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Brief Description
Adapt the game
of Concentration to hundreds of skills. Ideas, puzzle sources
included.
Objectives
Students will
- use the format
of the TV game show Concentration to practice/reinforce
a wide variety of skills.
- create their
own Concentration games for the class to play.
Keywords
Concentration,
game, skills, practice, reinforce, reinforcement, Popsicle
stick, math, Constitution, capitals, homonyms, synonyms, spelling,
misspell, antonyms, opposites
Materials Needed
- white craft paper
- 3- by 5-inch index cards
- 3- by 5-inch sticky notes
- prizes (optional)
Lesson Plan
This
lesson adapts the TV game "Concentration" to most any subject.
Before
the Lesson
Gather thirty 3- by 5-inch index cards. Create 15 questions/problems
that relate to your latest unit of study. Write each problem
or question on a card in large print. Write the answer
to each question on another card. With a little creative thought,
this activity can be adapted to almost any subject area or
teaching theme. (See Concentration Across the Curriculum below.)
Arrange
the cards in random order in 6 rows of 5 cards on a bulletin
board. Then place a large (3- by 5-inch) sticky note on top
of each card. Number the sticky notes in order from 1 to 30
to look like the board from the Concentration TV game show.
Start
the game by calling the name of a student. You might use the
Popsicle stick method of calling on students. (See Popsicle
Stick Method below.) That will help keep all students
focused on the game. The game continues in this way:
-
The
student calls out a number.
- Lift
the sticky note with that number on it to reveal a question
or an answer.
- If
a question is under that sticky note, students call
out another number under which they hope to find the matching
answer; if the number they called out reveals an answer
underneath, students call out another number under which
they hope to find the matching question.
- If
the cards under the two numbers reveal a matching
question and answer, then the student earns 1 point. If
the cards do not match, the sticky note with the number
on it is returned to its spot and all students do their
best to recall what question or answer was revealed under
each number so when they're called on, they will be able
to make a match.
- Keep
playing until all matches have been revealed.
Concentration
Across the Curriculum
Following are just ten -- out of thousands of -- ideas for
adapting the Concentration game to review skills across the
curriculum:
- Adapt
for any kind of math skill you are teaching -- from addition
facts to algebraic equations. Write the problem on one card,
the answer on another.
- If
you are studying phonics, write the word on one card, its
phonetic spelling on another.
- For
a book you are reading aloud, match the names of different
characters with a statement that tells something about that
character.
- In
chemistry, match the chemical symbol with the name of the
element. For example, H matches hydrogen, Ag matches gold,
and so on.
- If
you are teaching students to tell time, have them match
the card that shows the time on a clock face with the card
that shows the time in digital format (for example, 7:45).
Or match the digital form to the words that tell the time
(for example, quarter to 8).
- Use
this week's vocabulary words. Students match each word card
with its definition card. Another idea: If you teach a foreign
language, have students match a vocabulary word in that
language with its English translation.
- Studying
the U.S. Constitution? Match the Amendment
numbers with the freedoms they created.
- Homonyms
can make a fun theme for a game. Match there with
their, hour with our, I with eye,
and so on. (Other ideas: match synonyms or antonyms.)
- In
geography, match a state or country with its capital.
- To
check spelling, match two words that clearly attempt
to spell the same word. For example, school and skool
or mispell and misspell. Students match the
two words, then tell the one that is spelled correctly.
(Resources: See Commonly
Misspelled Words or Spelling
Test for word lists.)
- Are
you teaching about inventors in science class? Match the
name of the inventor with his or her invention.
Just think of all the skills you could incorporate into a game
of Concentration!
Popsicle
Stick Method
To use this popular method of selecting kids, simply write
each student's name on a Popsicle stick and place the sticks
in a jar or can. Draw a stick; the person whose name is on
the stick responds next.
Note: In a game such as this one, you do not want to lose
students' attention once they have been called on. If their
Popsicle stick is selected and you leave it out of the can
after they have responded, they have no stake in paying attention
to the game after they have had their turn. However, if you
return their stick to the can, they know they have as much
chance as anybody else does to be called on again.
More Thoughts & Tips…
- To
make the cards as neat and readable as possible, create
them with a word processing program. Use a large font, then
print, and trim to 3- by 5-inch card size.
- Of
course, each time a match is made on the TV game show, two
more pieces of a rebus puzzle are revealed under the game
cards. If you are really ambitious you could create and
draw a puzzle to appear under the game cards. The puzzle
could be related to the skill the game teaches, or it could
be unrelated. Each time students locate a matching set of
cards, two new pieces of the puzzle are revealed. That student
has an opportunity to guess the puzzle. The student who
guesses the puzzle might receive a special prize.
- Of course, the easiest
way to create puzzles is to buy the Concentration
game. You might find some puzzle ideas in the game cards
that you could recreate on a bulletin board.
- You
might introduce two Wild Cards! into the game. Just
like on the TV game show, these cards produce an instant
match and a point for the person who reveals them. (If you
use wild cards, you will only need 14 pairs of question
and answer cards.)
- You
might leave the Concentration board as a permanent fixture
in your classroom. You could change the theme and the game
cards every week or two. That way, students can play the
game -- for more skills practice -- during rainy day recesses
or at other times.
- You
could even add a job to your classroom jobs list. The person
who has the "Concentration board" job might move some of
the cards around each day and be responsible for putting
up new game cards whenever you produce a new game related
to a new skill.
- Store
each edition of the game cards in an envelope labeled with
the skill the game teaches. Keep them all in a "Concentration"
file so you can use them from year to year, or repost an
old game from time to time. If you use rebus puzzles, store
the puzzles in a separate folder.
- Let
a different student serve as emcee each time the game is
played. That student can select Popsicle sticks to determine
which student's turn it is, and reveal the puzzle questions
and answers. (You can sit off to the side and correct papers!)
- After
your students are familiar with the game, why not put them
to work creating Concentration game cards -- and even rebus
puzzles -- that the entire class can play? (A fun extension
activity for students who always finish their work early!)
Have a team of students create a game. Check their work
and have them make editing revisions before creating the
actual game cards. The students who create the puzzles can
serve as emcees when it is time to play their game.
Assessment
The winner
of the game earns a prize.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
This activity
can be adapted for use in almost every subject and for almost
any skill.
Click to return
to this week's lessons, Reviving
Reviews: Refreshing Ideas Students Can't Resist.
Originally published 03/28/2003
Last updated 04/29/2008
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