Boost Math Differentiating with Christmas Games and Activities Now!

“Where is “U”?, she asked.  “’I’ is here.” I responded. She scrunched up her face  at me, refusing to giggle at my pun. Meanwhile my classroom assistant and I roared with laughter. Math differentiating with Christmas games and activities always created such an upbeat environment.🎄

Why use games in the classroom? Math differentiating with Christmas games and activities is essential because games, including seasonal games, are an effective tool for learning and reviewing concepts. They also support classroom community building, and provide an opportunity for students to practice multiple SEL skills. 

What’s not to like?🤩

I have written several blog posts on differentiation in math, so I will not revisit those concepts. Today I am going to stick with the topic of differentiating with Christmas games and activities.

According to Carol Tomlinson there are four main pillars of differentiation:

1. Content – Multiple entry points to the material for students.
2. Process – Multiple ways for students to access the content (ie. videos, tactiles, movement, etc,)
3. Product – Multiple options for students to demonstrate their understanding.
4. Learning environment – A classroom where students feel safe and comfortable in order to learn.

Games  meet these criteria in multiple ways.  Let’s take a look.

Content: Using Games to Incorporate Differentiated Content in the Classroom 

Math differentiating with Christmas games and activities is the same as at any other time of the year. 

Many games can become differentiated math games by allowing students different dice to create differentiation of numbers. For example, allowing students to choose either a  6-sided, 10-sided, 18-sided or multiple dice will change the entry level for the game or activity. 

If you are warming up by practising math facts, or playing games, the content may be differentiated by having students playing the same games using different strategies.    

To have all students working on the same math activity or game, creating differentiated math games requires you to have ways to incorporate different levels of challenge within the game. 

Curating resources is essential for Christmas and any type of year. By understanding differentiation in general you will know what to look for when making or purchasing activities for the classroom.

Selecting Christmas Games and Activities for Content Difficulty

When curating your resources for content look for math games that require the students to read little to nothing in order to participate.

As a Learning Assistance Coordinator I saw too many capable math students unable to do their work because they could not read the instructions.

I also looked for games and activities that are accessible to a variety of students which means the content needed to be scaffolded for different ability levels.

For example, my “Christmas 3D Shapes Activity” is great for math differentiating with Christmas games and activities as it provides task cards that include the name of the shape and other task cards that do not.

With each set of task cards come a choice of 2 worksheets:

• Worksheet with a word bank – for students who need to be reminded of shape names and spelling.
• Blank grid worksheet – for students who are able to remember shape names and spelling.

Process: Math Differentiating with Christmas Games and Activities for Learning Style.

Process differentiation really means providing students with option of presenting their understanding in a variety of ways. This may mean anything from making a model to offering a presentation.

However, it is not necessary or possible to do this all of the time. If you make or see a game that is visually engaging and gets students up and moving, you have engaged students who are more visually and kinesthetically inclined.

If you allow students to speak as they engage the activity (really, why would you want to stop them from helping each other?) you have already supported a number of learning preferences.

These simple changes can engage the whole class on the same activity. This is not the perfect answer for all things, but it does support many areas of differentiation and it builds engagement too.

Auditory Learners: Connecting Their Learning Style to Differentiation with Games.

The social nature of many games, such as board games or card games, provide the discussion that supports many students. 

During games,  students who are auditory learners remember and understand new concepts better because they are shared  out loud – even if they’re doing the speaking themselves.

Kinesthetic and Tactile Learners: How Games Meet Their Differentiation Needs

Write the Room games are a favourite differentiated math game of mine, because they do get students up and moving.  

As students move they drive more oxygen to the brain. As a teacher I believe it is the first step in differentiation in the classroom.

The brain can function more effectively with increased oxygenation, which has a positive affect upon the student’s cognitive development and comprehension skills. 

Movement while learning new materials stimulates areas of the brain that help kinesthetic learners comprehend and retain information more effectively.

Games are also great for kinesthetic tactile students if they are moving a game piece around the board. This impact can be enhanced if, while playing games, students have access to tools such as rekenreks, or cuisennaire rods 

Differentiating for Visual Learners With Games and Activities

Board games are automatically differentiated math games because visual learners benefit from the illustrated elements of board and card games. The game provides them with the opportunity to  “watch” their learning.  As they see cards go down, or game pieces be moved they can connect that to their learning.

They can also connect the images they see to the words or concepts they are learning.

Students can use their visual strengths when playing board games. They are able to analyze a situation, compare options, and determine a result

Depending upon the games, students may be able to visualize spatial relationships and compare options for movement of pieces using visual-spatial memory. 

These opportunities often places children with these strengths at an advantage.

Product: Product Differentiation with Christmas games and activities  

Auditory Learners:

As mentioned above students who are auditory learners remember and understand new concepts better because they are shared out loud.  

Many math games are differentiated math games simply because while students are playing the game they are orally sharing their understanding of the content or strategy.  Although the answer may then need to be written down, auditory students have been supported in the need to process their understanding and present it to their peer using their strength. Then it is much easier for them to record it.

