Games based on BINGO
Bingo (or housi or tambola)
This is one of the most versatile game - that is zero cost, easy to administer, and children just love it.
A great review tool, it can also be used for introducing a topic or for giving practice.
The major attraction of Bingo is that children make their own cards, and if you plan in advance, children make the clues to be called out too.
This way, we as teachers do nothing J, and children gain a whole lot of learning by doing the above two.
Let us go through an example of how Bingo is used in, say in chemistry and soon you will be realising how Bingo can be used in any subject and learning situation. You can even use it as a fun test.
Say you want work on Periodic Table. Children draw a 5-columns x 3-rows grid in their notebook and fill it up with elements of their choice from the periodic table. One element in one cell.
Now either you prepare clues, or get a group of children to prepare clues in advance (better way of doing it, obviously). The only reason teacher will prepare clues is that she or he wants a specific set of questions to be asked. Otherwise just let the kids do it.
Now each clue is numbered and shuffled and called out with its number.
Example clues for periodic table are “inert gas”; “is part of “Allum”, has a “valancey of -1”. If the clue satisfies any of their entry – the child strikes it out writing the clue number in the corner of that cell (for checking reference). The usual winners are the three rows and full house – but I guess the class can form its own rules. Your clues can be such that either they have one or only one answer or can have multiple answers. Mix up your clues to make the children think more.
Example clues for periodic table are “inert gas”; “is part of “Allum”, has a “valancey of -1”. If the clue satisfies any of their entry – the child strikes it out writing the clue number in the corner of that cell (for checking reference). The usual winners are the three rows and full house – but I guess the class can form its own rules. Your clues can be such that either they have one or only one answer or can have multiple answers. Mix up your clues to make the children think more.
Personally I allow children to discuss the clues and work in pairs or small groups – this helps in children learning from each other.
Make clues challenging, with twists, covering many facets of the topic and sometimes just plain crazy / funny.
Here are some more examples of Bingo used by in different subjects – believe us, this game can be put in any class (even sports :)
For 4-5-6 years
- Numbers: children write numbers between 1-20 and then answer the clues like “more than 8” or number of “absents today” ….
- Phonemes: Children draw pictures of different objects. Teacher class out a phoneme sound – if the sound matches “beginning with” or “ending with” then the child can cross it.
- Phonics: Children write words either from a particular story or a given word list. The teacher calls out a phonic set like “at” or “ine” etc and match them or can be played just the reverse.
- Story comprehension: Children write or draw different elements from a story. Now teacher either reads out sentences from the story or preformed clues and children strike out based on comprehension of the story/ spoken sentence.
7 and above years:
Since by this age most children can read-write – the range of Bingo cards becomes as vast as your imagination:
- Operands: Children write number. Teacher calls out two numbers – children try any operand to reach any of their numbers to strike them.
- Percentages: Children write different round figure percentages (or fractions). Teacher reads out word problems that will typically have a round figure percentage (or fractions) as its answer.
- Science: Children write the different parts of a plant / animal / digestive system / types of levers, Food pyramid, etc –and the clues (like the periodic table) example lead children to think of what can fit in.
- Hindi: Bingo based on parts of speech, gender of word, ‘matra”, vocabulary, meaning of sentence, etc.
- Social Studies: Since subjects like history and geography are often filled with loads of facts that children are supposed to remember – Bingo is perfect way for children to get them in. The key to make the competitive and fun is to let children-team form the clues by turn.
Few more interesting applications of Bingo cards:
- Self esteem – recognition of strengths: Let children fill bingo grid with a set of strengths that they think they have (or would like to have) – provide a strength chart for reference (a list is available at www.geiekids.com/strengthslist ). Call out situations as clues and children if they think a particular strength is used - can strike that strength in their bingo card.
- Emotional Intelligence: Part of emotional intelligence is to become aware of different feelings, gain feeling’s vocabulary and learn ho to identify them. Like above, children from a feelings chart – fill the bingo grid with feelings (name or drawings) ( a list available at www.geniekids.com/feelingslist ). Teacher reads situations (try our real situations of what has happened in the class). Children identify and strike out what could be feeling of the key character in the situation.
- Social Intelligence: Children can write names of their classmates on the cards. Next the teacher calls out either a quality or an ability – and then child identifies a classmate who has shown that quality / ability in a specific situation. Here A good idea is to prepare the cards with random names from the class – this way children will think about children other than their close friends.
- One can also use Bingo for reinforcing class / activity codes, safety norms, first Aid information, hygiene procedures, social manners, or any life skills information.
As stressed previously, Bingo cards are so versatile that its really upto you and your class’ imagination as to where and how you use them. Innovate, change rules, guidelines, size of cards, patterns of clues, and definitely play bingo for the one critically important reason – fun.
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