Arithmetic is the oldest and simplest branch of mathematics. It also the first branch of mathematics which students encounter, beginning with counting, and then graduating to simple calculations such as adding, subtracting, multiplication and division. Eventually of course, students will encounter other branches of mathematics, such as geometry, trigonometry and algebra, but nevertheless understanding arithmetic continues to be an essential skill. After all, arithmetic is an essential foundation not only for other branches of mathematics, but also numerous areas of everyday life, including business, science and technology.
Like so many other things in life, practice makes perfect in math – the more math and arithmetic that students do, the better they get. While practice can certainly help many students, the other side of the coin is that excessive repetition can soon get boring – and bored students do not learn very well. Good teachers are however very well aware that new styles of presentation, interesting activities, and educational games, can all be used to provide some variation in classroom routines, enlivening what might otherwise seem mundane. One such activity that more and more teachers are turning to, is in fact the game of bingo.
There are many ways that bingo can be uses in math classes – one of the most attractive things about bingo is that it can be very easily adapted to different situations. Perhaps the most popular way of playing bingo in math classes, is for the teacher to act as bingo caller, and the students to each be given a specially printed bingo card containing math problems – instead of marking off items as they are called, students must fill them out with the correct answers.
The main thing that you need to play math bingo is of course the bingo cards printed with math problems. Fortunately that’s easy – you can simply print them from your computer – free ready-made math bingo printables, or easy-to-use bingo card creator software makes the job easy.
By: Sunil Tanna
When teaching geography, it’s not at all unusual to want your students to learn lists of items (such as countries, states of the United States, cities, capitals, rivers, or mountains), and perhaps also some associated details of each item in such lists. Of course, rote learning can be very boring for students, and tends to be easily forgotten – so what is needed is a fun but educational way for students to learn the information while remaining motivated. It is for this reason that many geography teachers are always on the lookout for new classroom games and activities to perform with their students.
One such activity that is worth considering (especially since it is flexible enough to be adapted to many different classroom situations) is bingo. The basic idea is quite simple – each student is given a bingo card containing a different combination of the list of items that need to be learned, the teacher acts as the caller, and then you play bingo – however there are many possible variations on the basic idea:
- You could, for example, instead of calling out the items on the cards directly, give the students clues which they have to match up to the items on their cards. For example, instead of calling “Paris”, you might say “The capital of France”.
- You can also use the game as a tool to encourage participation and discussion in the class. During the game, you could ask students to explain each item that you call out before you move on to the next item.
- Another idea is to play normally, but with the added requirement that when a student claims “Bingo!”, he only actually wins if he can describe each item that he ticked off his card. If students are aware of this requirement in advance, and really want to win the game, this can be a great extra incentive to study harder.
Of course, all this sounds like a great idea, but it’s only a workable idea if you can actually get suitable printed supplies to play the game. In the past, this would have required sending off for expensive specialist materials, but today there are much easier solution: print everything from your computer. You can get ready-made free printables for geography bingo off the Internet, and there is even affordable software is available that makes it simple to print customized bingo cards (containing whatever items you want).
By: Sunil Tanna
St. Patrick (Latin: Patricius; Irish: Naomh Pádraig), along with St. Brigid of Kildare and St. Columba, is one of the patron Saints of Ireland. He was born in Roman Britain, kidnapped as a young man by Irish raiders and taken as a slave to Ireland, escaped and returned to Britain, and then later returned to Ireland as a Christian missionary. Many details of St. Patrick’s life and works remain obscure, even the dates of his birth and death, however there are many legends about him, including the claim that he banished the snakes of Ireland (there were in fact no snakes in Ireland since the Ice Age), and that he explained the concept of the trinity using the shamrock leaf (a 3 leaf clover).
St. Patrick’s Day, which falls on March 17th, is the Christian feast day which celebrates St. Patrick’s life. The day is a public holiday in both the Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland, as well as in Newfoundland and Labrador, but is also a day that Irish people around the world celebrate their roots and their culture. The day is usually marked by parades and other activities, including family and community gatherings. Of course, no such gathering would be complete without Irish-themed games and entertainment – and one such game that is ideal for the occasion is St. Patrick’s Day bingo.
St. Patrick’s Day bingo is played exactly likely the standard game of bingo, except that instead of using bingo cards containing numbered squares, each square on the bingo card instead contains a word or phrase on an Irish theme. The cards can easily be prepared in advance by the event organizer using some bingo card maker software, and the game itself is a lot of fun for people of all ages, as well providing an opportunity for younger players to learn about their culture.
By: Sunil Tanna
