Rooster Games 2020

On Friday our fourth graders participated in the first-ever Ashaway School VIRTUAL Rooster Games!  It took a lot of coordination and a great deal of help, but we managed to keep the tradition alive despite the challenges of distant learning! 

Team Yellow, captained by Miss Bloom!

Team Red, captained by Mrs. Young!

As always, all of the students who read at least five of the books on the list of nominees for the Rhode Island Children's Book Award were invited to participate in the games.  The six teams (each a mix of boys and girls from both fourth grade classrooms) competed in a variety of games that were based on books from the list.

Team Green, captained by Miss Calnan!

Team Blue, captained by Mrs. Pelligrino!

Each team of students had a Team Captain (an adult who managed the schedule and facilitated the games).  All of the adults and students started off in an "auditorium meet" and then each team entered their own, private meeting space to collaborate on each game.  I was able to pop in and out of the private meeting rooms to observe and help out as needed.  It was so much fun!!  

Team Orange, captained by Mrs. Carrier!

Most of the rounds consisted of a Google Slide deck or Google Jamboard which allowed the team members to work together.  These games included an Illustration Round (match illustrations to the books they came from), Object Round (identify which book a set of objects represent), Question Round, Character Quotes Round, and a First or Last Lines Round.  All of the team captains reported that the students worked really well together as they collaborated on the games via Google Classroom and Google Meet! 

Team Purple, captained by Mrs. Ornburn, works together on the Object Round.  Look at those faces!  I love how focused the students are in this picture!!

This year we didn't have to worry about teams overhearing answers being shouted out during the Charades Round because they were all working within their own Google Meet!  In this game the students take turns acting out words for their teammates to guess.  Doing so earns the team a point, and then they can earn a bonus point by identifying which book the word represents.  This game is always the one that most kids vote as their favorite.  (Mine, too!)

The Charades Round is always a LOT of fun!!

In between each point-earning round, the students all got a movement break by participating in a scavenger hunt!  The team captain read the title of a book on the list and then challenged the students to find an object in their home that related to the title.  They had a limited amount of time to get back to their computer and show what they found, and I'm sure a lot of the students got their heart rates up!  It was delightful to see the wide variety of objects they presented to share, and I was very impressed by the creativity they demonstrated!

"Something that holds water" to represent the book Bob

"A star" to represent the book Solar System

"Something summery" to represent the book The Season of Styx Malone

"A pup" to represent the book A Pup Called Trouble

"A donkey" to represent the book Saving Winslow

"A lightning bolt" to represent the book The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl

After lunch we all met back up in the "Auditorium Meet" for the awarding of the Champion Reader medals.  Then all of the students met back up in their private team meets to continue playing the games!

Our Champion Readers read ALL 20 books on the RICBA list!

  

 Of course, at the end of our Rooster Games

we needed to declare a winner!

This year the accolades go to Team Purple!!

Congratulations, Team Purple!

There is no prize for being on the winning team.  I emphasize to the students that they are all winners by earning a spot on a team and getting to participate in all the fun.  Traditionally, our wonderful PTO provides the funds for all participants to enjoy a pizza party at the end of the day so that all of the qualifiers win!  Of course, this year a pizza party wasn't going to work, so instead I found fun "pizza prizes" for each participant: a pizza-scented bookmark and a pen shaped like a piece of pizza!

No one complained about missing out on the pizza party when they saw these prizes!

 

It was a really fun event, and it couldn't have happened without the support of some really fantastic people!  Many thanks go out to:

• Our fourth grade teachers, Mrs. Ornburn and Mrs. Young, whose support of the RICBA program has always been enthusiastic!
• Our additional team captains: Mrs. Carrier, Mrs. Pelligrino, Miss Calnan and Miss Bloom!
• The Ashaway School P.T.O. for providing funds to purchase copies of the books as well as prizes for all participants! 
• Mrs. Ward, librarian at Hope Valley Elementary School, for her invaluable assistance during the day of the games!
• Librarians Michelle Bressler (Metcalf Elementary School), Aimee Fontaine (Exeter Public Library), and Stephanie Barta (Louittit Library) as well as Metcalf Elementary School teachers Caitlin Laboissonniere (reading specialist) and Gina Kilday (math specialist).  This remarkable team put together the Google Jamboard/Slide rounds that we used as well as the scavenger hunt list!