Grudgeball.. a Review Game Where Kids Attack!


I have long been a huge fan of using games in the classroom.  Much like sneaking broccoli into the pizza sauce, I have always felt that games were that perfect balance of teaching and engagement.  When I first started, my consummate go to was Jeaopardy but..... Holy work Batman! Setting that all up was extremely time consuming.  I wanted to find a way to have a quick go to game I could use with any set of questions.  I bought myself a Nerf hoop and did a straight game of answer the question, get it right, shoot the ball and earn points.  For a majority of the kids this was enough but for one of my classes, nothing could get them excited.  For them, this game was accompanied by the sound of crickets, followed by awkward silence, followed again by crickets.
I came up with the solution one night while watching Survivor.  The contestant competed in a challenge where they answered trivia questions about their teammates.  For every question they got correct they got to put a coconut in their opponents trough.  When the trough was filled, the opponent was out.  The last person left, whose trough hadn't been filled, was the winner.  I realized that what my game was missing was interaction.  My game simply had them winning points to beat each other.  What I needed to do was capitalize on the middle schoolers need to interact and torture each other.  Out of this revelation came the game that is now known by a decades worth of children called Grudgeball.  My kids love this game.  I have gotten emails from former students asking if I still play this.  One of my kiddos walked in first period today and said, "Oh, we're playing Grudgeball today?  You just made my day Mrs. Wilkins.  I have two oral presentations and this game is just going to let me have fun."  So, how do you play it?
1.  Each team gets 10 "X's". (I had a class, years ago that like to do 10 UFOs or 10 cactii but we needed to put an end to that:) )

(This was post game so not everyone had 10.)
2. Split your class into 5 or 6 teams, depending on how fast you want the game to go.
3.  Each group gets a question.  If they get it right they automatically get to erase two X's from the board.  They can take it from one team or split it.  They can not commit suicide (take X's from themselves).
4.  Before they take off these X's, though, they have a chance to increase their ability to get the other teams to hate them.  They get to shoot the Nerf ball.  I set up two lines with masking tape.  One is a two point line while the other is a three pointer.  


****Very worn out two and three point lines.

5.  If they shoot from the two point line and get it in, they can take four X's off the board.  If they go from the three point line, and make it in, they can take five off the board.  If they don't make it they still get to take the original two off the board.



Join me on a journey to engagement!

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I have solved some problems along the way.  When a team is knocked off I needed a way to keep them in the game.  These teams still take turns.  To get back on the board they need to get the question right and make the basket.  If they do this they can earn four or five X's back on the board (depending on from where they shoot).  This allows them to stay involved, take part in the review and not shut down. Kids will want to make alliances.  With really good natured classes I let this process naturally happen.  If I have an immature or meaner class, I try to stop this for fear of bullying.  Every year I inevitably get one kid that takes the "attacks" personally.  I just have to really reiterate that the object of the game is to knock everyone else off and people are going to get upset but that is okay ( hence the name GRUDGE ball).
This game is one of those things that has spanned my career but is still loved by alI.  I have had other teachers approach me and ask if they could use it and my response is always, the more the merrier.  I have even had teachers find out what days we are playing this and show up to take part!  I love the simplicity, the minimal supplies and the very minimal prep.  Its great for review but even good for a day before vacation with trivia or geography questions.  If you give it a try I promise your kids will looooove it.  Leave me a comment if you give this a try.  Sometimes it's nice to know I'm not yelling into the big black hole:)
Do you have any go to games the kids love?






346 comments

  1. I can't wait to try this with my students. We play Sparkle with vocab words. Instead of just spelling the word, though, students also have to give definitions and examples. I also do Bingo and White Board Trivia (each team has their own white board.

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    1. My sixth graders have told me about Sparkle and they loooove it! Bingo is an absolute favorite of mine when I'm reviewing for vocabulary. If you try Grudgeball let me knownhownit goes!!!

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    2. I tricked my students into doing review worksheets by putting them in groups of 3-4 and giving them one pen and one die. They take turns rolling the die until someone rolls the predetermined number (we usually go with 6 and call it Surrender on 6). When they roll a 6 they get the one and only pen and can begin working until someone else rolls a 6, then they have to surrender the pen. Some students try to cheat and sneak their own pen or pencil out of their bag to try to work on the worksheet without rolling a 6! Ha! I love that they think they're cheating, I've actually tricked them into completing a worksheet!

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    3. I too use games to brighten up the classroom. I recently tried Kahoot,it online and my kids loved it, but it is a lot of work to load the questions. As part of the review for our final exam, my students worked in groups to develop questions that they might find on the test. I'm just going to use their questions for grudgeball tomorrow. Thanks for the great idea!

