For Teachers

Ways to Bring Games Into the Classroom

Ways to Bring Games Into the Classroom
by Rosshalde Pak

Who doesn’t like to play games? What person doesn’t have a deck of cards or Monopoly at home? Games are fun, interactive, and social. Being able to bring games into your classroom is a fantastic way to break up the monotony of reading textbooks or a great closing activity at the end of a unit. However, when there are so many demands placed on educators who always be ‘standards-focused’, it can be tricky to figure out how exactly to bring a game into your classroom.

I know many teachers who shy away from games completely because they don’t want their principal to walk in and say, “Umm, Mrs. Pak, why are your students playing around instead of learning?” As an educational game inventor, I know a bit more than the average bear about games; so I came up with two tip sheets. One is subjects and ways to integrate games into your students’ learning. The other (coming next month) is the various types of games you can utilize in order to use that learning. Furthermore, all of these games can be played, with varying degree of difficulty, with younger kinders to older high school students. It’s the subject matter and the materials that are used that make the difference to the students who are playing the games.

Ways to Bring Games

Flashcards
I’m sure every teacher has a set of math flashcards in their classroom. And why not? They are probably the easiest way to play a game in your room. I love flashcards because they are a fast time filler or a quick way to review concepts. Along the same lines as math flashcards are ones with images on one side and words on another. This is very convenient for younger students, ones with specialized learning needs, or high school students learning a foreign language.

I also like to have my students create their own flashcards that we use as a whole class, in centers, or with a partner. (I discuss student made games in greater detail below)
Math
Making a game with math is so fun, and really easy. I can’t think of an area of math that doesn’t allow itself to be made into a game. From the basics of remembering numbers; to addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems; or fractions with images; geometric shapes or concepts, variables with alegbra; etc. There are also a variety of games that can be played with math – flashcards, memory, bingo, and fast facts.
Spelling and Grammar
Spelling and grammar aren’t traditionally thought of as subjects to play games with; and I always wonder why not. Having students correctly understand pronunciation of words or how to spell those words is very important. Furthermore, understanding grammar and parts of speech is equally as valuable. Here flashcards can be utilized, or having students spell words orally too. Give students one or more sentences and time them on how long it takes to correctly identify each part of a sentence. Again, these are also super helpful ideas when working with English language learners, students with specialized learning needs.

By utilizing spelling and grammar concepts as a game you can present a challenge to gifted students or ones who are learning a foreign language by increasing the difficulty of the spelling words, presenting them with complex sentence structures or ones with mistakes in them, or doing all of those ideas in another language. (Conversely, doing work in another language could be a way to differentiate the game for students who are learning the English language.)
Vocabulary
Learning new vocabulary presents many of the same opportunities and challenges as learning spelling or grammar. One key difference is when you are dealing with foreign languages or students who are learning English. Again, this is a great way to make flashcards or to create a bingo game. You could have the words or images on the boards and the clues are the definitions.

With flashcards, one side has the term the other has the definition. To make it a bit trickier for your advanced students you could draw, or give, an example of the term – that is not the definition – and see if those students are able to guess from that.
Time Filler
Have an assembly today and just 20 minutes to do a lesson? Why not play a game? Finished that California Missions lesson early and there are ten minutes before the end of class? Sounds likes a great time to play a quick game. Games as time fillers are going to be fast activities that take little to no prep time. I always found that a time filler game is a fun and easy way to use up the time, yet still get meaningful learning in there.
Substitute Teacher
I think every teacher always wishes that there wasn’t a need for substitute teachers. It’s not that there aren’t fantastic substitutes (I was one for a few years) – it’s just that these are your kids and your lessons and you know how to pace it and teach it the best.

Having a few, detailed and lengthy, games prepared for your substitute to use can be a huge sigh of relief for you. My bingo game is so packed with educational tidbits that I’ve had teachers email me that it’s a lifesaver when they have a substitute. Jeopardy is another perfect example of how to extend the learning when you have a guest teacher.
At the End of a (Thematic) Unit
Phew! You just finished that long thematic unit on England, Shakespeare, and the Elizabethan Era. Congrats. Why not take a whole class period (or two) to have a game day reviewing all of the bits and pieces to that thematic unit? Jeopardy and bingo are great games to integrate a lot of in depth material into.
Science Experiments
A lot of times science concepts get left to the wayside when it comes to classroom games. But it doesn’t need to be that way. When I think of games and science experiments I always first think of the film version of Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince. In the Potions class, Prof. Slughorn gives the students the chance to compete to win ‘Liquid Luck’. Well, obviously you aren’t working with witches and wizards – but the same game can apply. Give your students the chance to compete for the best (and safest) executed experiments.
Speak to their Strengths and Weaknesses
Aside from actual subjects, if you can make a game (or small group activity or a center) out of areas where you know your students are struggling – you will be giving them a big confidence booster. The same can be said for helping to push your advanced students too. By having independent time games and activities that allow your students to work in pairs or alone, then you are giving them the chance to focus on their skill set without the pressure of having to ‘perform’ in front of everyone. Many of the types of games that I discuss later can be made into smaller versions for such a need.