Tic-Tac-Toe: Copy the Picture Together

Nine hoops make a giant tic-tac-toe board, and two teams, one with red beanbags and one with blue, work together to copy the picture on a card by running the beanbags over. Nobody wins: the challenge is making the board match the picture.

How to play

1. Lay out nine hoops in a three-by-three grid and, a few yards away, two starting cones, one per team. Each team has a pile of beanbags in one color (2 min).
2. The teacher shows a card with a finished tic-tac-toe pattern (for example, a red X and the rest blue) and sets it by the board so everyone can look at it (1 min).
3. Taking turns, one child from each team runs with a beanbag and places it in the right hoop according to the picture; then they run back and high-five the next child (4 min).
4. When the board is full, we all compare it with the card; if something doesn't match, both teams decide together which beanbag to switch (2 min).
5. Clear the board and play with other cards that get harder each time, celebrating every copied picture (4 min).

Rules

• Beanbags are carried and placed, not thrown.
• Go when you get a high five.
• Both teams work on the same picture: if a friend makes a mistake, we help.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: make the board smaller and closer, and the child places the beanbag by pushing it with a pole or from the wheelchair.
• Visual impairment: hoops with raised tape and beanbags in two different textures; a buddy describes the picture.
• Autism: give the role of “picture keeper,” holding the card and saying where each beanbag goes.

Learning goals

• Run and place objects accurately in a set spot.
• Read a grid and reproduce it on the ground.
• Work across teams toward a shared goal.

Equipment for a class of 25

• aros: 9
• saquitos de dos colores: 10
• tarjetas con dibujos de tres en raya: 6
• conos: 2

Teacher tip

Make the cards letter-size with very clear colors. The usual mistake is kids playing classic tic-tac-toe to win: remind them that today the game is copying the picture.

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