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    4. I played it today, and my students absolutely loved it! Thank you so much for posting this!

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    5. Thank you! I showed this game to my classmates for review day, and we all played it!

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    6. Doing this tomorrow! Awesome and thanks for the post!

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  2. I love your game idea! I can't wait to implement it in my classroom.


    In my math class we play a game called "Half a Minute to Win It" (A full minute seemed to be too much time and having just thirty seconds really added to the intensity of the game.) I have a rotation system set up in my classroom where one third of the students are on computers, one third of them are working with my educational assistant, and one third of them work with me. I've found that it's better to play this game with a smaller group.

    Students in the "audience" are given whiteboards where they must show their work and circle answers. The "contestant" is up front at the main board where he/she must solve a math problem (showing all work, labeling units, and circling the answer) that I've written on a notecard and display for all to see under the document camera. Also display the timer under the document camera.

    The question must be answered in 30 seconds or less. The audience must also solve the question on their own whiteboards for the chance to steal the contestant's point. (I use it for review to find the sum of the interior angles of convex and regular polygons and to find unknown angle measures within convex and regular polygons).

    If the contestant answers the question correctly in 30 seconds or less, they're awarded one point. However, if time runs out or if the answer is incorrect I can call on any member in the audience who had his/her hand up BEFORE the 30 seconds is up. This is how they steal the point.

    Students take turns being the contestant and the student with the most points in the end wins.

    Another game that we play is called "Math Spoons." I saw this somewhere on Pinterest and I adapted it to fit middle school math topics like Solving Equations. This is another game that works best with smaller groups.

    Have kids sit in a circle. Have spoons placed in the center. The number of spoons needs to be one less than the number of players.
    I created a stack of 52 index cards with equations on them. In the deck there are equations that will have the same answer once they're solved (keep them fairly simple as this is a face-paced game). You should have thirteen sets of four with the same answers.

    Each player is dealt four cards and they can only have four cards in their hand at any given time. The remaining cards are stacked face down. One player grabs from this deck to begin. That first player must decide if that card would help him/her have four cards with the same answer. That player must discard one of his/her cards to the next player who will then have to determine if he/she needs that card to have four cards with the same answer.

    Basically, unwanted cards get passed along to the next player until a person has four cards with the same answer. Once this happens, that player must grab a spoon. All other players must grab a spoon too (even if they don't have four of a kind) and the person who is unable to grab a spoon is out.

    The "winner" must PROVE that his/her cards all come to the same answer- if not, then that is the person who is out instead of the spoon-less person.

    Keep reducing the number of spoons to be one less than the number of players until it's down to two people and one. From there, a champion is determined. Since it's such a fast-paced game we're able to get through multiple rounds so students in the group don't become restless when they're out.

    This game can be adapted to use equivalents of fractions, decimals, ratios, and percents. I've also created one involving linear functions where kids need to match a graph, function table, slope/y-intercept info., and a linear equation.

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    1. I looooove your ideas. My hubby is a 7th grade math teacher and he totally loved them both but I know he really liked the spoons game. I could see the gears turning in his head on how and when he would implement it. Thanks again!!!!

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    2. Question about the spoons game - how do you end up going through the pile of cards not dealt out? I get the passing on the discard thing, but how do the other cards ever get picked up?
      I'd love to try this in my classroom this year!

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    3. I've never heard of this before but love the idea! Amanda B., if this works like I've played the regular SPOONS game, it goes like this. One person is the dealer each round. He takes the first card from the undealt stack and then passes one of his cards on to the next player, placing it on the table (or floor) by the next player. That player picks up the discard and decides which one he wants to pass on from his hand. At times, there may be stacks of cards build up between players, but the cards are picked up one at a time and the pace of the game should keep things moving.
      I hope this made sense and is helpful.

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  3. SO fun! I teach in an elementary classroom, but I know my kids will appreciate this. We're reviewing this week for our big science test next week ... can't wait!

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    1. Yeah! Come back and let me know how it turns out. I'm interested in how elementary school kids will interact with it!

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  4. This sounds so fun! I am trying this tomorrow with my juniors and seniors! Can't wait, they love these kinds of games!!

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    1. Yeah!!!! I am so happy other people are trying it. If you can, stop by and let me know if they liked it!

