How to Make Distance Learning Fun with Scoot!

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How would you like the best and quickest way to get your students to listen ?

When students play games they have to pay attention. Some games can move quickly so students have to be attentive and ready to move.

Using games as a way to engage students is an effective way to enhance their learning and their ability to recall information.

You may have heard of Scoot. It is a game where your students answer questions or problems on a card as they walk to each desk. Our kiddos love it, especially when I say “Scoot” to signal them to move to the next desk. The students have to listen so they know when to move. It is also the best way to get your students up and moving while they practice their skills. 
 

Have you ever had one of those days when you feel like your students just aren’t listening and they are wiggling all over the place? Of course you have!

This is when you pull out one of our fun and engaging  Scoot games and get those children moving!
 
This is a great way to pre-assess what your students already know about a subject or a fun way to assess your students after you have taught a subject.
It is also one of the best ways to review objectives. 
 
Sometimes I like having the students play Scoot and then gather them on the carpet to go over answers together.
 

Social Distancing Scoot Game:

kid playing scoot on computer

 
Well, many of us are in a school situation where we have to do social distancing in the classroom. How do we play this game when our kids can’t move to another desk? Brittany and I have been discussing ways to play games in a social distancing manner because we believe it is still important to get the kids moving and having fun in school while they learn. 
 

Social Distancing Scoot Game

  1. Enlarge the cards and hold them up, or display the cards on a smartboard one at a time. Now remember you have to hold the cards or flash them quickly.
  2. Instead of saying “Scoot” since they can’t move to another desk, you can say “Go” or “Stand” and the students have to stand, write their answers quickly on the recording sheet that is provided, and sit back down.

You can also add some other types of movements like “jump” or “hop on one foot” and they have to do the movement before they write their answers and sit back down.

The nice thing about doing Scoot this way is that you can go in order so the kids don’t have to find the correct number on their sheets. You will just have them write the answers in order from 1-24.

 

A fun surprise

would be to hold up one of the Take a Break cards and tell them they can do a silly dance movement when you hold up those cards. The kids will love this!
 
I know it isn’t as fun as moving to the next desk but they would still be doing some type of movement, learning, and having fun. Our children really need to be having fun in school right now.
 

Distance Learning Scoot Games

Now some of us aren’t returning to the classrooms so how do we play Scoot virtually?
 
You will send your students the recording sheet so they can write their answers quickly like they do in the classroom.  You can still make it fun by having them do a movement before they write the answer and sit down. 
 
Extra challenge: mix up the number of the problem like it normally is in Scoot and say, “Find the square with the number 15. Did everyone find it? Ready, GO!” Show them the card and they write the answer quickly. You say, “STOP!” and tell them the next number to find.
 

Remind them

it’s okay if they don’t know all the answers. They can leave the problems they don’t know blank and fill them in when you go over all the answers at the end.
 

Social Distancing Brain Bounce Games

Another game that students can play at a distance is our Brain Bounce Game. Students  divide into 2 teams and take turns answering questions. We call it Brain Bounce because we tell our students that we are bouncing from one brain to another.

Normally, I would let them pick a card to answer but since we are social distancing now, have students say a number. You can pick that card out and read the card for the students. If they get the right answer, then they earn a point for their team.

Kids love this game because they are in teams! You can have the student stand to answer the card. Remind them it is okay if they don’t know the answer. 

Check out our popular Candy Brain Bounce at the bottom of the post. We also have Brain Bounce games for monthly science and social studies vocabulary themes.

Distance Learning Brain Bounce

You can still play this game virtually. We have included recording sheets if you want to use them. You just divide the kids that show up on your Zoom call or whatever you may be using.

Around The World

Another way to use our Scoot or Brain Bounce cards is to play “Around the World.” This is pretty easy to play in a social distancing manner because only 2 kids stand up at a time.

Now, normally you play where you hold up the card and the child that answers first, moves to the next desk. You can place circles with different countries or use different states and call the game “Around the USA.”

