Bingo Online » Dolch Sight Word List

Bingo Cards in Classrooms

admin — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:27:02 +0000

If you mention the game of “bingo” to somebody, chances are that will be familiar with the game, and how it is played. It is a very simple game, one that can be learned in minutes, but which nevertheless provides enjoyment to many people. What you may not have realized however is, with a few simple modifications, bingo can be adapted for classroom use, and used by teachers as an educational tool.

Bingo can be an enjoyable activity for many students, and of course this can help them engage with the subject, but it is also ideal for classroom use since it does not require expensive or specialist materials, and the game is flexible enough to be adapted for teaching almost any subject.

The main way that the game is adapted to different subjects, is by using bingo cards printed with items chosen by the teacher, instead of standard numbered bingo cards. The items on the cards can be anything that the teacher feels appropriate for the subject in question, be they words, phrases, or perhaps math problems or musical symbols. Additionally, in some cases, the game rules may also be modified somewhat.

Examples of educational variants of bingo include

* Reading Bingo – This game is indented for younger students learning to read. They must simply find words on their cards when they are read out. Very often the words are chosen from the Dolch sight word list, or similar introductory word lists

* Math bingo – The bingo cards are printed with math problems that the students must correctly solve in order to check off the corresponding square. The problems could be equations, reducing a fraction, etc.

* Foreign language bingo – These version of the game could be played in a language learning class, be that French, Spanish, German, Italian or any other language. The bingo cards are printed with words in that language, and the students must find the correct matching word when the teacher calls out the English equivalent.

By: Sunil Tanna

Bingo Cards in the Classroom

admin — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 19:44:54 +0000

Bingo is a very popular game, and, as a result, virtually everybody knows the rules and how to play the game. Undoubtedly, of course, the simplicity of the rules have contributed to the game’s popularity, but nevertheless it is true that many people love playing the game. Although bingo is traditionally a social activity, particularly for older people, today however it is also finding a place in the classroom.

The basic idea behind introducing bingo into the classroom, is that it provides a fun and interesting activity for students, but the bingo cards, and in some cases the game mechanics, can easily be adapted by the teacher depending on the situation, the particular subject being taught, and the age of the students.

Generally the most common adaptation of the game is simply to vary the content of the bingo cards (so instead of simply containing numbers, the cards contain items chosen by the teacher that relate to the subject in question), although in some cases it may also be necessary to slightly modify the rules of the game as well. Some common educational variants of bingo include:

* Reading bingo or Sight word bingo – This is a game principally for younger students. The cards are printed with words that the students must recognize or find – very often these are words chosen from the Dolch sight word list or similar word lists.

* Math bingo – The bingo cards contain math problems. In order to check off a square on their cards, the students must correctly solve the math problem in that square.

* Foreign language bingo – The bingo are printed with words in one language, and the students must find the matching word when calls are made in another language. This game can be played in French, German, Spanish or Italian classes, and the bingo cards can be in that language, and the calls made in English, or vice-versa.

By: Sunil Tanna

Bingo Lesson Plans

admin — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:20:52 +0000

While most of tend to think of bingo as a pastime enjoyed purely for leisurely purposes, it is also true that many K-12 teachers have adapted bingo for use in their classrooms. Bingo is today being used to help teach a diverse range of school subjects including reading, English, foreign languages and math.

Education versions of bingo are generally played according to roughly the same rules as the standard game – with the teacher acting as bingo caller, and the students as the players – but they often played with specially modified bingo cards containing items chosen by the teacher rather than the usual numbers. Additionally, in some cases, the teacher may tweak the rules somewhat.

Here are a few ideas for using bingo in lessons:

* Sight word bingo – The bingo cards are printed with words chosen by the teacher (often words from the Dolch sight word list). The teacher reads out a word, and students must find the matching square on their cards.

* Phonemic awareness bingo – The bingo cards are printed with letters. The teacher calls out a word, and students must find the letter which begins that word.

