fun

Password Game: Holiday Edition (free)

Liz Belasic1 Comment

My students enjoyed playing “Password” and I created a Holiday Edition that I used just prior to our Winter Break. Here are the details:

Google Slides: Holiday Password (link)

Set up:
  • 2 chairs in front of the whiteboard, with their backs to the board.
  • 2 students stand behind desks facing the board and the seated players
  • rest of students on teams off to the sides.
  • students on each side will determine what order they go in.
  • once the round is over, the students giving the clues will now be the guessers
  • the seated person who was a guesser, goes back to sit with their team
  • a new person from the team stands to give clues
  • all students will rotate through
holiday-password-public
Classroom set up with 20 students, modify as needed
Giving Clues/Points
  1. Team 1 – gives first clue to their partner in the chair
  2. Student in chair guesses.
  3. If they are correct, their team earn 5 pts
    1. their team will then rotate, team 2 stays where they are
  4. If Team 1 is incorrect, Team 2 gives the second clue to their partner
    1. If they get it right, they earn 3 pts, everyone rotates
    2. If they are incorrect, Team 1 gives the next clue
  5. If Team 1 is right, they earn 2 pts and everyone rotates
    1. If Team 1 is incorrect, Team 2 gives the final clue
  6. If Team 2 is right, they earn 1 pt and everyone rotates
    1. If Team 2 is incorrect, no points, everyone rotates
Next round:
  1. Team 2 gives first clue, continue following steps above
  2. Each team has an opportunity to start a round, alternating rounds.
  3. If either team guesses it on the first try, the other team will stay since they did not have a chance to guess.
  4. Add up points and see who wins.

Highlights “Hidden Pictures” help sharpen observation skills

Liz Belasic3 Comments

Updated July 2016

Screen Shot 2016-07-21 at 2.46.00 PM

I love “Hidden Pictures” by Highlights magazine. On their website, they release several new puzzles each month and I download and save each one to my google drive so that I can select from different themes throughout the school year. My 6th & 7th grade students really enjoy working on these puzzles and will try to find all the pictures for each one.

Screen Shot 2016-07-21 at 2.46.40 PM.png
You can complete the hidden pictures online using an iPad or laptop, or you can print them out as B/W pdfs

I hand out one or two picture finds whenever we have assessments (or for holidays) for students to color in with either a highlighter or colored pencils/makers while they wait for everyone to finish their quiz or test. Once their assessments have been collected, they immediately ask each other where the items were that they couldn’t find and spend the alst few minutes of class finishing up the puzzles. There are usually a few items that stump the majority of the kids.

Screen Shot 2016-07-21 at 2.47.01 PM
Hidden Pictures as pdf files

Looking for the hidden items helps the students sharpen their observation skills. They are looking for shapes and patterns, looking with a purpose, and evaluating spaces where items could be or can’t be located in. My favorites are the hidden items that are found in the ’empty space’ of the drawings.

Bookmark the website and add it to your favorites!  https://www.highlightskids.com/hidden-pictures