Game Changers: John Young Elementary School Students Shine at Board Games Fair
Posted on 06/21/2024
The halls of John Young Elementary School buzzed with excitement as they held their second Annual Board Games Fair. This event harnessed the creativity and talents of 3rd to 6th graders, encouraging them to explore the Core French curriculum in a fun and hands-on way.
For weeks, over 150 students poured their imagination into designing their own board games. They worked diligently at school and at home, and even invited their parents and caregivers to join in the creative process. What began with classic games like Chess and Snakes and Ladders quickly evolved into unique creations inspired by galaxies, video games, the periodic table of elements, and more.
Students used their artistic skills to craft engaging game designs. Each project had to contain a board game, instruction manual, information sheet, and $50 in play money. The students wrote multilingual materials, explaining the rules of their games in French and other languages, and created posters to promote the fair. They enjoyed the challenge of combining their skills and knowledge from different subjects into one cross-curricular project:
“The board game was a great idea because you use French and creativity to make this project work which teaches many useful skills like task management and being able to work fast and effectively. I learned how to do all those things because of this project.” – Matyas
“The board game project is a great project because you have to be artistic and logical at the same time for it to work. You also need to know French to make people understand and you also need good writing skills too. This … makes this project a challenging but fun project that stands as a test to many students but is very fun.” – Greg
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On June 12th, the gymnasium transformed into an interactive showcase,
where students presented their board games and tried their hand at
playing creations from their peers. More than 200 students joined in the
fun.
One of the most engaging aspects of the fair was the
financial literacy element. Each game was priced with sales taxes,
challenging students to use their math skills to calculate costs and
develop business acumen. They enthusiastically bought and sold games,
all in French, while practicing bargaining terms and aiming to make a
profit.
“The board game project was really special, we got to design really unique board games of our own with a lot of constructive criticism. After they were done we got an opportunity to sell them in the gym. This was a cool part of the project because we could see how much money each group could collect.” – Liana and Paloma
“What I liked about the board game day was that there were a lot of different games to purchase at the fair, and every single game was very unique to itself. It also taught us how to profit from buying other board games, which is similar to the concept of drop-shipping. It used a lot of imagination to be able to create your own unique board game, so it was pretty impressive to see all of the games. Besides, knowing that we did all this using paper and cardboard was really cool.” – Marwan
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The event was a resounding success, and the students’ innovative games captivated their peers and teachers alike. The fair showcased the power of student-led projects in fostering a love for learning, with students expressing that they are already looking forward to next year’s fair.
“The board game project WAS SO FUN!! First we gotta create our own board games and be very creative! Every board game was unique and fun to play. Then came the board game festival. We got fake money to buy/sell and competed to be the best businessperson. It was also fun showing little kids how the board games work and playing each other's games. In conclusion, I absolutely loved the board game festival and I'm glad it's a yearly thing.” – Jude and Jad
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