Finally, a chance to share the game board that I designed!

Over the last few days I’ve been reflecting about what I have learned while being in the M.Ed program at SMU and I got to thinking about all of the fun (and some not so fun) projects that I’ve completed.  Now that I know what grade level I will be teaching, I am really trying to figure out activities I have created that already fit into 2nd grade and other activities that could be modified to fit.

One of the first projects that jumped out at me was when I worked with a group to present about the benefits of using games in mathematics instructions.   After conducting research about the benefits and uses for games in mathematics, we worked together to create a Dr. Seuss themed game packet for our fellow cohort members that was filled with great ideas reinforcing math concepts across various grade levels.  With respect to my group members for the work they put in, I will only share the activity that I created, but I am OH so excited to finally be able to share this!!

The idea behind my game board was an updated/themed version of the popular “Chutes and Ladders” children’s game.  I really think that almost any game can be modified to be educational so I spent some time thinking about how I could modify “Chutes and Ladders.”  Then it hit me!  Why not have scholars draw cards from a deck with addition and subtraction sentences that they had to solve to know how many spaces to move?  Not only would scholars have to solve their own addition/subtraction sentences, but they would also find a competitive advantage to “checking” other players work!  Below is a picture of the instructions and finished game board that I had printed onto a foam backing at OfficeDepot.  You can also see a few of the game pieces that I made and the game cards.