Snakes and Ladders

End of semester is rolling around and more and more often my classes are being changed around and students are either busy preparing for tests or winding down for the holidays.

Preparing a regular class only to have it canceled at the last moment or only have one out of the three classes arrive is not great at the best of times, but when it happens often it downright sucks out my enthusiasm.

Snakes and Ladders is a classic I have been using to fill up my classes when I’m not quite sure if the students are going to come. I can prepare the materials once, then reuse them multiple times for many classes. The game is also suitable for all students from grade 1 to 6.

The best part is the simplicity and versatility of the game. It still has some novelty as it’s not as common a game here in Taiwan as it might be in the west.

Here are the three variations I have used this past week:

Grade 1 – Counting

Download 40-space Snakes and Ladders from Google Drive: https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1ETth4joZXnc84zbbpCJCZh8y1McqGVwA1i2TlCR1RYQ/edit?usp=sharing

My grade classes have been counting like crazy as they still need the repetition. We had covered some basic addition, but it was still a bit beyond them.

We used the 40-space board to make the play quicker and while they are still getting the knack of taking turns and cooperating with each other.

Materials (per group, 3-4 people per group suggested):

1. 40-space board (link above)
2. 1 die
3. one token per player

Procedure:

1. Draw 40-space grid on board with one or two snakes and ladders.
2. Roll the dice on my own and show
   1. Go up ladders
      1. Land on square and go up
      2. Pass by and DON’T go up
   2. Go down snakes
      1. Land on square and go down
      2. Pass by and DON’T go down
3. Split class into three or four teams (teacher plays too)
   1. Play starts on “Start”
   2. Roll dice
   3. Count each step out loud
   4. Play clockwise
4. Each team has a go, keep going until there’s one winner, then start again

Grade 3 – Addition

Download 100-space Snakes and Ladders from Google Drive: https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1YyK2RzgVEy7x-OYTp5kLQ8Wjge9ZHU1FGyIOnGL9k3c/edit?usp=sharing

A slight variation on the above, but they need to do some addition for their turn.

Materials (per group, 3-5 people per group suggested):

1. 100-space board (linked above)
2. two dice
3. one token per player

Roll both dice and say “one plus two is three” then count out the steps.

Grade 6 – Questions and Answers

Similar to grade 3 above.

Materials (per group, 4-5 people per group suggested)

1. 100-space board
2. two dice
3. one token per player

On their turn, the player before them (remember they’re playing clockwise) asks a question either from a set of questions or just whatever they like. Once they answer the question they can roll and take their turn.

Notes

Younger classes will need more prompting and I sat down for one round with two of the grade 1 groups because they just started doing things randomly.

If they speak Chinese or don’t recite the numbers as they take their turn then they must go back one space. Groups can enforce this amongst themselves.

Other thoughts have been to adapt the board by adding some “Q&A” squares where the students have to answer a question from a pile if they land on it.