What it is: Crossing the Water is a great logic game for the interactive whiteboard that encourages problem solving as students try to get a family across the water safely. Teachers can set up the activity with a set number of adults and children, students guess how many trips will have to be made to get the whole family across the water. If there is too much weight in the boat, it will sink.
How to integrate Crossing the Water into the classroom: Crossing the Water is a fun logic and problem solving activity for students to work out. Use Crossing the Water as an introduction mind bending activity to begin math class. Students can work individually or in small groups to work out their strategy. Call groups up to the whiteboard to demonstrate their solution. Compare the solution with the way that other groups solved the problem. Because you can change the number of adults and children in the problem, each day can present a new challenge. Crossing the Water could also be used as a math center activity on classroom computers.
Tips: iboard has a variety of activities for the interactive whiteboard that can be purchased. Crossing the Water is one of their freebie samples.
Leave a comment and share how you are using iboard: Crossing the Water in your classroom.
I see this as a great way to lead into Problem-based learning activities. I have found that at first students seem to struggle with explaining their solutions/strategies, but this would be a good way to provide extra practice that could be easily integrated.