Activity Idea: Round Robin Games Tournament

This activity provides the perfect outlet for kids’ energy, using all those board games on your shelves.

Instructions
Choose a variety of two-player games, and set them up in a circle, either on the floor or using tables. Have two students sit across from each other (one child on the inside of the circle, the other on the outside) to play each game. Set a timer for five minutes, and when the bell rings, students in the inner circle rotate to their right (clockwise) one game, as those in the outer circle stay put. Reset the timer, and this time, after five minutes, the outer circle rotates their right (counter-clockwise) one game. Each time the students rotate, they pick up the new game wherever the previous person left off. Thus, the same child can go from winning a game of checkers to losing a game of Scrabble.

The Standards Connection
Language arts and math standards will vary based on the board game. For example, Monopoly and Yahtzee are good links to math learning, while Scrabble and Upwords reflect language learning. Nearly all board games are an excellent complement to citizenship and problem-solving standards for a variety of grade levels.