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  5. Oh my God, this game is AWESOME! I teach high school and we just played in my Spanish II classes today. They LOVED it...and they love nothing, lol. Thank you SO much! :)

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    1. Cherin,

      I am also a language teacher. What kind of questions did you ask? Was the entire group able to work together to get the question right? Also do all the groups get the same question at the same time, or individually?

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  6. Yeah! I am so glad you guys liked it! I created it for those kids who get excited about nothing so I am so happy it works with kids like that in high school. I do giggle that a game I created a decade ago is getting so much love. I should have started blogging long ago!!!

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  7. I played this game today with fifth graders and they LOVED IT!! We are preparing for our science benchmark and this was a great way to keep them engaged!!

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  8. It just makes me so happy that other people find this successful. Thanks for the love!

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  9. I am a student teacher and just found this post via Pinterest. I am teaching 5th grade and was looking for a spelling review game. Going to try this tomorrow!

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  10. Fabulous! Come back and tell me how it worked out. Good luck with your student teaching!

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  11. I played this with my Spanish 1 students to review vocabulary and they went CRAZY for it! Getting any reaction from 8th graders at 8:30 a.m. is impressive, this was beyond amazing. Thank you so much!!

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  12. I'm so happy they loved it! I had a senior come back to visit today and actually said she just found pictures of us playing Grudgeball.

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  13. This game is awesome! I just played it today for the first time with my 7th grade math class and they absolutely loved it. After playing it with my first class, I did make a few minor adjustments to try to get all students more involved:

    If teh team whos turn it is, gets the answer to the question wrong, every other team has 30 seconds to try to get the correct answer to try to steal points. If any other team gets it correct, they get to shoot the basketball in order to see if they can steal 2 or 3 points from the teams of their choice. If they miss the shot, then they do not get to take away any points. It allows for the basketball to get shot more, and it helped make sure every single team was participating in every problem.

    Thanks for this post, one of my new favorite games!

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    1. I love the modifications. My husband also teaches 7th grade math and I passed these on to him!

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  14. I just played this game as a vocabulary review for my 7th graders! I saw a jump in their quiz grades, and they loved the game! I usually play Bingo or Around the World with them, but so many of my students are athletes so the competitiveness of this game really engaged them :) Thank you for sharing!

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    1. Yeah. Don't you love when you try something fun and it raises achievement? Win win!

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  15. I'm excited to try this review game!! I have a couple of questions..
    Is each group solving a problem/set of problems at the same time? Or does each group take turns? Also, do you have a set amount of questions or do you play this game for a set amount of time? Thanks for the idea!

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    1. I ask different questions for each team but if you read some of the comments above, some teachers ask the same question of everyone. Since I use this as a review I ask as many questions as I have on the assessment. If I have time, I have a bank of filler geography questions from the National Geography Bee. Let me know how it goes!!!!

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  16. I love this! One of my classes is the awkward crickets class. Can't wait to try this!

    Liz
    Beach Teach

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  17. This may be a silly question - but could this be done individually instead of in teams? I'm teaching middle school next year in Africa and I will only have a handful (literally) of students, and they span grades 6-8. Do you think it would still work? Sounds fun!

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    1. I think you could totally play with individuals. My only concern was them feeling like people were out to get them. I would looooove to hear about your adventures in Africa! How amazing!!!!!

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  18. I played this game last Friday with my 8th grade summer school math students, and they LOVED it!! I can't wait to play it again, and I really can't wait to play it with my high school math students next school year. Thanks so much for sharing this!!

    Michele
    Math Teacher

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  19. I am an ESL instructor in S. Korea and I ♥ this game! My hard to please kids that hate learning English went crazy over it. This may have been the first time any of them have participated in class without me forcing them to. Thank you!

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    1. I looooove that the game has gone global! From New Hampshire to South Korea!!!!

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  20. My students (10th and 11th grade history students) come back on Thursday! My husband helped me hang my basketball goal today so that I can try this review game! Thanks for the post....can't wait to try it out :)

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    1. So glad you are trying it. Let me know how it goes!

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  21. This sounds awesome! I'm going out tonight and picking up a basketball hoop for my classroom! I teach 5th grade and I can't wait for the anticipation to build toward our first time playing!

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    1. 5th graders will loooooove this! Let me know how it goes:)

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  22. So the object of the game is to have the most X's left on the board at the end? Do you play for a select amount of time or play till 1 or 2 teams get knocked off?

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    1. I either play till their is one team standing or the bell rings..... Whichever comes first! Good luck!

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  23. hi - just played this with Year 9 French after hearing about it at a PL on the weekend. Huge hit! May I share this on my classroom games blog? (http://kelaskubermain.blogspot.com/) (it's aimed at languages classes, but most / all can be adapted)
    Thanks so much for sharing!
    (@kukukukuku)

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    1. Share away!!! If you don't mind me asking.... What is a PL?

