At the start of a school year, or in an event such as seminar or workshop, it can be helpful for the teacher or organizer to find a fun activity that will facilitate introductions. One such activity that is definitely worth considering is the game of ice breaker bingo. Ice breaker bingo is in reality at least two different games – both variants of the classic game of bingo, and the teacher or organizer should select the most appropriate version of ice breaker bingo depending on the age, confidence level and English-language skills of the players (or students).
1. In both versions of the game, each player is given their own bingo card. The objective of the game is to be the first player to achieve a line of five marked off items on your card, whether that line is horizontal, vertical or diagonal.
2. In the simpler version of ice breaker bingo, the bingo cards contain the names of members of the group – a different name in each square. What happens is the teacher (or organizer) goes around the group asking people to stand up one at a time, telling the others a little bit about themselves, and finish by stating their name. The other players can then mark that name off their card, and the first player to achieve a line of five can call a bingo – however their bingo only counts if they can correctly identify the people corresponding to each of the names in their winning line.
3. In the more complex version of the game, the squares of the bingo cards are printed with descriptions or activities (e.g. “owns a cat”, “can play piano”, “is a vegetarian”). The players then circulate among themselves trying to find others who match these descriptions, and, when they find a match, they write that person’s name in the square. The catch is that each name may only be used once per card, and that of course encourages the players to meet and talk with as many other members of the group as they can.
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
