Bingo is an increasingly popular activity with teachers looking for interesting, challenging, and fun activities to use as teaching aids in their classrooms. There are many reasons why this is happening, but underlying all of them is the fact that teachers are recognizing the suitability of bingo to educational environments. For example, teachers know that bingo is not only easy for students to learn (and fun for them to play), but they also can see the game can be easily adapted to different subjects or lesson plans, and that it can be played using ordinary inexpensive materials.
Pretty much all educational variants of bingo are played using special custom bingo cards. These cards are printed with items specific to the subject of the lesson being taught, rather than the usual numbers, so for example, in an English class, the items might be words that students are learning to read, in a science class, the items might be names of chemicals or elements, and in a geography class, the items might be names of cities, states or countries.
Bingo is particularly suitable for use in math classes; this is because there are a variety of ways to play the game. For example, the bingo cards might be printed with math problems, and students must write in the (correct) answers rather than simply mark items from their cards. Or the cards might contain numbers, and when the teacher calls out a problem, the student must find the corresponding number. Or when teaching fractions, the same number might be presented in different ways (e.g. 3/6 versus 2/4 versus 1/2), and students might be required to solve this type of conversion problem in order to get an item marked off their card.
For all the different educational versions of bingo, the main thing that teachers need is suitable bingo cards. The best way to get them is to print them from your computer – get some bingo card generator software, and it becomes very easy to generate as many as you want. This is much better and cheaper than buying preprinted bingo cards, because you can use the software again and again, and you can also customize the cards’ content to your heart’s content.
By: Sunil Tanna
Educational versions of bingo are growing in popularity with teachers. More and more educators are using the game as a teaching tool during their lessons. There are numerous reasons for this, but they include the facts that bingo is easy to adapt to different lesson types and subjects, that the game is very simple to learn (many students probably already know how to play), and given the financial restrictions that most teachers work under – bingo card be played using affordable materials and classroom supplies.
One of the main ways that bingo can be adapted to different subjects is by using special subject-specific bingo cards. As you probably know, traditional bingo cards simply contain a grid of squares, each square containing a different number. Educational versions of bingo use cards containing a grid of squares, however the squares contain items specific to the subject or lesson, such as the names of cities, mountains or rivers in a geography class, the names of historical figures in a history class, etc.
Bingo can be used in many different subjects, but is especially suitable for math. Teachers can prepare bingo cards containing either questions or answers, and then vary game playing accordingly. If questions are used, students must write in the answers when the question is called. If answers are used, the teacher calls out questions, and students must mark off the particular square that answers the question.
Bingo can be used in almost any math class, but is particularly popular for practice at arithmetic, and especially multiplication tables (”times tables”). Many math teachers also find the game a useful tool for practising fractions and decimals – in this case as well as solving problems, students may be required to do base conversion (when the teacher calls out “a quarter”, the student must mark off squares contain 1/4, 2/8 or 0.25).
In order to play any of these variants of bingo, you will of course need the appropriate custom bingo cards. While it is possible to order preprinted cards for many subjects, they can get kind of expensive. A better alternative is to get some bingo card maker software and make the bingo cards using your PC. Appropriate software will allow you to print bingo cards containing anything you want, and with no limit as to the quantity.
By: Sunil Tanna
Most of us, are, I think, familiar with the game of bingo. Pretty much everyone knows how to play, even those people who are not dedicated bingo enthusiasts. Something that is less well known, is that modified versions of bingo are nowadays being used in many classrooms to help teach a diverse range of subjects.
One of the biggest challenges facing today’s teachers is how to engage with their students and sustain their interest. The fact that bingo is an enjoyable game can perhaps be of some help. Furthermore, the game play mechanics can easily be adapted or modified by the teacher, depending on the particular subject being taught. Finally, the fact that bingo does not require a large investment in expensive materials or specialist resources is of course important given the financial constraints that most teachers work under.
The most common way to adapt bingo to classroom use, is by varying the contents of the bingo cards. In the standard game of bingo, the cards are generally printed with numbers, however in educational versions of the game the bingo cards are printed with words, phrases, or even math problems of the teacher’s choice. Additionally, game play mechanics may be varied: in an introductory reading class, students may simply be required to simply locate words printed on their cards, but in a language class they may be required to find a French or Spanish word when the teacher says the English equivalent, and in a math class, the students might be required to solve the math problems on their cards as they are called out.
By: Sunil Tanna
