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#1: SMART board GAMES

My favorite way to use the SMART board in my classroom is playing all of the fun GAMES!

My first experience with a SMART board was when I visited a classroom in New Zealand years ago. During reading time the teacher had a small group set up at the SMART board and they were playing an ABC order game. I was amazed how interactive, tactile and educational the game was for these students! At the same time, the children were communicating about the task at hand and learning from each other every step of the way.

My first stop for SMART board games was shopping at Lakeshore Learning. These are by far some of the most animated and skill driven interactive games I’ve seen on the market. Even though I incorporate these games during lessons and center time, my students still want to play them when we have free time or indoor recess. What is great about these games is that you can play them on a standard computer if you don’t have a SMART board. They would even be fun as a whole class game if all you had was an LCD projector. I LOVE when they send out coupons, especially the "buy one get one for 50% off". Many of the games you purchase online can be downloaded immediately. Or you can order the CD. Here is a picture of one of my students playing the Haunted House Place Value Game and one playing a fractions game:

Another fabulous resource for interactive games is a store I recently found on Teachers Pay Teachers. Their games are very affordable ($2.00-$5.00) and they are super cute. Check out their Multiplication Game FREEBIE! Games can be found for grades K-5. You can find these games at the Flapjack store.

Of course you can always find great FREE games in SMART Exchange as well some pretty good lessons. In order to download the files you must create an account. You need to take time to search through the site but many times there are some “goode” finds out there!

Any game that your students use on the computer can be turned into a "SMART board game". It is just an enlarged version! There are millions of FREE websites out there like SMART board Team Games and this SMART board Games website. It just takes time to surf the web!