CHAPTER 6: Strategy and Memory Games

Teaching Classroom: Great Classroom Games

CHAPTER 6: Strategy and Memory Games

            In this chapter, I want to resume some of the games that have a purpose to build the strategy and memory for the student. Strategy and memory games usually contain something that related to make a strategy and increase the memory of things. So here some of the games that I will resume it.

1.      Taking a Trip

Taking a Trip is the game that players take turns adding items to a list of things being taken on a trip while trying to remember all the items that came before.

     Age Range: 7 to 12

     Skill Used: categorizing, memory

Number of Players: 4 to 20

     Noise Level: moderate

     Activity Level: low to moderate

     Materials: travel bag cards

Setup :

·         Copy several travel bag cards or draw cards with suitcases, backpacks, or bags.

·         Write a theme or topic on the back of each traveling bag card.

·         Topics might include items needed for going to the beach; animals to collect for a zoo; shopping in a grocery store; the name of a state, country, or continent; or an initial consonant or consonant blend.

How to Play :

a.       The first player draws a travel bag card and reads it to the other players.

b.      That player starts the game by saying, “I’m taking a trip and I’m going to take/pack/collect (whatever is appropriate to the theme card) ______.”

c.       The player then names an item related to the topic.

d.      The travel bag card is passed to the next player who repeats the entire list of things said and then adds an item of his or her own.

e.       Players cannot repeat items that have already been listed.

f.        Continue to play in this manner until the time is up.

2.      Bed of Nails

Bed of Nails is the game that players put rubber bands on an array of nails following rules about which nails can be encircled.

Age Range: 7 to 10

Skill Used: strategic thinking

Number of Players: 3

Noise Level: moderate

Activity Level: moderate

Materials:

• Rubber bands in three colors,

• Wooden game board,

• 100 nails pair of dice

   Setup :

·       The game board is a 12” X 12” piece of wood.

·     It is prepared by pounding nails into the board in a half-inch grid pattern, with the heads of the nails sticking up about an inch.

·        The points of the nails should not protrude from the bottom of the board.

·        The grid should be 10 by 10 nails.

·     The rubber bands should be sorted into the three colors. About 30 of each color are needed.

·        Thin bands of about 1 or 2 inches in diameter are easier to use for this game since they do not need to be doubled to make a player stay in place.

How to Play :

a.    Each player chooses rubber bands of one color to use for the game and has these in a pile.

b.   For the first round, each player rolls only one die. The number rolled determines the number of nails to enclose with the band, except for a roll of 1, which stands for 7 in this entire game.

c.       Once each player has placed his or her first band on the board, players take turns rolling the pair of dice for their turns. When they roll, the larger number showing (with 1 still equaling 7) indicates the total number of nails to have within their shape.

d.      The smaller number tells how many nails to include that are already in another shape.

e.       For example, a roll showing a 1 and a 4 means that the player must enclose a total of seven nails in his or her shape and four of the seven must be already enclosed in another shape on the board. A roll showing a 4 and a 2 would require the player to enclose four nails, with two of the four already within another band. There is no limit to how many times the same nail can be used in a play.

f.        If a player rolls doubles, he or she loses a turn. If there is no space available to play their roll, players must pass.

g.      The winner is the last one who is able to make a play on the board.

h.      This will happen when the supply of available unused nails is running low and players have to pass for a complete round.

So, there are some of the strategy and memory games that can be played in the classrooms. Actually, in this book, there are more than 2 games so you can read the other at the book.