Grudge Ball

I got this GREAT idea from To Engage Them All for a game called Grudge ball. Think: Survivor meets Trashketball. What is Trashketball, you say? It's a review game where a kid solves a problem or answers a question, then shoots a ball into the goal, an empty trashcan. If you've never heard of Trashketball, maybe your district gets money for classroom supplies and you've splurged on a nice NERF ball and goal to hang on the wall.  The difficulty of this classic game can be increased by pulling the trashcan away from the wall and using a very heavy ball. If they tip over the trashcan, it doesn't count!

Grudge ball takes this to a new level: a level filled with evil. Instead of earning points, they're erasing them from another team. It. Was. Epic. To say that my students loved it would be an understatement.

Things I learned:

• Groups of 3 work better than 4. Because they are more likely to all work, instead of relying on "the smart kid" in the group. 
• All students must stay seated. The only one who can stand is the one taking the shot and erasing the points. There were some issues with cheating, trying to copy another team's work "I'm going to get a tissue!" "I need a calculator!" 
• Classes full of boys will eat this up. Girls will call each other names and/or cry. 
• Allow the team whose turn it is the entire time (I set the timer on my PowerPoint slides to 3 minutes) to solve the problem. If they get it wrong, try again until time runs out. If they still get it wrong, another team can steal. I didn't use this rule in one class and the "steals" were out of control. It really came down to the one kid who could do them faster than anyone else controlling the game. Not fun. That kid's gonna get jumped after class. 
• I might institute a "Pass the Marker" rule next time. One kid usually hogged it in each group.

You can use my PowerPoint if you're studying Arc Length and Area of Sector & Segment. (In fact, you could probably modify it to work for WHATEVER you are studying!) It's FREE on TpT!

Enjoy!