First Grade Olympic Games Week

This year I decided to end the year with three themed weeks and I am SO glad I did this!  This was week two of the themed weeks and my kiddos were so excited and engaged and the week flew by.

First Grade Olympic games commenced on Monday morning and we began by starting a week long scrabble game.  Kids were separated into two teams and the teams were asked to spell and build words that contained patterns we reviewed each day.  

I also wanted my kiddos to be participating in some kind of physical activity so these Olympic games were "authentic".  That being said after each word was spelled and built we had to complete some excercise challenges.  The kids loved this and it kept them moving around during our word work block.  This was so important for this time of the year! 

Our math workshop time also included some Olympic themed games to go along with our week long fun!  The first game my kids played this week is Addition Battle-Olympic Edition.  Each kid picks two cards and then finds the sum.  The player with the larger sum gets a point.  Play continues and the kids can reshuffle cards when necessary.  

I have posted this game to my TpT store along with another version of this game so your kiddos can add two-digit numbers vertically.  Always trying to stretch and challenge the kids.  This is great because you can differentiate this game for different learners in your classroom. 

The other game my kiddos played this week was Place Value Battle-Olympic Version.  Much like addition battle the kids picked 3 cards and built the largest three-digit number they could with the cards they had.  The player with the larger number wins the point.  Play continues and the cards can be reshuffled when necessary.  

I have also posted this game to my TpT store with the Addition Battle game.  

To end the week I had my kiddos work on a spelling inventory so I could see where they are in terms of phonics skills and spelling.  

After our "closing ceremonies," I also gave each of my kids a medal for all their hard work in the First Grade Olympic Games.  I found 24 of these medals on Amazon for less than $5.  The only issue was they were an Add-On item... but don't worry, I found something else to buy!!

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Olympic Scrabble Game

With three more weeks of school, I am looking for any way to keep my kiddos engaged and working hard!  Last week was safari week and the kids LOVED it.  This week is our First Grade Olympic Games.  During the week we'll be reviewing many of the skills we've learned throughout the school year. 

To review several of the vowel teams we learned we played a week long scrabble game that the kids were so excited about!

I set out two sets of cards and divided the kiddos into two teams.  This week I gave the kids words to build because I wanted them focused on particular vowel team patterns each day.  In previous weeks I let the teams come up with their own words.

After each team member recorded the word in their Olympic notebook, then I selected 1 student to grab the necessary letters to build the word.  The team that built the word on their board first got an extra point for their team. 

After each team built the words, we added the points together and then recorded the score on the scoreboard.  This was also a great time to review math skills, particularly regrouping when adding!

To add to the game this week we also did some exercises to give the game an even more Olympic feel after each round. 

 Check back later in the week for a post about all the Olympic activities and games we took part in this week. 

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