Let’s talk about games. Kids LOVE them. Sometimes they don’t even realize they are learning (or reviewing) when you make it into a game. I came across a Minute to Win It type of game on Pinterest where students raced to blow a plastic spider onto a web using a straw. Ok, way fun, right?! I fell in love with the idea and knew I had to make it work with content!
Here’s some ideas of different ways that you can add content to this game and make it work for the level of your students and the subject.
Here’s what you’ll need:
1. this free Race to the Web mat
2. several small plastic spiders (I got mine at the Target Dollar Spot)
3. straws
4. index cards
…alright, now you’re all set. Here are a few ideas on ways to use this game.
One. Place Value
You can choose for your students to play this game with a partner or independently in RTI group or small groups. Whichever you prefer.
For this example, I have two partners playing this game. I have two mats (different colors) taped down to the table – the tape helps the paper stay put and not blow away when students are blowing the spiders. I have a stack of index cards with numbers written on them (face down). Partner 1 will flip over the top card. Let’s say they flip over the number 32. They are going to build the number 32 using place value chips or blocks. If they build it correctly (their partner will check it) then they get to blow a spider onto the web. Partners can keep tally marks of how many spiders they each have on their web…or not…either way works. To add a little more competition to the game, students can take turns flipping over the stack of cards and racing one another to see who can build that number first. Whichever partner builds it first, blows the spider to the web.
For your older grade levels….write numbers with greater place value (thousands, hundreds, etc.). You could also underline a number on the card and students have to tell the value of the underlined number. 
Two. Parts of Speech
Students flip over a card and say what part of speech the word is….verb, noun, adjective. Once they identify if the word is a verb, noun, adjective, etc then they blow the spider onto the web using a straw.
You could also do prepositions, adverbs that tell how or when, or common noun/proper nouns.
three. few more ideas
-letter identification or sounds: students say the name of the letter or the sound of the letter they flipped over.
-cvc words: students read the word they flipped over
-sight word fluency: students read the word they flipped over
-colors: students say the name of the color on the index card
-rhyming words: students say a word that rhymes with the word they flipped over
-picture cards: students say the beginning sound….or middle sound…or final sound of the picture.
-ten frames/twenty frames: students say the amount on the frames
-operations: students say the answer to the operation
-comprehension: students answer the comprehension question on the card about the story or passage
These are just a few examples of ways that you can add content to this game – the possibilities are truly endless.
I hope that you try this game in your classroom and that your students love reviewing a skill…or practicing a new skill with it!
You can download the mat here or pin it for later using the picture below.
