What I Discovered By Playing Card Games with My 8th Grade Students

Posted on by

By Jamie Fenicle, Region 2 Director

Most math educators can agree that in today’s world, playing board games and card games has become a lost art.  Gone are the days of sitting around the table at home playing UNO, Old Maid or even Yahtzee.  Children and adults may still play those games, but there is an electronic version of these games readily available at any time.  After being out of the classroom for 5 years, I made it a priority this school year to implement card and dice games with my 8th graders and to also incorporate some cross-grade level activities with our 4th grade students.  Each month I would teach my students how to play a new game to them and then each of my hours would teach that same game to our 4th grade sections.  Here is what I learned this year:

  1. Teenagers love to play actual card and dice games. The amount of laughter and conversation that would occur on these game days was amazing. The competitive spirit that emerged was fantastic.  The bonding that took place even with students that aren’t naturally in groups together was fabulous.
  2. Younger students look up to teenagers more than we think.  On the days we would meet with the 4th grade classes, I would have parents message me that their child couldn’t wait to get to school that day because they were going with the big kids.  Their eyes would light up when they would get in a group with someone that they had seen on the bus, or they had watched walk past them at lunch.  This bond is hopefully one that they will carry with them throughout their years at our school and talk about “remember when:”
  3. Every student has a little bit of a teacher in them.  On the days that my 8th grade students would teach the game, I was very hands off.  I didn’t step in and teach the game myself. I relied on my students to settle arguments, calm down the extra excited students, and give some excellent life advice along the way.  My students even surprised themselves at how easily they assumed the role of teacher when it was their time to shine.  Maybe I have helped some of them determine their future career.  How exciting would that be?
  4. Playing cards and dice isn’t just playing cards and dice.  The amount of students that came up to me and said “Hey I taught my parents how to play this weekend and now we are going to teach my grandparents next weekend.” was astounding.  These skills extend beyond the classroom and will hopefully have an impact on family units and whether or not students and parents are on devices or actually talking to each other at home.

Did this type of activity take some of my time that could be spent perfecting our 8th grade skills? Yes it did.  Would I do this again?  Yes, in a heartbeat!  Do I think others should incorporate this type of activity into their year?  Without a doubt.  Will I ever regret not having enough time to work on our skills this year?  NOT A CHANCE!