* Vocabulary bingo – The teacher gives a definition for a word, and students must find the square on their card with the matching word

* Parts of speech bingo – The teacher gives a clue for a part of speech (”a verb beginning with T”, etc.) and students must find the square with a matching word.

* Foreign language bingo – The bingo cards are printed with words in the language being taught (French, German, Spanish, etc.), the teacher reads out a word in English, and students must find the matching word. You can also reverse this, so the teacher speaks in a foreign language, and the students must find the matching English word, or you could simply play the entire game in the foreign language.

* Math bingo – The bingo cards are printed with numbers, and the teacher gives a math problem such as simple addition, subtraction, multiplication or division problem. Students must find the square containing the answer to the problem.

* Fraction and Decimals bingo – The bingo cards are printed with fractions and/or decimal numbers. The teacher reads out a number and the students must find the matching square. This doesn’t have to be easy – the student could be required to convert the number between representations such as find the square containing “0.75″ if the teacher says “six eighths”, etc. Obviously teachers can vary the level of difficulty so it is appropriate for their class.

* Rounding bingo – The bingo cards are printed with numbers, and the students must find the matching square when the teacher says something like “two point six rounded to the nearest whole number”, or “twelve rounded to the nearest multiple of ten”.

* History bingo – The bingo cards can be printed with names of historical figures (for example, “Theodore Roosevelt”), events (for example, the “Battle of Gettysburg”), or dates (for example, “December 7th 1941″), and students must find the matching square when given a clue by the teacher.

* Geography bingo – Basically the same idea as history bingo, but using city, state, country or other place names. The teacher can give clues such as “it’s a state on the West coast of the United States and it’s capital is Sacramento”.

* Science bingo – Just like history and geography, bingo can also be used to help students learn key facts about biological, chemistry or physics.

By: Sunil Tanna

Bingo Worksheet Maker

admin — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 05:52:24 +0000

Most people are familiar with the game of bingo. We tend to think of it as a leisurely game mostly played by seniors, and while this is often the case, it is also the case that variations of the standard game are also used in teaching – including in K-12 education and in English as a Foreign/Second Language (usually abbreviated to “EFL” or “ESL”) classes. Additionally, games of bingo can also be a fun activity for social and family events such as wedding showers, baby showers, and family gatherings at holidays such as July 4th, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

As you probably know, standard games of bingo are played using bingo worksheets (also known as “bingo cards”) containing a selection of numbers – the bingo players’ goal is to find matching squares as numbers are called out by the bingo caller. In educational and holiday versions of bingo however, the game play is varied somewhat – the squares can contain letters, words or phrases appropriate to the particular game – for example, in a game of Christmas bingo, the squares might contain words such as “Santa Claus”, “Christmas Tree”, and “Magi”. Likewise, in an educational game, the contents of the bingo worksheets will be based on the particular subject or lesson being taught – in a game of math bingo, the squares may contain numbers which are answers to math problems called out by the teacher, in a game of reading bingo, the squares might contain words chosen from the Dolch sight word list, and so on.

If you want to play one of these variants of bingo, the main requirement is of course a suitable set of bingo worksheets containing the appropriate items for your chosen theme. Preparing a different bingo worksheet for each player might sound like a lot of work, but actually it is not so hard – a computer and some bingo worksheet maker software can make the job quick and easy.

By: Sunil Tanna

Reading Bingo

admin — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 19:50:04 +0000

Bingo is a relatively simple game. Most adults know how to play the game, and it’s easy enough to learn that even young children can master the game in just a few minutes. Because of this simplicity, as well as the facts that the game does not require investing in expensive materials or specialist equipment, and that the game can easily be adapted in numerous ways, many teachers now use bingo as a teaching tool.

In classes involving younger children, teachers have adapted the game of bingo to help them with their reading and English. In these situations the class plays pretty much a standard game of bingo, with the teacher acting as the bingo caller, but instead of using bingo cards printed with numbers, the cards are printed with letters or words chosen by the teacher.

Some ideas for using bingo in the classroom include:

* Helping to Teach Phonemic Awareness – The students are each given a bingo card printed with letters in the squares. When the teacher calls out a word, the students must identify the letter than begins the word and find the matching square.

