Chapter 65: Ka-Boom!

A lot of my students were just starting to learn their multiplication tables when the pandemic forced the world to shut down and schools to switch to a remote-learning model. As a result, multiplication is a struggle for many of them, and I’ve spent part of this year trying to backfill that gap. Rote learning is pretty dull, so I like to use games to make it more interesting for the kids.

Ka-Boom! is one of those games you can mod up to fit just about any subject. This time around, I got a bunch of popsicle sticks and wrote either a multiplication problem or the word “KA-BOOM!” on one end of each stick. I store the sticks in a ziplock bag, and when it’s time to play the game, the kids get out a coffee mug and put all the sticks in it with the problems pointing toward the bottom. To play, one person draws a stick and reads the problem on it out loud. The student then must try to solve the problem. If a player gets the correct answer, s/he can keep the stick. If a player gives the wrong answer, s/he must put the stick back. If students draw a “KA-BOOM!” stick, they must put all of their sticks back into the mug. Whoever has the most sticks at the end of the game is the winner. (There are several ways to end the game. I usually just call time about five minutes before the bell and have the kids count their sticks, collect any prizes I might decide to award, and put the game away. I’ve also had the kids set aside the KA-BOOM! sticks as they are pulled, which keeps the game from continuing forever, or if you want to do a lightning round, you can end it with the first KA-BOOM! and tally up everybody’s points to determine the winner.)