREE): You need a Jenga set you don't mind writing on - check Goodwill. Number each block. Play like regular Jenga, but in order to pull the block, kids have to answer the question on the corresponding task card.

Game Boards (Not Free): I have a bunch of game boards in my store that can be used throughout the year to go with the different seasons. Each set comes with 6 different board layouts so things can look a little different when students visit this center. But, with the rules being the same, kids won't be up at your desk asking questions about how to play.