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  24. We played Grudgeball today - kids LOVED IT!! Your enthusiasm for teaching lives on at HMS.

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    1. You make me blush, Lizzy Liz! Can you believe I haven't introduced it to my new school yet?

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  25. I tried Grudgeball today with my 8th and 10th grade U.S. History classes. It was a huge hit! One team asked if instead of erasing Xs, could they add Xs to their own board? Have you ever tried that?

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    1. I let them add 1 X for their own correct answer and it worked really well.

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  26. LOVE this idea!!! I am going to try it on Monday with my 7th grade science class to review for our upcoming test. Thanks for sharing :)

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  27. I used this today!! I teach psychology and american government to seniors in a private school in Queens, NY. They are all Asian students and for the most part hesitate to talk in class and participate. Well boy did that change today! They went nuts! Thank you!

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  28. I'm a 1st year teacher and I just tried this with my high school bio 1 class. They loved it!!! A great way to review!

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  29. Looking forward to trying this! We are reviewing for our Spanish mid-term and I was really looking for a game to keep them engaged and be able to have them walk through practice test questions! Love it!

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  30. I'm a first year 9th grade English teacher, and I'd really like to try this out with my students to review for their semester exam! It's so difficult for me to get them engaged, especially when most of our subject is so abstract. We have 3-4 days of nothing but review, so hopefully this will work!

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  31. Perfect. Used it today in AP Chemistry. No planning needed: Just used questions from the book. I've also used a similar game called "Cut Throat" to engage my low level classes: http://www.fredjones.com/PAT/CutThroat.html

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  32. I am trying this out tomorrow. I teach Culinary Arts in a Vocational High School. I am going to try to use Saute pans and use a term that is used in the industry Don't Get 86'd Hoping it works

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  33. I'm a 2nd year teacher and looking for new review game ideas at HS level -- this looks AWESOME - going to try it tomorrow if my son will let me bring in his nerf hoop. THANKS FOR POSTING!

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  34. Question about the review game. When the team removes the X's from another team, do they add them to their own?

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    1. I don't have them do that but you could. It could make the game drag on.

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  35. I played this with my eighth grade Marketing students today as a review for their upcoming test. They LOVED it!! It was fun to watch them get so excited about answering the questions correctly. The best part was that the whole class stayed involved. Thank you SO much for sharing this great game!!

    What would you do if the student got the answer wrong?

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  36. Now days school closed after exams when my class opens then i really wish that to play sparkle with vocab words . instead of spelling of words. then due to this my students like it and they got a good definitions and examples for himself and others. so i like this ideas and i think they need to make Fun Math Worksheets i will regards to your for this wonderful ideas. i love it.

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  37. We had State Graduation Tests today so attendance is down among student who already passed the exam. Worked pretty well! I'm a first year teacher so managing chaos has not become second nature just yet. Do you normally have each team go one at a time or each team works on their own question independently like in rounds? Today all the teams worked at their own pace but that was maddening for me, also created some complicated scoring for teams who were working slower or not working at all.

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    1. I teach social studies so its more knowledge based than skills. I have one original question per team. Hope this helps!

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  38. Great idea! I am a student teacher and will try this out in my high school class. Thank you for sharing!

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  39. We just played a variation of your game to review for Canterbury Tales. Instead of using a hoop, we set up three styrofoam heads (long story) and the number a student knocked off the table was the number of extra Xs s/he was entitled to erase. Fun times. Thanks for posting!

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  40. When you seperate the teams how do you get all five students or each member of the team involved?do they work as a team? Do they work individually and the first person to answer wins? Or do you just go in order?

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    1. I have them work as a team. Inevitably, at least one kid sits back but at least they are being exposed to the content!

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  41. I played this game today with my math class full of high school seniors. They loved it and so did I! Thanks for the idea. it was exactly what I needed. Can't wait to play next week with my Algebra 2! Long live GrudgeBall

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    1. Yeah! I love that it works with seniors as well as it does with fourth graders! Long Live Grudgeball!

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  42. Great game. I'm using it for the first time today and all is well. One question: If an eliminated team gets their question correct, do you allow them to remove 2 X's, or do they just get a chance to shoot in order to get X's back for them? Just wondering. Thanks! :-)

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    1. Hello! When my kiddos get knocked off it is like they are dead. The only thing they can do is answer and shoot to get back on the board. Thanks for the interest!!!

