Cookin' Up Fun With Middle School Math: Minute to Win It Battle Ball

I am always trying to find creative ways to assess my students. With benchmarking, the kids become overwhelmed with all the tests. I have done partner tests, tests where the kids rotate around the room, group tests, etc. Measurement is a difficult concept, so on my big measurement test this year, I let them work in their houses.

I created: Minute to Win It Battle Ball: A game of Brains and Skill

The kids LOVED it! I had kids so excited about coming up and answering the questions. At first I used a random number generator found with the SMARTboard. The numbers 2 and 4 were not coming up very often, so the kids asked me to use something else. I started using an interactive number cube, and it was much better.

Objective:
Work in your house to answer the questions.
You want to add as many points to your house while taking away points from another house.

• Each person in the house needs to have a number 1-5 (6 th period will have 1-4) in the
top right hand corner of your paper. Do not use the same number. If you don’t have
enough house members, someone will need to be the other number(s).
• Work together in your house to solve the questions.
• Everyone must be working the problems on his/her own paper.
• Periodically, time will be called and all papers need to be put in the air.
• A number will be randomly selected.
• The person with that number must IMMEDIATELY go to the front of the room with
his/her own paper.
• I will look at a problem. If the answer is correct, 5 points are added to the house. If
the answer is wrong, 5 points are deducted from the house. If there is not any work,
five points are immediately lost and the player is disqualified from the round.
• The players will then get to try to make a basket.
• If the basket is made, an additional 5 points are added to the house, and the player
can take away 5 points from another house or combination of houses.
• Play continues until questions have been graded.
• Questions should be graded by all students as we go through the game.
• 5 points will be deducted for unsportsmanlike conduct (including telling other groups to
shut up)

Minute to Win it Round:
• Periodically, a random person will come forward to complete a skill.
• If the skill is completed within one minute, 50 points are added to the house.
• The first person to complete the task will win an additional 50 points, and he/she can
deduct 25 points from any house or combination of houses.

+5: correct answer
-5: incorrect answer
+5: make basket (can take away 5 points from another house or combination of houses)
-5: unsportsmanlike conduct
+50: complete skill within one minute
+50: first person to complete the skill (can take away 25 points off any house or combination
of houses)
+100: House with the highest mean test score

Some examples of games we did with the minute to Win It round: