Kagan games book

The result was a surprise. Teachers at all grade levels are using it to bring fun, cooperation, and challenges into their classrooms. Teachers report a more positive class climate and that this greater liking for class translates into increased academic success. Dook and his co-workers in the Netherlands had translated our Multiple Intelligences book into Dutch and the book has had a very positive reception.

I was honored to have Silly Sports and Goofy Games available for Dutch speaking educators, but something was bothering me: When I looked at Silly Sports and Goofy Games by the end of , it was with new eyes.

In the four years since writing Silly Sports , I have been intensely involved in brain research. Applying brain-science to inform classroom practices has become a passion for me. In looking over the Silly Sports book, which I had written only a few years ago, I was shocked to realize I had never addressed the topic of why the games are tools to align classroom practice with how the brain best learns.

The introductory chapter, Why Play? The Original Nine Reasons to Play:. If you have been using the games, you know how powerful they are. You don't need me to tell you they are brain-friendly; you see it in your students. If you are new to Silly Sports and Goofy Games, perhaps posting this tenth reason will motivate you to begin including play in your classroom.

Based on technological advances, the findings of brain science have been multiplying at an exponential rate: We have learned more about the brain in the last five years than in all prior history. Educators are discovering how to apply the findings of brain science to align classroom practices with how the brain best learns. It turns out Silly Sports and Goofy Games help us greatly in making a brain-friendly classroom. The brain is a busy place.

The brain has about billion neurons, each of which has about 2, synapses. Each of those synapses fires about times a second.

To support all that activity the brain needs a great deal of nourishment. It takes a great deal of fuel to keep all those neurons functioning optimally.

If we cut off the supply of oxygen to the brain, brain cells begin dying within five minutes. If we reduce the supply of oxygen to the brain, brain cells lose their ability to function optimally. As students play, even if it is only for a two or three-minute game of quick tag, their heart rate and volume increases, pumping more oxygen and glucose to the brain.

Their respiratory rate and volume increase as well, oxygenating the blood. With more oxygen and glucose pumped to the brain, students are more alert.

Thus, Silly Sports and Goofy Games actually nourish the brain, aligning our classroom practices with how the brain best learns. The increased nourishment is not just a temporary effect.

Recent research has shown long-term effects of exercise: Students who engage in regular exercise actually grow an improved circulatory system in the brain ; this increased circulatory capacity actually nourishes their brains better on an ongoing basis. A classroom is lagging. It is after lunch or during a lengthy presentation. The teacher has students get up and do a brief tag or challenge game. Students return to their seats more alert and refreshed, ready to process new information.

Teachers who do frequent brain breaks not only have a more interesting, fun class — their class achieves at a higher level academically. Silly Sports and Goofy Games refresh and nourish the brains of students so they are more capable and alert.

The 30 games include terrific tag games, happy helper games, creative coordinations, meaningful movements, crazy challenges, beautiful balances, ridiculous relays, and goofy games. Too much energy in your class? Get the wiggles out with a quick silly sport. Or maybe the energy level in your class is too low to learn.

Flip to one of these beloved games to re-energize and refocus your students. Measures 8. Communitybuilding In the Classroom Vanston Shaw All Grades Turn your classroom into a caring community so each student feels known, accepted, and appreciated. These easy-to-follow cooperative learning lessons create unity, build conflict resolution skills, and foster a will to work together. This book includes 37 proven lessons and hundreds of activities which foster teambuilding, communication skills, conflict resolution skills, and mutual support.

To play, every student on a team of four is given a card with an item on it. One of the items is different than the other three. Every time teachers experience Odd One Out in a Kagan training, they always beg for more activities to play with their students. Beg no more! Kagan Trainers Rob and Rachel teamed up to provide a whole book full of activities. And students love teamwork. We've put them together in this game show software that your students will ask for time and time again!

You simply type or paste in your questions or problems for any subject and you're ready to play. It's so easy to use, you can set up a game in just minutes; plus you can save all your games to play next period, next year, or as a refresher next week.

You can use just about any type of questions: worksheet problems, review questions, test prep questions, or you can even play with thinking or trivia questions. The game leads teams through Numbered Heads Together, a longtime favorite cooperative learning review structure designed to promote teamwork and accountability for every student. Students put their "heads together" so everyone on the team can answer for the team.

And because any student can be picked at any time to share the team's answer, everyone must keep tuned in to every question or problem.

For each of the 6 brain-based principles, you will find practical tools, tips, and structures to easily make the leap from theory to practice. Teaching is so much easier and more successful when you do it the brain-friendly way. Click here for more details and intro video. Read press release. Practical Ideas and Ready-to-Use Activities! Spencer Kagan. Because they create an unparalleled level of student engagement.

Kagan Structures create a cooperative and caring class tone by putting students on the same side as they interact in pairs, small teams, and with classmates. Structures ensure every student is individually accountable so no one can hide and take a free ride.

Structures create equal participation, which means all students are engaged a much greater percentage of the time. More structures means more tools in your teaching toolbox to create more student engagement, more student learning, and more success. Watch Video Demo. Product Review. These revolutionary teaching methods empower you to create an unparalleled level of student engagement. Boost energy. Boost achievement. Release joy with the world's most comprehensive collection of indoor and outdoor sport and game activities.

Use 'em for classroom brain breaks. Use 'em for physical education. You will promote classroom community—with these games everyone wins! Save on the Kagan Starter Set! All too often playgrounds are part of the problem of peer rivalry and cruelty. Spencer Kagan's wonderful collection of games shows how to use playground and classroom activities to build the cooperative skills and community feeling so crucial to character development and sorely missing in much of our society.

Visit our Software Support page if you have questions regarding Kagan software. All rights reserved. Kagan It's All About Engagement! View Cart My Account. Kagan Winter Academy Unlock the Door to Cooperative Learning Success! Completely Revised and Revamped! Buy PDF eBook.