The One with the Snowball Fight

I have been ready for a snow day for quite a while now.   You know... a day of sleeping in and staying in PJs all day.  Plus snow is beautiful.

But it just doesn't seem to be happening around here.  It has definitely been cold enough for a snow day, but no snow.

Friday when my students walked in I shared this desire for a snow day with them.  They were quick to agree with me.  I let them know that while I couldn't make it snow outside, I could certainly make it snow in my classroom.

Their eyes lit up with excitement.

They began wondering what I was thinking.

You see I had found this fun review activity by Brooke Eagerton.

What could be better than an indoor order of operations snowball fight?

64 problems - 1 problem per page.

The problems varied in difficulty which I appreciated.

Simply print the problems, wad them up into snowballs, and let the fun begin.

I divided my students into two teams.  We pushed our six tables to the center of the room to serve as a divider.  The students were not allowed to cross the tables.

They had 60 seconds to throw snowballs.  The rules state that students cannot run and cannot aim at someone's face.

Needless to say my students LOVED this.

At the end of 60 seconds they picked up three snowballs, retreated to their corner and worked the three problems.  They had to get with a partner and check each other's work.

Then we started over with another 60 second fight.  After each round they had to work more problems.  They worked four problems after round two, five problems after round three, and so on.

I wish I had pictures for you, but I deleted them.

Ugh!

You'll just have to trust me when I say this review activity was a hit.

My 6th graders have been challenging this year and I debated letting them "play" this game.  I had to make a believer out of a few in the first round.  As soon as they realized I was serious and they wouldn't get to participate in the "fighting" they followed the rules.