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Kids love playing games. This is why I love using games in the classroom to teach, practice and review key skills.
There is a natural engagement with kids and games. In fact, if you have worked with kids for any period of time you know that they will do almost anything when you make it a game. As a mom, I can go from having complaining, reluctant chore helpers to excited, energetic chore helpers just by turning the activity into a game.
Any time I can use the engagement of something kids already love in the classroom it always takes our learning to the next level. Today I want to share some of my favorite games that teach.
1. B-I-N-G-O
A classical game of BINGO is a wonderful classroom review activity. What I love about bingo is that it can be used for so many different skills and concepts. These editable Bingo Games make it super easy to create custom bingo games for any skill. In the matter of just a couple of minutes, I can create an interactive game that works on the exact skills my students need.
Bingo is a great whole class game, center activity and even a great small group teaching activity. These editable games make it so easy to differentiate for the needs of my students. For example, I can create games that help each reading group focus on the sight words in their specific books.
My students love playing bingo all year long and I know that yours will too!
2. Race Game
My students love this Race Game! I created this partner race game to pair with one of my favorite classroom manipulative – mini erasers! In this game students race to get all of their erasers to the top of the board game. Not only are they practicing the skill on the game board, but this game has some fun strategy too!
This race bundle is packed with game boards for both math and language arts. Just check out all the skills that are included.
3. Board Games
There are many board games that teach great skills. Here’s some of my favorites for pre-k and kindergarten.
Candy Land is a classic board game that has been around for generations. Why has it lasted so long, because it is a fun game that teaches great skills. In Candy Land, students work on colors, counting and matching.
Chutes and Ladders is another classic game for kids. Students work on counting forwards and backwards, number recognition and ordering with this fun game.
Race to the Treasure is a fairly new game that is a hit in my classroom. As a teacher what I love most about this game is that it falls in the category of a cooperative game. If you are not familiar with cooperative games, that means that you cannot win the game without working with the other players to accomplish a common goal. Here, students must work together using strategy and visual discrimination skills to create a path that leads to the treasure.
If you are not familiar with Zingo then you must check these out. Similar to bingo, but without the need for a caller, students can practice a wide variety of academic skills with Zingo! There are Zingo games for Numbers, Word Building, Sight Words, Vocabulary, Time Telling and so much more!
Another great game for working on counting and colors is Hi Ho Cherry-O! The students love this game and I love that they are counting and working on numbers with lots of repetition.
Scrabble Jr. is a new take on an old classic word game. With Scrabble Jr. students work on letter matching in order to spell simple words. It is a great game for a fun and engaging word work activity!
These are just a few of my favorite board games, but with a few minutes and the old faithful Amazon you can find so many wonderful games that are a perfect addition to the classroom.
Add Some Games to Your Classroom
Whether you add them as a whole class activity, during centers or even for small groups, games are a wonderful way to engage students in learning. Any time I get my students learning, reviewing and practicing without even realizing it, I call that a win!