Winter Games: A Classroom Transformation

Saturday, February 24, 2018

Amazon Affiliate links are provided in this blog post for your convenience.

Guys. I am SO excited to write this blog post for you guys. For the past two days at school, my fifth graders have taken part in the 2018 Winter Games. We did these games to go along with this year's Olympic Games, but it could totally be done anytime during the winter months by just calling them the Winter Games. Myself and my coworkers are already talking about doing this transformation again next year with the title of the "Winter Sports World Championship". It doesn't have to be Olympic themed to still be SO MUCH FUN. During this blog post, I'll break down what we did and how we decorated. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to leave a comment and I'll get back to you.

The Decorations: 
The decorations for this transformation were cheap and easy (YESSSS!). I spent less than $50 on all of my supplies. I bought 11 tablecloths, and five packages of streamers from the dollar store for a dollar a piece (Totaling less than $18). Since we did Olympic themed, I bought everything in Olympic ring colors, but if you are just doing Winter Games themed, you could buy any time of fun colors! I also bought a world flag banner from Amazon that was AWESOME quality and super fun! I am already trying to think of another way I can use this awesome banner! I also have some fun disco lights that I leave up all year and turn on for special events like these. They are also from Amazon and I LOVE them!

Setting the STAGE:
One of my FAVORITE things to do before a transformation is to set the stage. I always send home an entry ticket to get the students interested and excited for the next day. For this transformation I added a letter of acceptance into the games and I really love how they turned out! = ) This note was sent home the day before the event and students were told to bring the ticket back the next day.

The Math Events:
The Luge, Curling, Speed Skiing, and Hockey

Items needed:
-Skates and Cones (I got both from our PE teacher.)
-Task cards/Recording page
-Stopwatch (We used our i-Pads)
How to play:
I set up two cones on one side of my classroom and two more at the other side. Task cards were scattered on the floor on the opposite side of my room behind the cones. One student would get on the skate/luge, and roll across the room to the task cards. Student had to keep his/her bottom on the luge and feet off the ground. Once the student made it to the task cards, they grabbed one, and brought it back across the room to the group. Another student timed how long it took the student to do this. Once task card was back to the group, the entire group worked together to solve it. After the card was solved, I'd come over and check it, and then the process would continue. Students continued the process and recorded their time each round. Students added up their best 6 times for their total "Luge" score.

Items needed:
-Cones (I got these from our PE teacher.) 
-Task cards/Recording page
-Stopwatch (We used our i-Pads)
-Two pieces of cardstock
How to play:
This game was set up in the hallway outside of my classroom.  I set up two cones about 15 feet away from each other. I hung an envelope with task cards next to the cone furthest away from my classroom. One student would jump onto two pieces of cardstock and "ski" down to the task card envelope. They'd grab a task card and then head around the cone, back to the starting line. If the student lost a ski, they had to go back to where the ski was before continuing. Another student timed how long it took the student to go down to the task card envelop and back. Once task card was back to the group, the entire group worked together to solve it. After the card was solved, I'd come over and check it, and then the process would continue. Students continued the process and recorded their time each round. Students added up their best 6 times for their total "Speed Skiing" score.


 Items needed:
-Wax Paper (with a target drawn on it)
-Pennies/Dimes
-Task cards/Recording page

How to play:
For this activity, students began by first working a task card. After the card was solved, I'd come over and check it. Once everyone had the correct work and answer, each student in the group would get one chance to "curl". Students would each grab a penny and slide it across the table and try to hit the target. After each student went, they totaled up how many points they earned for that round and recorded them on their recording page. You could also play this with two teams. The two teams would be trying to score points and knock each other's pennies/dimes off the game board.

 Items needed:
-Hockey Goal/Stick/Cones/Ball (I got everything from our PE teacher)
-Task cards/Recording Page
How to play:
For this activity, students began by first working a task card. After the card was solved, I'd come over and check it. Once everyone had the correct work and answer, each student in the group would get one chance to score a goal. Students would tally the points they made for that round, and then get back to work on the next task card. Students had to shoot from about 10 feet back from the goal.

Other Events/Activities:
* We started our transformation by breaking our kiddos into teams and they each made a team flag that they used for the entire two days. After teams were created and flags were made, we had our opening ceremonies and paraded around the school. Our assistant principal live streamed the parade on our school's Facebook page and interviewed our kiddos like they were actual Olympians. It was SO much fun.
*Virtual Breakout - The plan was to start out our Winter Games with this Olympic activity, but the internet was down, so we ended up doing this on the second day of our transformation.
*Reading/Stem Passages from Top Floor Teachers - This resources is incredible. This resources is packed full of passages about Winter Games events and each passage has a fun STEM project.

Points:

Throughout the course of the two days, students earned points for their teams. We tallied our points on a large scoreboard in our classroom. Students LOVED seeing real-time totals. Our class totals were then compared to the totals in other 5th grade classrooms at our school to determine who won the gold!
 
You can grab the task cards/entry tickets/directions I used over on my TPT store HERE.

This was by far one of my FAVORITE transformations I've done so far! You should totally give it a try in your own classroom! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out via commenting on this blog, or by sending me an email! Thanks! = )



6 comments

  1. Wow. You went all out. This is amazing!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. How long did students spend at each station? Did you take the entire day for this?

    ReplyDelete
  3. If you had the excellent prospect of meeting a higher education essay writer from our company, you would be thrilled and have loads to speak about. These men are gurus help with homework of tutorial composing who are eager to total extra function and give your strategies a refreshing resourceful aptitude. Most of them have Ph.D. degrees in their discipline or have decades of hands-on working experience in serving to pupils get by means of faculty. We consider fantastic treatment to only seek the services of people today with remarkable techniques and a amazing pen sport.

    ReplyDelete
  4. If I decide to pay back another person to do my essay, how significantly would it value? Our tailor made essay

    ReplyDelete