The student that answers first would move to the next circle. When a student that is ahead misses, then they have to go back to their seat.

You would need to write down how far the students get around the world. Every student gets a turn. The student that gets to more circles wins.

If your classroom isn’t very big

or you don’t have enough room to make your circles 6 feet apart, then you can still have 2 students stand at a time. You would draw the circles on the board and write the students’ names on the circles as they get the answers correct.

We hope that these ideas during Distance Learning will help your students to still get up and move and have fun while they learn!

Please comment with any game ideas you are using.

 

Good ‘Ol Scoot Task Cards

The beauty of our Scoot games is that they can also be used as task cards.  Simply use the cards and the recording sheets without the whole “Scoot” of it all and voila!  The perfect center.  

Our math scoots are unique because we’ve also included manipulatives for independent center work.

Another way to use these task cards is to tape them around the room and give students the recording sheet on a clipboard to answer on.

Check out the comments that teachers have made on this popular money scoot at our  TPT Store.
 

 
Here is a sample of the cards. The kiddos love the monkeys!
 
We also have them for the seasons. This is one we have for fall.
Click on any of the pictures to see more about the products: We have also included cute manipulatives if you want to use these cards in a math center.
 
pumpkin math games
Students love practicing missing numbers with these scoot games.
 
This is a fun one for students who need practice with sequencing numbers to 10. They love the dogs! There is also manipulatives with numbers if you want to use them in a number center.
 

 
This is our Skip Counting scoot bundle with 3 games in one! The students love the pets and the cute manipulatives that come with each set.
 

 

 
We have this one on multiplication and there is also one on division.
 
This is a fun way to see if your students know their blends.
 
 
This is another fun game that is very popular! Check out all the comments on this fun game:) We put many different math skills in this game so it is a great review or a good way to see what math concepts that students struggle with. This can also be used for Scoot or in a math center with the fun candy manipulatives
 
 
 
 
I thought I would also show you how I keep all these games organized. I absolutely love this container. I actually have 4 of these, so that tells you how much I love them!
Just click on the picture below to check it out at Amazon. I am an affiliate and will get a small commission on it, so I appreciate that if you decide to purchase it. It is Prime so you can get it in 2 days. I believe you can also get these cases at Michaels from time to time. Just click on the picture below to check them out.
Game Card Organizer
 
Game Card Organizer
Trust me when I say, “this is one of the best organizational tools that I have.” It has 16 little cases, but I put individual games and centers in baggies and I can get 2 or 3 games/centers in one small case, and sense we have created many games, this has helped me to keep them organized.
 
I even gave them to my teacher friends as gifts and they love them too!
Okay, enough about my obsession with these boxes!
 
Don’t forget to sign up for a FREE Scoot Game with a 5 day challenge! 
 
We know that your students will enjoy it and you will love getting those wiggles out!
Just click on the picture to grab it!
 
We know that your students will love to  play Scoot and Brain Bounce because our students do!
 

What are some fun games that you do to get your kids moving?

 
Please share this post with all your teacher friends so they can learn about Scoot.

Pam

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6 thoughts on “How to Make Distance Learning Fun with Scoot!”

  1. Wendy

    Students love Scoot games and it’s such a fun way to check their learning! I adore that carry case – perfect for storage and when you’re on the go – this would be great for a substitute teacher too! Checking out your fun games and signing up for the 5 day challenge – thanks so much!

    1. SOL Train Learning

      Thanks for stopping by and checking out our games! Our students do love playing them and we hope that you will enjoy your free Apple Scoot game!

  2. Kathy

    The pumpkin scoot will be perfect in October! We LOVE Scoot!

    1. SOL Train Learning

      Yay! We do too! Thanks!

  3. Anonymous

    I love using Scoot games with my kids. It allows them opportunities to move while they are working/learning!

    1. SOL Train Learning

      We do too! That is why we created so many of them.

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