Concentration Games

This week I have led four workshops for student teachers trying to get ideas across about community building. There is one activity I use based on that old card game called Concentration or Memory that is a sure fire winner.

The great thing about this game is that you can adjust the content to fit just about any topic.

Here is how it works.

All the cards (say 24) are placed face down on a table.
Two teams of perhaps 3 - 4 people on a team.
One team turns over two cards to see if they match. (more about cards in a minute)
If they match they win the cards IF AND ONLY IF they can connect what is written on the cards to the topic of the workshop.
Next team plays.
Repeat until all the cards are gone.

So let's see how this works. I labelled the cars in twos with such words as CRIME, HOUSING, CULTURE, PARKS, RECREATION, TRANSPORTATION

Then I asked that when the cards were turned over the team had to state how the word related to the topic of the workshop - Population Growth. So, let's say a team turns over the cards that say Transportation. Well that's easy - with more people come more cars. But now the tricky part. Not only do they have to state one connection that in this case is negative, but they also have to come up with a positive. Let's try again - Transporation - Negative - more people more cars, Positive - Better subway systems and buses.
Get the idea!

So that's it in a nutshell. The teams have a lot of fun trying to remember where all the cards are, and usually whoop with delight when they find a match. Then they spend a bit of time in discussion about the topic.

If you want more details about this game please email me at
debacalderon@yahoo.com

Have a great weekend all.