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  43. Ryan, I told mine that getting back on the board was privilege enough. They couldn't remove X's until the next turn. Allowing them to add the 4-5 points back sometimes put them at an advantage already!

    Grudge ball was a total hit today! I used it with 6th grade Language Arts, and they had a blast knocking others out. I think I'll find a way to have them add points to their own score also, but this worked wonderfully. Out of 100 kids, only 1 seemed to hold a little grudge. Everyone else loved it! I probably strayed from the original rules, but one of my favorite things is that teams who got knocked out were still able to come back, and in some cases win! It kept the mood much lighter. Between class periods, I heard classes that had already played it explain (excitedly!) it to my next class in the hall, which made me smile. I will use this in the years to come!

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  44. I played "Grudgeball" with my 9th and 10th graders today and they loved it! These can be difficult ages to work with, but they all got so into this game! Thanks so much for sharing!

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  45. I used this game today with my middle school students and they LOVED it!! I really enjoyed it to and had a good time watching my students get competitive (I'm a coach so I LOVE competition and some competitive banter). It was exactly what I was looking for! My class is very hard to keep engaged because I teach an elective class and lets be honest not everyone cares about agriculture like I do. This kept them engaged the whole time and they really surprised me. Thanks so much for this! It is definitely something I will you often!

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  46. I played this today! Here's the powerpoint show I used to display the problems and as a timer!
    http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Arc-Length-Area-of-Sectors-Area-of-Segments-GAME-1207078
    I blogged about it here: http://atwood202.blogspot.com/2014/04/grudge-ball.html

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  47. Do you let the students use their notes or place a timer on their answers? Do they get multiple tries? I am going to try to use it in my economics class next week. I think they'll really get into it!

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    1. You can really do whatever you want. I don't let them use notes because for my kids I want the challenge. I have used timers for classes that take FOREVER! Hope this helps!

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  48. 4th grade math teacher here! When we play today I plan on having every student in every team write down the answer to each question. This will keep them all accountable. The motivation factor is that if the team up to bat gets the answer wrong, every team with the correct answer (written down by EVERY team mate) gets to add a point back to themselves :)

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  49. Thank you for this idea! I am going to try it with my freshman biology classes tomorrow for a review for a quiz! We've done jeopardy, bingo, etc and I was looking for something different!

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    1. Easier than Jeopardy and it makes me giggle!

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  50. Thank you for sharing grudge ball! My 6th graders (Social Studies) loved it...there were many exited comments about it, but my favorite probably was how "freakishly fun" class is! I owe today's enthusiasm to you!

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    1. "Freakishly Fun"? I'm putting that on my resume!!!

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  51. Hi, Kara! I used your wonderful idea to review for the final exam in one of my college-level public speaking classes on Friday, and it went over very well! I made one tweak, though. To keep EVERYONE on each team engaged throughout the review, I had one student at a time come to the front, hold the ball, and try to answer the question for two points before getting the opportunity to take a shot and earn extra points. BUT if students couldn't answer the questions on their own, they could ask their teams to help them out with an answer, but then the point value of the original question dropped to one point instead of two. I allow the team to consult their study notes, so that encouraged folks to actually make study notes! (At least, that was my theory.) Anyway, thanks for a great game idea!

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    1. Amazing! So happy they loved it!

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    2. This is what I did, too! I liked that students could be individually accountable for "winning" and most of my groups didn't care if the first person missed as long as they still had a shot as the group.

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  52. I played the game with my high school students and they loved it so much they now request it. I'm telling everyone I know about it. I love that after initially setting up a hoop, lines, and ball, there is no prep required! I improvised a hoop from a piece of foam pipe insulation (what I had on hand when I discovered your blog while looking for review ideas) and used a small inflatable ball I had. This summer I plan to invest in a true Nerf basketball set so that the hoop doesn't keep drooping. Thank you so much for this wonderful idea!

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    1. The "no prep". Is what makes it something you can do any time! Glad you loved it!

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  53. My class loves this game! I am an elementary teacher by training, but currently teach Senior High ELL. This gets their attention and creates a fun learning environment that all students need. Thanks for sharing this fantastic idea! I love how elaborate it seems, but truly it's a very simple game.

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    1. I have a huge ELL population and they can't get enough of it! Glad you like it!

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  54. I can't wait to try this tomorrow with my third graders!!

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  55. Thank you so much for sharing this! I always play review bingo and Jeopardy but I was looking for something new. This sounds perfect!

