Two of my favorite times of year in library are Read Across America Week and usually the week at the beginning of June. These are the two times of year that I play Jeopardy with my library media classes. I LOVE Jeopardy, and I believe that you should incorporate the things that YOU love into your teaching. For one, it ignites excitement within you and that excitement ALWAYS comes through to the students who then share in it. It is also a great way to build relationships. For example, if you are obsessed with owls and have them up in your room, involved in your math problems, and incorporate them often, then the students begin to expect it and love it as well. They also love the fact that they are getting to know what you like. My experience is a little different than a classroom teacher because I see each student for only 40 minutes a week, BUT I also get to watch them grow up in my class because I have them every year from K-5. But, I digress….
Every year for Read Across America, I create a new Dr. Seuss Jeopardy game that I play with my 3rd-5th graders. Here is a link to a free jeopardy templates to use with your classes. These are fantastic and the kids love them. It does take time to create your own categories and come up with the questions, but it is well worth it! If you don’t have time to create your own, you can download my version below!
The first year that we play is definitely my favorite because class after class, students say “What’s jeopardy?” And I always squeal back, “You’ve never watched jeopardy! You are in for a real treat!” After the first time they play, they are hooked! For the rest of the year, they keep asking me to play, but I always save the next jeopardy game for the end of the year. At the end of the year, I use it as a review on what was taught that year for each class. We review different library concepts, favorite authors and also topics I know that were covered in their ELA classes, like text features and genres. I change up the categories as well. Some categories, such as famous authors, might have a picture of the author, and the students would have to guess the author from picture. Sometimes, they have scrambled words that they have to unscramble to get the answer. I also get ideas from the real jeopardy game. You can also always include a fun, engaging category that may not have to do with academics, like famous pop songs. In the PowerPoints, you are able to insert a music clip. The students would be able to listen to the clip, and then name the pop song. In might seem like a game and it is, but students can learn through play and there is nothing wrong with learning through PLAY; ESPECIALLY in an elementary school. To really engage students in their learning, we as teachers have to go the extra step to make learning fun and interesting to the child. There are so many times that I think I have created a great lesson that is soooo engaging; only to have it flop with the students. When this happens, it is usually because I am planning with my likes and interests in mind and not the interests and needs of the students.
Here is an example of my end of the year Library Jeopardy game. If you would like to use it in your library or your classroom, then you can download the complete version.
Ways to Incorporate Jeopardy Games Into Your Classroom
If you give it a try, please comment below with how it worked in your classroom!
