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
Most people are familiar with the traditional game of bingo played using printed cards containing numbers. Pretty much all of us have at one point or another, either played the game ourselves, or at least seen others playing the game. Furthermore bingo is quite a popular leisure or social activity, not only with seniors, and church groups, but online as well.
One thing that many of us may not have considered, are adaptations of the game of bingo. These are becoming increasingly popular both as a form of recreational fun, and as an educational tool (in schools, colleges, universities and indeed corporate training environments). Adapted versions of bingo are played using bingo cards containing words or phrases (chosen to suit to the theme of game), rather than numbers. For example, a Thanksgiving bingo game would be played using words like “Pilgrim” or “Turkey”, a Christmas bingo game would be played using items like “Santa Claus” or “Bethlehem”, and an educational game, could be played using sight words (words that students must learn to recognize to gain reading frequency), multiplication sums, chemical elements of the periodic table, or whatever is being taught in this particular class.
In the past obtaining the specially themed bingo cards to play these variants was quite difficult and expensive – you had to send-off to a specialist manufacturer to get them. Today however it is easy: you can simply print bingo cards or any theme you like from your computer. Free bingo printables on many different topics are available online, and if you want to print bingo cards containing items of your own choosing, you can purchase easy-to-use but affordable bingo card generator software for doing the job.
By: Sunil Tanna
Most people are familiar with the game of bingo, pretty much everybody has either played it already or at least knows how to play it. Of course there are many familiar images associated with bingo. These include, for example, seniors playing the game in retirement homes, people playing as a church or community activity, and of course nowadays people playing bingo online through the Internet, but it would wrong to imagine that these familiar images form a complete or even necessarily representative picture of the game today.
Nowadays bingo is becoming popular with more and more people. This is partly because people are finding ways to adapt the game to new situations, such as special holiday-themed versions of the game (e.g. Christmas, New Year, Halloween, July 4th), or bingo adapted to social events (including baby showers and wedding showers), and partly because many educators are now using bingo as a teaching tool.
The thing that all these new adaptations and variations of bingo have in common, is they rely on special customized bingo cards. In traditional bingo, players use bingo cards containing numbers, however specialist versions of bingo use cards containing words or phrases appropriate to the particular them of the game. For example, a Christmas-themed version of bingo would use words like “Reindeer”, “Santa Claus” or “Yule”, a wedding shower version would use words like “bride”, “cake” or “dress”, and educational versions would use words that students are learning to read (English), math problems (math), names of elements (science), etc.
In the past, creating such specially-themed bingo cards, especially for a large number of people or entire class, was no easy task. Today however, you can simply print them out from your computer – with the right bingo card maker software, the job can take a minute or less!
By: Sunil Tanna
