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Do you use Kaboom! in your classroom? It has been my go-to center for the past few years, whether I'm teaching Firsties, or now third graders. If Kaboom! is new to you, or it is something you haven't yet tried in your classroom, here are some great reasons to give it a try:

1. It is highly engaging!
2. It lasts for as long as you need it to!
3. It can accommodate nearly ANY content area/targeted skill!
4. It is quick to prep!
5. It costs next to nothing to make!

When I was first introduced to this game by a dear, sweet teacher friend, I didn't believe it! "You mean there's a game out there that can last an entire center rotation, isn't hard to make, can be used anywhere in my curriculum, and won't break the bank? Yeah right!"

Well, I was happily proved wrong! My teacher friend broke the game down for me, and I was amazed at it's simplicity and brilliance.

(This post includes Amazon affiliate links to help keep up the maintenance of my blog!)
Here's how you play:
When I say that I find a way to use Kaboom! to teach/review EVERY content area, or any targeted skill, I'm totally serious! I have used it to teach all of the following concepts (plus about a million quite a few more!)

MATH:

Number Identification & Counting

Coins/Money

Time

One More/One Less and Ten More/Ten Less

Addition/Subtraction (fact fluency, missing addends, combinations to ten...etc.)

Greater Than/Less Than (with whole numbers and fractions)

Identifying Fractions (including unit fractions & mixed fractions)

Multiplication facts

Area/Perimeter

Place Value

Jumps on the Hundred Chart

Estimation (estimating the sum of two 3-digit numbers)

Rounding

Translating standard form into expanded form

Defining Key Terms/Vocabulary

True/False Statements

Geography

Time Line- Which happened first?

Letter Identification

Phonemes

Phonics (short vowel, long vowel, silent e, vowel teams...etc.)

Sight Words

Blends

Rhyming/Word Families

Parts of Speech

How Many Syllables?

Punctuation

Vocabulary Definitions

Synonym/Antonym

Text Features

Genre Definitions

Story Elements

Prefix/Suffix

3. The wood is often different shades. This may not seem like a big deal, but kids are clever and will memorize which popsicle sticks have Kaboom!

I prefer to use the wide popsicle sticks, because they make it easier to write legibly, and provide a larger surface area for gluing (i.e. they stick longer!) I personally prefer the Perfect Stix Brand, because they were great quality AND came in bulk (sold in packs of 100, 200, 300, 500, 1000 and 5000!) I actually bought the 1000 set and was surprised how big of a dent I put in it!

When I taught Firsties, I loved using Kaboom! to help my kiddos practice short vowel sounds. The colored stick s were perfect for keeping the games separated.

RED sticks for SHORT A

ORANGE sticks for SHORT E

YELLOW sticks for SHORT I

GREEN sticks for SHORT O

BLUE sticks for SHORT U

PURPLE for DIGRAPHS.

Having them organized this way meant that my students could independently sort them by color when they were done, and the station was (almost) always clean!

If you are looking to splurge, you can also get these AMAZING Sticky Sticks The fact that they come with adhesive strips already attached makes them the perfect solution to a last minute center!

Depending on your content/skill, you need to decide what your best approach will be. For example, when I use Kaboom! to teach coins, it made the most sense to hot glue the actual manipulatives to the sticks to create different collections of coins.

However, when I'm looking for fact fluency, I am just going to grab my Sharpie and write different facts on each stick!

When I'm looking to incorporate pictures in these games, I break out the cardstock and the color printer. After some quick cutting, I have three possible options: hot glue, double-sided tape, or splurging on the Sticky Sticks (mentioned above).

All have worked for me, but I have found the hot glue and Sticky Sticks to be the longest lasting.

Storage is a totally a personal preference! Our classrooms are all different layouts, some with cabinets, some with closets, some with shelves, and some with no walls at all! The method that works best for me in my current classroom are Crystal Light containers.

I don't drink Crystal Light, but my friends and family members know that I can always find a use for them (kind of like toilet paper rolls). They drop them off to me in bulk, and they never go to waste.

I put a piece of colored construction paper or cardstock in the container so that students cannot see the sticks (and cheat!). Then, add a simple label on the front for easy identification and voila!

Put all of the popsicle sticks in face down so students can't see what is written on them. Here's how to play:

1. First student pulls out a popsicle stick.

2. The student identifies the "answer" or "correct response." If their answer is correct (determined by either a reference sheet or their peers) they get to keep the popsicle stick. If they answer it incorrectly, the stick must go back in the cup.

3. The students continue around the circle, selecting one popsicle stick at a time and answering their question.

4. Any student who pulls a KABOOM! stick has to place all of the popsicle sticks they have accumulated back into the cup, leaving them with zero. (It may sound harsh, but it happens OFTEN, so all students will at some point get "Kaboomed!"

5. The game NEVER ENDS because eventually someone will get a Kaboom! and their popsicle sticks will go back into the cup to keep the game going.

I hope you and your kiddos enjoy this center, and you find it as versatile and simple as I have! Have fun and thanks for stopping by!

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Kaboom! Possibly The Best Center Game Ever! - Teaching with Jillian Starr

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Do you use Kaboom! in your classroom? It has been my go-to center for the past few years, whether I'm teaching Firsties, or now third graders. If Kaboom! is new to you, or it is something you haven't yet tried in your classroom, here are some great reasons to give it a try: 1.

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Two Truths and a Lie: Ideas, Examples, and Instructions

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Two Truths and a Lie is a great game for anyone and for almost any situation. Here's how to play the game, how to make it more fun, and examples of things you could say.

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Starting in a circle, participants connect hands with two others people in the group to form the human knot. As a team they must then try to unravel the "human knot" by untangling themselves without breaking the chain of hands.

Equipment Required: None
Space Required: Small. Indoors or outdoors.
Group Size: 8 to 12 ideally. You must have at least 4 participants to play.

Total Time: 20-30 minutes

5 minutes to brief and set up

10-20 minutes to achieve outcome

5 minutes to review and debrief

Human Knot Team Building Instructions

1. Get the group to form a circle.

2. Tell them to put their right hand up in the air, and then grab the hand of someone across the circle from them.

3. Then repeat this with the left hand, ensuring they grab a different persons hand.

4. Check to make sure that everyone is holding the hands of two different people and they are not holding hands with someone either side of them.

5. That they must now try to untangle themselves to form a circle without breaking the chain of hands. Allocate a specific time to complete this challenge (generally ten to twenty minutes)

6. Get participants to take their time in order to limit injuries. Ask the group not to tug or pull on each other and spot participants as they pass over other participants. Monitor throughout the challenge and stop them if you need to.

7. If the chain of hands is broken at any point, they must then start over again.

Link to Human Knot Video Tutorial

Suggested Learning Outcomes

Human Knot is featured in our eBook, The Team Building Activity Book. The book provides an easy to use, step-by-step guide to teaching team building with full descriptions for over 30 team building challenges including: printable challenger briefs, ready to use programmes and access to exclusive member downloads. Download it now.

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The Human Knot is a great game to promote teamwork. Check out the full description, instructions and even a video tutorial here.

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Team building games and number games in general teach students to have fun while learning and to trust others in order to collaborate and critique.

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If students are easily frustrated you may want to try to adjust games to meet students needs. For example, 1-20 rather than 1-100 for the Google Doc game

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Counting game to 20. Students start off and try to count without saying the number at the same time as other students. No order or gestures should be used. Start back at 1 if two or more students say the same number together.

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Counting game to 20. Students start off and try to count without saying the number at the same time as other students. No order or gestures should be used. Start back at 1 if two or more students say the same number together.