If your students are like mine, they need to have better fact fluency. The best way to become proficient is to practice, but repetition can be boring. I’m constantly trying to think of ways to sneak in more practice and to make the practice fun. BOOM! is one way I accomplish this. The kids like the novelty of the game and are able to work on basic facts even if we’re short on time.
Benefits
- Quick Start – Kids can grab a BOOM can and immediately start playing.
- Fast Play – Short on time? Need a quick time filler? This is the game for you. Kids can play in as little as 5 minutes or for as long as 30 minutes.
- High Use – This game can be used throughout the school year. Students can always benefit from repeated fact fluency practice.
- Happy Students – Kids love this game and will want to play again and again.
Making the Game
To make this game, I take a used, but CLEAN Pringles can and cover it with red contact paper. Then I cut a small hole in the lid. I stick a small brown pipe cleaner through the hole and tape it to the bottom of the lid so it doesn’t come out. Now I have a firecracker to hold math facts. Next, add miniature flashcards for the skill you want to target. You will also need to add BOOM! cards that are the same size as your flash cards. Once that is done, you’ll be ready to go!
Playing the Game
To play BOOM, students take turns drawing a flash card from the container. They get to keep the card if they correctly answer the problem. Play continues until someone draws a BOOM! card. The student with the most flash cards is the winner.
Most of my educational games are stored in plain baggies so the kids get a kick out of something a little different. As you can see, making a set of BOOM fact fluency games is easy. If you don’t want to start from scratch, I have a free set of addition cards to go inside your firecrackers in my TPT store. Check it out and let me know what you think!
