PLP #10: WHACK-A-BALL

For my final post, I wanted to continue studying possible games for the classroom and I found one that could be an incredibly fun and active way to teach subtraction. It’s called Whack-a-Ball and is modeled after the Whack-a-Mole arcade game (where the player tries to hit as many “moles” popping out of their holes as possible). This game actually begins with some arts and crafts work. The base for the game can be created by taking a shoebox and cutting out 10 circles from the top (as if it were a 10 frame). If the students are given a problem of 8–3, they would start by placing 8 balls on their circles and then “whack” down 3 of them. They would count how many are left and write or speak the answer. Here is a picture of the setup:


 

I think this game is great for kindergarten and 1st graders and can probably be modified to meet the needs of 2nd graders as well. 

To raise this to a high-level math activity I would ask the students to verbally explain how they got their answer and how they checked it to make sure it was right. To make it more fun I might interview each student as if they were an athlete giving a postgame interview.


The activity can be found here, on the Planning Playtime website.

Standards:
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.OA.A.1
Represent addition and subtraction with objects, fingers, mental images, drawings1, sounds (e.g., claps), acting out situations, verbal explanations, expressions, or equations.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.OA.C.6
Add and subtract within 20, demonstrating fluency for addition and subtraction within 10. Use strategies such as counting on; making ten (e.g., 8 + 6 = 8 + 2 + 4 = 10 + 4 = 14); decomposing a number leading to a ten (e.g., 13 - 4 = 13 - 3 - 1 = 10 - 1 = 9); using the relationship between addition and subtraction (e.g., knowing that 8 + 4 = 12, one knows 12 - 8 = 4); and creating equivalent but easier or known sums (e.g., adding 6 + 7 by creating the known equivalent 6 + 6 + 1 = 12 + 1 = 13).

Math Practices:

CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP1 Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.

CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP3 Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.

CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP6 Attend to precision.

Comments

  1. Alexandra I.July 15, 2021 at 3:14 PM

    This game sounds like a lot of fun! I believe students will be very engaged in both the crafting behind it, and the smacking of the balls. This seems like a great activity to convey concepts in a fun and engaging way for students.

    ReplyDelete
  2. SHERDHJuly 17, 2021 at 5:27 PM

    This sounds like a really fun game and I like the way you demonstrated how "trashables" can be "teachables". Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Victoria YudenfriendAugust 1, 2021 at 3:21 PM

    Hi Keith! Great post. I have never heard of the whack-a-ball game, that you wrote about in your post. I am glad that I now know about it because it sounds like a very fun yet educational game. I definitely see myself using this in one of my future classrooms. I have plated whack-a-mole before and like you said, it reminds me greatly of that game. I also find it nice that the game is hand made, and that there is also even an online version of the game. When I taught virtually this past school year this game would have been great for my classes. -Victoria Yudenfriend

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