Kinesthetic Learners:

Something as simple as the movement involved in placing and moving cards in games such as War or Concentration can be math differentiating with Christmas games and activities through movement.

Write the Room activities are by their nature a differentiated math games because they provide the movement that allows kinesthetic students to process, and then they are more able to provide their understanding in a written format.

Visual Learners:

The ability to demonstrate learning with clearly laid out, and visually attractive worksheets makes any game that includes worksheets a differentiated math game for visual learners. 

Although I would never recommend a curriculum that is based upon worksheets, even really cute worksheets, written work really does support visual learners. 

Differentiating and the Learning Environment 

Potentially the biggest impact of differentiated math games is, quite possibly, on the learning environment. And one of the biggest ways that games impact the learning environment is through SEL.

Social Emotional Learning:

Social emotional learning is a pillar of classroom management. At the heart of SEL are five core competencies:

• self-awareness
• self-management
• social awareness
• relationship skills
• responsible decision-making

These attributes work together to create cooperation between the students, because to be successful in a game requires cooperation from the children.  

Through this cooperation children learn to take other perspectives into account. 

As children learn to understand each other, their social interactions  can gradually grow from being to becoming cooperative.  

Differentiating with Christmas games and activities changes the learning environment in all of these ways, which make the classroom a safer place to learn. 

Group Size:

Differentiating with Christmas games and activities can include individual, small group or whole group activities.  

Choice:

Depending upon how you have your classroom set up, differentiated math games can allow for student choice. 

With the right differentiated math games, students can be free to choose:

• partners
• the game (ie. board game, Write the Room, digital game etc.)
• the challenge within the game (which math strategy, which dice, or, when using resources such as the ones I have shown you, which worksheet to accompany the game)
• a game with or without written output (ie. digital game, card game)
• or the type of written output (drawing pictures, differentiated worksheets accompanying the game or activity,) 

Incorporating Student Interests:

As we incorporate student interests through differentiating with Christmas games and activities we create engagement and we show the students we “see” them.  

Kids love play. They want to play. Kids are meant to play. 🤾

Play based learning is social, fun and it incorporates their interests which impacts the learning environment. 

Although there are other attributes of a learning environment, these are some of the attributes impacted by differentiated math games.

The Benefits of Games Beyond Differentiating with Christmas Games and Activities

Gone are the days of rote learning.  Games provide a context for engaging practice.

I remember standing beside my desk to repeat the times tables, out loud, with my class, every day until we had them.  

Differentiated math games provide a similar opportunity for repetitive practice, but in an engaging way that supports their ability to remember the concept being taught. 

This creates positive memories of and sentiments towards learning which can carry over to other parts of classroom learning.

But Why Differentiating with Christmas Games and Activities? 

Incorporating student interests is an essential part of differentiation in general, and so also when differentiating with Christmas games and activities.

I loved to dive full tilt into celebrating the season with my kiddos. However, the challenge of that is it can also raise the excitement and energy levels and lead students to become dysregulated.

I used differentiated math games and activities all year round, and so my students had already developed an understanding of appropriate behaviour by the time I started differentiating with Christmas games and activities. 

Because I was, quite literally, incorporating games and differentiation into the curriculum from day one, my students were well aware of and well practiced in matching their behaviour to classroom expectations. 

By the time I was incorporating Christmas games and activities they were well practiced and on task. I was able to engage student interests in way that met them where their hearts and minds were at.

We didn’t lose any learning time.

The students were super engaged  so I avoided much of the dysregulated behaviour.

I was able to really stand back and enjoy that time with my students.. 

Other Reasons for Differentiating with Christmas Games and Activities

The amount of time we have to teach is not enough time to teach all that is expected of us. Much as I love Christmas, I was not about to lose that time to cute but meaningless activities. 

In my school there was a school wide concert for parents and others from the community. Our music teacher taught each class their own songs for the concert, and then he also combined all of the students for a few whole school songs.

This concert was the highlight of the season for many, and we practiced a lot.  

Oftentimes the expectation was that we were not certain exactly when our class would be called, but we had to be ready to leave the room at a moment’s notice.

Obviously this meant that this was not an ideal time for lessons that I didn’t want to have interrupted. But I still needed something engaging enough to maintain their focus for longish periods of time.

We did not just do differentiated math games during these times, of course. 

But math, spelling, and writing games were a large part of what we did during those times. 

They had been practicing skills when they were playing the game, regardless of whether or not they finished. So, I wasn’t concerned if they were in the middle of a game, and could not get back to finish it.  

Dipping Your Toe into Differentiating with Christmas Games and Activities

If you haven’t been differentiating with Christmas games and activities in your classroom, I encourage you to start now. 

The Christmas season or Winter season, before the break, is such a time of excitement for the students.  Incorporating their interests into classroom activities is a win-win for everyone.

Regardless of family and cultural  beliefs and celebrations, our environment is saturated with Christmas.

Games are a great way to use this time in a way that will support your classroom management.  Include math differentiating with Christmas games and activities, and your students will continue to learn and grow.

If you have a favourite way you like to incorporate math differentiating with Christmas games or activities please share it in the comments below. 

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