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  57. Thank you for posting such a game.I will certainly try this game with kids.This is new game in which we have to apply our brain.This is a game like brain teaser game.Thanks once again

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  58. Thank you very much for sharing this game. I used it with my EFL students in Brazil and they loved it. I'll use it with other groups because I'm sure it is suitable for any age and level! :)

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    1. Brazil!!!!! Yeah! I love that this game is leaving my little tiny classroom! Enjoy!!!!

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  59. Thanks for sharing this-it's posted among my bookmarks to check out in the fall.

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  60. I can't wait to try this game in my classroom! It sounds like fun!
    I play "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" with my class as a review game. But I change it to "Who Wants to Be a Thousandaire" because I'm not giving out a million classroom bucks! I have had a lot of luck with this game and the students are engaged and love it.
    I use Popsicle sticks to call a student up to sit on the stool. They receive three lifelines: They can poll the audience (have the whole class vote), they can phone a friend (choose one friend to ask), or 50/50 where I take two of the answers away. You can use old multiple choice tests for your questions.
    The audience is allowed to have their notes and/or books out. (I trick them into studying for the test!) Everyone is engaged, and they all want to be chosen to earn bucks.

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  62. Just played this for the first time with my kids for review. They loved it! Alliances formed really quickly. The only problem was that they kept wanting to know who the winner would be! How do you have a winner?

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    1. what i did was, if the group got it right, they got 2 x's as well as could take x's from another group, and shoot for additional x's. by the end of the period, i just counted who had the most x's. my 1st period i didn't do the giving x's for winning questions, and there was a tie. after i changed the rules a bit, the next 4 classes had a clear winner. HTH!

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    2. The winner is the last time with Xs on the board. If you run out of time its the team with the most Xs. When I play, they start with 10 Xs and only get to add Xs if they have been knocked off.A decent game can take about 25 minutes. Hope this helps!!!

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  63. This is awesome! I love how you keep them all involved, and I'm still laughing at the part about capitalizing on middle schoolers needs to torture each other.

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    1. Don't they love to just love to torture each other? I'm very glad middle schoolers aren't allowed to run for public office!

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  64. hoping this will get to you, as I know this post was not too recent…do you allow the same person from each team to continue shooting, or do they take turns?

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    1. Because middle schoolers think the whole world is staring at them I let anybody shoot. Some groups have a couple of kids that rotate, while other groups pick the same person every time. I make them use their negotiation skills to work this out. I hope this helps!

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  65. hi-late to the party, but i used this in 7th grade history the other day and the kids went wild over it! (they don't get excited about much. :P) they were begging to play it again. thanks so much!

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    1. That is exactly the type of class I created Grudgeball for! So glad you loved it!

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  66. My students LOVED this game! Needless to say they were having fun and learning at the same time!

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  67. Played this game with 10th graders today to review for a Spanish 1 midterm. They loved it, I loved it, everyone was happy. Thanks!

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  68. Can you give me some more details, please? I have tons of sped and 504 kids so I have to have all my ducks in a row before we play. Do you let all the groups answer all the questions and if so, do all the groups with the right answer get to erase Xs? Do you make each member of a group take turns erasing/throwing the ball? Thanks in advance.

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    1. One group goes at a time and they get one question. They are the only group erasing Xs at the time. I don't make each kids in a group take turns because some kids just don't want to shoot. I hope this helps!

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  69. This sounds great, thank you for sharing! I can't wait to try it with my fourth graders soon!
    We love playing a game in our room called Puking Worm. I learned it from a middle school Spanish teacher.
    To play, you draw a giant worm in the whiteboard with an open mouth and puke coming out. Divide the worm into 10 or however many sections you want. I add some arrows that make them go forward or back (like shoots and ladders) between sections. When students answer a question correctly, they get to spin a spinner or roll a dice. If they get a 1 through 4, they move their game piece that number of spaces (I use magnets for game pieces, could use paper taped on the board). If they roll a 5 or 6, they move another team back one space. First team to make it into the puke wins! To keep it going, you can keep a running tally of who makes it into the puke so kids can go through multiple times.

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  70. I'm going to try this game this week! I love minimal prep!

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  71. I just played this game in my high school Spanish class and they loved it! Thank you for sharing!

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  72. GREAT GAME! This is my new favorite. I didn't have a hoop or ball, so I used a file box and a car wash sponge. I put the box on a table a bit out from the wall so they cannot use the backboard. This and the density of the sponge leveled the playing field for the "non-athletic" students. They LOVED it! For math, I have them compete (one person from each team) at the board and the person who gets the correct answer first gets to shoot and erase. I also adapted the adding back x's once you run out to be the same as the attacking (they automatically get 2 but can shoot for 2 or 3 more). Super fun! Thanks!

