Fruit machine is a great way for students to review vocabulary in a game-like format.
Idea: Create the fruit machine template to include weekly vocabulary words or words from a particular unit of study. To review the words (during the end of each day, the day before the test, as a warm-up activity in the morning, etc) have students pair up. Bring up the fruit machine word generator on the classroom's interactive whiteboard, or have students pull it up on their Ipads / laptops. One student from each pair must face the whiteboard / computer screen and the other must have their back to it. The game will be played like "$10,000 pyramid." The student looking at the whiteboard / computer screen will wait for the fruit machine to select a vocabulary word and once the machine makes the sound they will begin to describe the word to their partner in hopes of their partner guessing it quickly. This will go on until all vocabulary words have been correctly identified. Students can time themselves and partners can try and beat their best time or race their other classmates.
The Water Cycle Vocabulary Fruit Machine:
http://www.classtools.net/widgets/fruit_machine_4/SldoW.htm
The following sites provide great games that allow students to practice their basic math facts:
Classroom Feud is an interactive review game for Smartboard. With this game teachers can review any content. First, students are split into teams and form two lines behind the Smarboard. The teacher poses a question to the first two students (on opposite teams) in line and the first to tap the board answers. After students answer they are prompted to either tell the Smartboard (by tapping) if they answered correctly or incorrectly. This then brings students to the score board where students roll a die to determine their points earned (if correctly answered) or lost (if incorrectly answered). I like this game because it is interactive, gets students out of their seats, can be used for almost any material and has an element of mental math review for students to keep score. This game can also be adapted to play at any grade level.
http://exchange.smarttech.com/details.html?id=7145260c-58be-4345-a415-66653f879c36
"ST Math is game-based instructional software for K-12 and is designed to boost math comprehension and proficiency through visual learning."
In my fourth grade fieldwork placement my students use ST Math and LOVE it! ST math presents various mathematical skills in a video game-like format that students comprehend and enjoy. ST math takes the "boring" out of math and actually excites my fourth graders. They aim to beat each level (math skill) presented to them and preserve lives (of their mascot JiJi) for harder concepts. Teachers also love ST math because it engages students in standards-based math curriculum and provides live reports of student progress.
