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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 Worksheets Generator

admin — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 04:11:00 +0000

Most people are familiar with the game of bingo. The idea of the game is simple: each player is given a bingo worksheet (or “bingo card” or “bingo board”) containing a grid of squares (each square usually contains a different number), and the goal is to cross out numbers as they are called out by the bingo caller, hopefully being the first to achieve a winning pattern or line (what is considered a winning pattern may vary depending on the rules being used).

One thing that you may not know however is that there are many variations on the basic game of bingo, and these have been applied for a variety of educational purposes. Bingo is in fact an excellent tool that can be used to help teaching reading, vocabulary, math, science and many other K-12 subjects, and also is of use in teaching English as Second Language (”ESL”).

The common theme in most educational variants of bingo is a requirement for custom bingo worksheets. This is because the bingo worksheets are printed with items chosen by the teacher and specific to the particular subject in question. For example, in a game of math bingo, the worksheets might be printed with numbers that are the answers to math problems called out by the teacher, in a game of foreign language bingo, the bingo worksheets might be printed out with French or Spanish words (the teacher makes the bingo calls in English), and so on. You might assume that creating custom bingo cards for every student in a class is a lot of time-consuming preparation work for teachers, but you would be wrong – it’s actually very easy to print custom bingo cards with the help from a computer and some bingo worksheets generator software.

By: Sunil Tanna

Bingo Cards For the Classroom

admin — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:27:23 +0000

Most people are familiar with the game of bingo and how to play it. It may be that we have played the game at some point in our lives ourselves, or it may be that we have simply seen others play it and learnt that way – the rules are that easy to pick-up. One thing however that many people are not aware of, is that bingo can be adapted for use in schools and education, and these modified variants of the game, can be useful classroom tool.

The beauty of bingo in the classroom is that it provides an interesting and stimulating activity for students, but can easily be adapted for teaching almost any subject, whether that be reading, English, math, a foreign language such as French, German, Italian or Spanish, or almost anything else.

Although in some cases it may be necessary for the teacher to vary the rules of the game slightly, the main change in educational versions of bingo is the content of the bingo cards. In the traditional game of bingo, the bingo cards are printed with numbers, however in classroom versions of the game, the cards are instead printed with items of the teachers choice – these can be words, phrases, math problems or anything else that the teacher chooses.

Using these custom bingo cards, the game is then played. In an introductory level reading class, students may simply be required to find the matching item when a word is called out by the teacher. However, in a math class, the students may be required to correctly solve the problems in a square in order to mark it off, and in a language class, the cards might be printed with words in French or Spanish, and the students might be required to find the matching word when the teacher makes bingo calls in English.

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