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    1. I love your changes and genius with the sponge!!!

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  73. Wonderful game for kids it will surely make their mind sharp nice practice i will print these cards after updating Cartridge Ink i have saved your card idea thanks for sharing such a nice tip.

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  74. I am going to use this as a review tomorrow in my middle school resource math class. Great idea!

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  75. I pinned this to save for later, and I am glad I did! This sounds like such a fun game. I am subbing right now, so it would be good to use when a teacher doesn't have a lesson planned. I could use any kind of trivia, like the cards from a Trivial Pursuit or something for the questions. I just don't know how to do the basketball-thing since it would not be in my class-----any suggestions on what I could do instead?

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    1. A lot of people use a piece of paper and a trash can!

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  76. I teach math. Do you think I should have the kids write each problem down on a piece of paper and turn in when it's over? I want everybody to be involved and not just sitting there. Do you have a time limit on how long they have to work the problem out?

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    1. I teach social studies so usually its a quick answer. In math I would probably give time for the problem:)

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  77. I love this game! I probably won't be trying it out with my Grade 2's but if I teach Grade 5 or 6 again I definitely will!

    I also have a game to contribute! I have been playing ZAP! with my students (of all ages - Grade 5's loved it and so do my Grade 2's). I split the class into teams of 3-5 students. They take turn answering questions (often I get them to make the questions as well). If they get it right they get a point and they get to pick a number off of the ZAP! board. The ZAP board is just a big poster with pockets labeled 1-18 on it. Each pocket has a cue card it in and the cue cards say a variety of things on them. Some say +1 or +2 or even +5 points, some say -1 or -2 points and then there are other varieties like +1 point for everyone, -2 points to the team of your choice etc. The students also might pick a card that says ZAP! - if they get the ZAP! card all of their points are gone! I have also made some variations on it that say "ZAP! every team" and "ZAP! a team of your choice". My kids love it and even at Grade 2 they can handle it pretty well. I make sure everyone gets a chance to pick a number.

    Thanks for the great ideas!

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  78. I'm going to try this out for a geometry review for my HS Sophomores. I'm adding a twist to a couple of areas. To keep each student accountable, I will number each teammate 1-3 or 4. To keep each student engaged in each group, I will draw a random playing card 1-4 for the winning teams and that student in the group will have to have the right answer and the work on their white board to actually get credit. If they don't than the whole team loses out on points and shooting. This seems to really work for my students. I am letting every team work on the same question and all teams with the right answer after the time is up will have a chance for more points by shooting. My other twist will be to play for 1 point added onto their team or they can erase 2 from an opponent. The shots will be the same. 1 point added or 2 erased or 2 added and 3 erased. I thought this might make it more strategic for the older students.

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  79. I'm going to try it with my Spanish classes, it sounds like fun!

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  80. I've seen a variation of this game called Trash-ketball (we used balled up paper as the ball and the empty trash can as the basket). All teams got the same question and answered using individual whiteboards. Once a team had an answer, the rest of the teams got a 15 second warning. Then, every team that gets it right earned 5 points. They also had a 5 point line and a 10 point line to shoot from in order to earn extra points.
    This eliminates the problem of students "checking out" once they run out of x's and the "grudge" aspect, and all students are engaged for all questions.

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    1. I've played Trashketball. The way I created the game they don't check out because once they run out of Xs they get to try to put them back on the board with right answers.

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  81. Going to use this for my interview tomorrow!!! Hopefully it works out!!

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  82. This game sounds like great fun! If you're still interested in doing Jeopardy games without all the prep, you can try the website, https://jeopardylabs.com/, it has an app that makes for real easy Jeopardy game creation.

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  83. Do you give each group the same question at the same time or do the groups take turns answering questions? Thanks!

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    1. We take turns answering questions. In Social Studies this can be decently fast paced so no one gets bored.

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  84. Going to be trying this with my 7th graders today! Thanks for the great game!

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  85. I played this with my juniors today, and they thought it was so fun... they loved it! Thank you so much for sharing your super game!

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  86. We call this "Survivor Math" in my 8th grade math class
    The kids love it. Thanks so much for sharing!!!

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  87. Thank you SO much for sharing this! My alternative education classroom struggles with motivation and staying on task. This game has made such a difference in my classroom! I just played it for the first time today, and the students are begging to play the game again at the end of the day. Yay! I found a trick to get my students excited about studying/reviewing! :)

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  88. I am so excited to try this game today. You saved my life! I added a white board to each team so someone from each team is accountable for answering each question. The correct answer allows you to block one X for your team.

