Halloween is a holiday celebrated on the October 31st each year, especially in the United States of America, but nowadays in many other countries as well. Halloween is traditionally associated with ghosts, witches and scary stories. Pumpkins are carved with faces and a candle placed inside to make a Jack O’Lantern. Kids love to dress up to play games or go trick-or-treating.
Halloween is also often marked by schools and community groups. It is not uncommon for schools to hold Halloween themed events, and teachers to organize Halloween games in their classrooms. One particular game that is ideal for classrooms at this time of year – it can be a lot of fun, is easy to place, can be educational, and does not require expensive or specialist materials – is a game of Halloween bingo.
Halloween bingo is played very much like a normal game of bingo. Each student is given a bingo card or bingo card containing a grid of items. However, Halloween bingo cards are printed with words or phrases relating to Halloween (”ghost”, “Jack O’Lantern”, “pumpkin”, “witch”, etc.) instead of the usual numbers. The teacher takes the part of bingo caller, and calls these items out in a random order, until a student achieves a winning pattern of marked off squares on their bingo card.
One question that many teachers have is where to get Halloween bingo cards. This isn’t difficult however. You can download a set of ready-made printable templates from the Internet, or using bingo card making software to print custom bingo cards in whatever quantity and containing whatever items that you want.
By: Sunil Tanna
Thanksgiving is a harvest festival that is celebrated principally in the United States and Canada. In the United States it is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November in the United States, and is a federal holiday (in Canada it is held on the second Monday in October, coinciding with Columbus Day in the United States). Common activities associated with Thanksgiving include a break from work or school, a Thanksgiving dinner, parades, and American football games.
In the United States, Thanksgiving is very much associated with the survival of early English settlers in Plymouth, Massachusetts, with the help of the local Native American population. As result, the run-up to Thanksgiving provides a wonderful opportunity for students to learn about their history. Schools often organize events such as Thanksgiving plays, but individual teachers can also introduce Thanksgiving-activities into their classroom – why not a game of Thanksgiving bingo?
Thanksgiving bingo is played just like a normal game of bingo (with the teacher taking the part of the bingo caller), but, instead of using standard bingo cards, cards printed with words or phrases related to the Thanksgiving holiday are used instead. It can be a lot of fun, and can also help remind students of the history of Thanksgiving.
You might be wondering where you can obtain Thanksgiving bingo cards, but this is actually quite easy – you print them yourself using your computer! You can download ready-to-print cards from the Internet, or if you prefer, you can download bingo card maker software that allows you to print custom bingo cards on almost any topic you like.
By: Sunil Tanna
Most people are familiar with the game of bingo. It is play using bingo cards contain a five by five grid of squares, with each square containing a word or number. Each player is given their own bingo card, and marks off the squares from their card when the corresponding item is announced by the bingo caller. In most games, the winner is the first player to achieve a continuous line of five squares, in any direction (regardless of whether the line is horizontal, vertical or diagonal), and call out “Bingo”. For a longer game, players can aim for larger or more complex target shapes than a single line, for example, two intersecting lines of five squares, a postage stamp of three by three sequares, or even all squares marked off.
In the standard or traditional game of bingo, each of the squares on a bingo card is printed with a different number between 1 and 75. Today however, variants of the game, but using cards printed with words or phrases instead of numbers, are becoming increasingly popular. Using a computer and bingo card maker software, it is dead easy produce custom bingo cards of this type. In fact, the ease of producing custom bingo cards has been one of the main contributing factors to a renaissance in the game’s popularity: teachers are increasingly using custom bingo cards in their classrooms, and themed versions of bingo are also growing in popularity for religious and secular holidays and events.
St. Patrick’s Day is the Irish national holiday, named in honor of one of the patron saint’s of Ireland. It usually falls on March 17th, although the date is moved in those years when March 17th falls within Holy week. The day is used as a celebration for all things Irish, and is of course an excellent opportunity for playing an Irish-themed version of bingo. All you need to do is prepare some bingo cards containing words or phrases relating to Irish history, culture or geography, and you’re ready to play.
By: Sunil Tanna
