While the game of bingo is usually thought of a leisure activity, and indeed it is often played as such, it is also true that variations on the standard game of bingo are often used by teachers and educators. Indeed versions of bingo have been applied to teaching of K-12 subjects such as reading, vocabulary and math, to teaching foreign languages such as Spanish,
Jul 10
There are a lot of people out there who enjoy playing bingo. It’s true that the game is very simple to learn and play, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not fun! In fact, the ease of game play is one of the attractions of the game – you don’t need to learn complicated rules – you can just sit down and start playing. What’s more, somebody new to bingo can be introduced to the game, learn the game mechanics, and join in, with a few minutes.
As you know, bingo is traditionally played using bingo cards contain a grid of squares (usually 5 by 5 squares), with each of these squares containing a number. Players cross out squares on their cards when the corresponding number is announced by the bingo caller. Today however, since it is easy to make custom bingo cards with your computer, themed versions of bingo, with the squares containing words or phrases, are increasingly popular.
Our calendars are filled with holidays and special days, both religious and secular, and these days present a perfect opportunity to play bingo. Whether it be Christmas, July 4th, Halloween or President’s Day, you can easily adapt bingo to the occasion – simply by using bingo cards containing words or phrases relating to your chosen holiday theme.
Although bingo remains a popular leisure activity, it is also finding serious use in education, including K-12 and English as Second Language (”ESL”). Basic skills such as reading and recognizing words (especially “Sight Words”) can be practiced, and more sophisticated variations of the game can be used for more advanced students.
By: Sunil Tanna
Jul 07
At some point in their lives, most people have played the game of bingo, but even those who haven’t probably do know how to play the game. Even if you don’t know however, it’s very easy to learn!
1. One person acts as the bingo caller and referee.
2. The other participants are all players.
3. Each of the players is given a bingo card containing a grid of squares, each square containing a number.
4. The bingo caller calls out numbers in a random order, and the players mark off any square on their cards which matches the number.
5. When a player gets a complete line across his card (vertical, horizontal or diagonal), he calls out “Bingo!”. The first player to call bingo is the winner.
6. If you prefer a longer game, instead of a single winning line you can require two or more complete lines, or even players to mark off every single item on their bingo card.
So far so good – you’re probably already familiar with all the above. Today however, variations on the standard game, most frequently using bingo cards containing customized items based around a particular theme (instead of numbers), are growing in popularity.
Some examples include:
- Bingo has become very popular with teachers. This is because it can be adapted to almost any lesson or subject, and thus become a fun as well as educational classroom activity.
- Holiday bingo is played using cards relating to a particular holiday. For example a Christmas-themed game would be played using cards containing words like “angel”, Bethlehem or “shepherds”. Of course there are many other holidays around the year which can be used to inspire specially themed bingo games, including New Year, Valentine’s Day, July 4th, and Halloween.
- Wedding and baby shower bingo are also growing in popularity. As you might expect, these variants are played using words relating to weddings or babies.
If you fancy playing any of these versions of bingo, you will of course need bingo cards relating to your chosen theme. While it may be possible to obtain preprinted cards for certain (not all!) themes from a specialist publisher, the cheapest and most flexible option is almost certainly to print them yourself using your computer. If you use some bingo card creator software, you can simply put in a list of the possible items, and the software will generate as many different cards as you want.
By: Sunil Tanna