* Practising Sight Words – Sight words are words that students must learn to recognize to achieve reading fluency (the most famous list of sight words, is probably the Dolch Sight Word list). Sight words can be practised by using bingo cards printed them – students must find the matching square when the teacher calls out the word.

* Improving Vocabulary – Again the bingo cards are printed with words chosen by the teacher, in this case however students must find the matching square when the teacher gives a word’s definition.

* Identifying Parts of Speech – As with the vocabulary bingo game, the cards are printed with words chosen by teacher. However, in this case, students must find a part of speech based on a description given by teacher, for example, “a verb beginning with S”.

In all these cases, the main requirements to play the game are an enthusiastic teacher, and of course bingo cards printed with items of the teacher’s choice. While it may be possible to purchase some preprinted educational bingo cards, this could quickly get expensive if a lot of bingo cards are needed, and in any case the cards may not contain the exact items that the teacher wants for their class. The alternative is for the teacher to prepare the bingo cards in advance of their class. Of course, making a lot of bingo cards by hand is probably not a good use of class preparation time – but fortunately bingo card maker software can automate the process – using such software, you just enter a list of items that you want on your bingo cards, and the computer can generate as many cards as you want.

By: Sunil Tanna

Bingo Cards in Teaching

admin — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:51:15 +0000

I think it would be fair to say that most adults know how to play the game of bingo. This is no doubt because of the widespread popularity of the game, and the fact that the game is very easy to learn. What you may not know, is that bingo, and variations of the game of bingo are proving to be increasingly popular in educational and learning situations.

Nobody would deny that one of the challenges faced by teachers is how to get their students to engage with the subject being taught. Enjoyable classroom activities such as bingo, can be of help with this problem. Of course, an enjoyable activity serves little purpose unless it helps teach the subject – but the good news is that bingo can be adapted to teaching a variety of different school subjects.

The key step in adapting bingo to classroom use, is the introduction of custom bingo cards. As you know, in the standard game of bingo, the bingo cards are simply printed with a set of numbers. In classroom versions of the game, the cards are instead printed with words, phrase, math problems or even musical symbols (depending on the subject being taught), of the teacher’s choice. Additionally, if the teacher chooses to, he or she may also modify the rules of the game slightly. Some examples of educational bingo applications might include:

* Sight word bingo – Used in introductory reading classes: The bingo cards are printed with words that the students simply have to find (often words from the Dolch Sight Word list, or simply lists).

* Vocabulary bingo – Used in language classes: The bingo cards are printed with French, German, Italian or Spanish words, and the students must find the matching word when the teacher calls out an English word.

* Math bingo – The bingo cards are printed with math problems that the students must not only find, but also solve.

By: Sunil Tanna

Reading Bingo Lesson Plans

admin — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:54:07 +0000

Although bingo tends to be mainly thought of as a leisure activity, it is also true that variations on the standard game are being used by many teachers. These teachers have introduced bingo in their classes as a way to helping children to engage with their studies, and are using the game to help teach many different subjects including English, foreign languages and mathematics. In reading classes in particular, bingo tends to be particular useful. Here a few ideas for reading lesson plans that involve classroom bingo:

* Phonemic Awareness Bingo – Each student is given a bingo card containing letters. The teacher reads out words, students must then identify the letter than begins the word and find the corresponding square on their cards.

* Sight Word Bingo – Each student is given a bingo card containing words (these, for example, might be words chosen from the Dolch Sight Word list). The teacher reads out a word aloud, and the students must find the matching word square on their cards.

* Rhyming Bingo – Each student is given a bingo card containing words chosen by the teacher (ones which the teacher knows rhymes for). The teacher says a word (for example, “small”) and students must find a rhyming word on their card (for example, “ball”).

* Vocabulary Bingo – Again the students are given bingo cards that contain words chosen in advance by their teacher. In this case, the teacher gives the definition of a word, and students must find the word being defined.

By: Sunil Tanna