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  89. If this is my 2nd post - I am sorry, the first one looked like it disappeared. I am so ready to try this next week! This is a great review and learning game that gets everyone involved. Woo Hoo!!!!!

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  90. So excited to try this with my 7th grade science class! My only question is: What did you use to keep them motivated? Did you have a reward for the winning team? It seems that most middle schoolers want a reward or they are not motivated.

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  91. Hello,
    I want to play grudge ball with my resource math class but had a couple questions. Are all the teams answering the same question at the same time or do we take turns with each team answering a question and attempting to shoot the ball? Thanks!

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  92. Could I have your permission to replicate these rules (citing you as my source, of course!) in some lesson plans I'm planning on publishing under a creative commons license?

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  93. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  94. I'm trying this tomorrow! I don't have a basketball hoop but I'll try it without. I can only imagine how much more fun the basketball aspect makes it though!

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  95. For each round, does each group get the same question?

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    1. I give a different question to each group as I move around.

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  96. Just played this today as a review for my Unit 1 test on the "Tools of Geography". It worked out so well and the kids loved it! Thank you for sharing!

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  97. I just tried this with my advanced geometry students and it went great! I love the idea and plan to use it more often with my larger classes.

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  98. My once-a-week class of homeschoolers absolutely loved this game today! Can't wait to try it on my other class.

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  99. This sounds like a great idea! Would it work for High School kids though? They always think they're too cool for anything!

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    1. I get comments all the time from high school teachers who said their kids loved it! I once had a college professor tell me he used it to review for an anatomy test!

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  100. This is an awesome game. I played it with my high school maths class as part of revision before exams and they loved it. Very engaging students.
    I added that if the team got the answer wrong, any other team who had the correct answer written down on their boards could then remove one cross. This kept the all the groups doing all the questions.

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  101. I just played Grudgeball with my 4th graders, and they had a great time reviewing for our Geography Test! I've been playing a Basketball Review game for a few years, but I like how this keeps their interest in the game higher and is more interactive. We first discussed the maturity level needed to handle this game and that it is important that they do not take any of it personally -- it's all for fun and learning. I was impressed with how they handled the "grudges" in a good-natured way, and they have already asked to play it again. Thanks for the great information! :-)

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  102. I just played Grudgeball with my 4th graders, and they had a great time reviewing for our Geography Test! I've been playing a Basketball Review game for a few years, but I like how this keeps their interest in the game higher and is more interactive. We first discussed the maturity level needed to handle this game and that it is important that they do not take any of it personally -- it's all for fun and learning. I was impressed with how they handled the "grudges" in a good-natured way, and they have already asked to play it again. Thanks for the great information! :-)

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  103. Thanks for sharing this, Kara. I do CPD with Chinese teachers all over China. I used this today with my trainees with only a few modifications for adults and they loved it! The interesting part for me was the fact that sometimes they would give points they earned to other teams or take points off their own scores rather than hurting another team. I'll be using this again!

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  104. I found this idea while searching for fun ways to review. Trying it with my 6th grade science students next week if I can find a hoop! If not I think I can order it on amazon!

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    1. If you can't get a hoop you can always use scrap paper and a garbage can!

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    2. I found my hoop today at a Shopko! Can you tell me approximately how far from the basketball hoop you put your two and three point lines? Thanks

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    3. I just use my recycle bin for my 4th graders, and I think they love it just as much as a real hoop.

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  105. I teach Algebra 1. Any ideas on how to ensure all students in the group do the work? I've done the whole "I pick someone from the group to explain it" and "everyone has to show the work", but it always seems the strong students do the work for the group since its time sensitive.

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  106. My students played Grudgeball today to review for tomorrow's Medieval Theater test and it went over well. Very involved, very active, and VERY vocal! Thanks for sharing this wonderful game.

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  107. Hi!! I just wanted to let you know that I used the game today with my 10th Grade World History class, but I just eliminated the Nerf ball part of it (because I didn't have one, and because I was worried about my wild class). Nevertheless, they LOVED it and made me promise we'd play again for every chapter! Thank you for the idea! I'm sharing it with other colleagues here in South Florida. :)

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  108. Can you explain the breakdown on the number of teams vs how much time it takes? I have a huge class of 38 energetic (low) honors 7th graders and I'm not sure how I should break up the group.

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  109. what type/style of questions work best?

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  110. My class(Algebra) used this today and they loved it! Thanks for sharing.

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