Keeping young learners engaged is something teachers strive for every day. While we wish this was an easy feat, that is not always the case. Using carnival games keeps my students engaged in lesson plans and activities, and the best part is that I can reuse them all year - for ANY subject or content!
I like to use the Carnival Spinner, Table Tennis Toss, Disk Drop Game and Bean Bag Toss in my classroom. Sometimes I use them one at a time but other times I use them as an entire string of activities for my students to use. I have my students work in table groups, in partners, or independently to complete an activity, problem, worksheet, or anything related to a concept or skill we are learning. Their ticket to the carnival game(s) is mastering that content!
You could do this a variety of ways; have them complete one problem, question or an entire activity. For example, it may just be one math word problem at a time or it could be an entire states of matter sort. That is the beauty of it, these ideas work for anything! I set up the carnival games I will be using at that time near the front of the room or around the room in a type of sequence. If my students are working on multiple problems or questions I like to use the sequence set up. This way, when they complete a question they can start at the beginning carnival game before moving on to the next problem I have for them. You could have enough questions for them to go through all carnival games once or multiple times.
One of my favorite ways to use these games in the classroom is for test review. They complement any worksheet, study guide, or task card set. If my students are just doing one longer activity or problem, I may just use one carnival game during that time. When they finish they get to play! If I am using the disk drop game they get one drop through the slots. If we are using the spinner they get one spin.
Here comes the fun part! Each game has number values as a way to "win". You can use these in so many ways and even change it each time. Here are some ways I like to use those prizes for my students
Points
They could collect points as teams or individually. The student or group with the most points could win a prize OR they could use those points to shop in the carnival store! You could have prizes such as free pencil, no homework, no shoes, etc.
Dollars
Convert those amounts they win into classroom economy amounts. For example, the 5 on the spinner could be $5 towards your classroom economy/store. Then when it's time to spend they have some extra to buy some fun stuff!
Prizes
Assign numbers and colors to different kinds of prizes. If you are just using one carnival game at a time this is a great option. For multiple games in a fun carnival series this would be a lot of prizes.Note: For the bean bag toss, I only allow my students the three tries to get a bean bag in one hole. It has pretty high values to win and that would be a big payout! The other thing I do, for example, is if they get the "50" I convert it to 5 points.
I really love all of these games and how versatile they are! Set up an entire day of carnival games or quickly pull one out for any activity or lesson and it will immediately grab your students' attention. Either way, you are guaranteed a class that is having FUN while they learn!
