Is there anyone in the world who doesn’t like the thrill of forming a winning pattern and shouting “Bingo!”? Bingo is an incredibly fun game that is popular all over the world, it’s very easy to play and it’s usually played in groups. Probably the reason why bingo is so popular is that it’s a simple game that is easy to play and understand. When bingo was invented, it was played in bingo halls, but today we have the online bingo which is taking over the traditional bingo and is giving us the opportunity to enjoy this fun game from the comfort of our home.
One of the best things about bingo is that it can help learning basically any subject from language to math and historical facts. For that reason, bingo is often used as an educational tool through which kids learn different subjects. Everyone can play bingo together, regardless of their level. Plus, you can create your own, customised bingo cards and make your game even more interesting.
Bingo as an Educational Tool
If you want to use some different method that will motivate students to learn more about a subject, you can suggest playing a bingo game. In fact, many teachers use bingo in their classrooms to teach children about different subjects. What’s more, bingo is considered as a great educational tool for improving the mind and concentration of the kids. Bingo is a great educational tool for any subject that you want to teach. With just a 5x5 grid and colourful pens, you can make your children learn lessons in a fun way. From math to language skills, you can use bingo for teaching anything.
How To Play Educational Bingo
This version of bingo is the same bingo game that is played online or in bingo halls, and the basics of educational bingo are as follows - each student gets a bingo ticket with squares containing words, phrases or pictures. You can use your imagination and create bingo tickets on different topics, according to your needs.
Each student will get the same words but in a different order. Then, every time the teacher calls out a word, students should search and mark them on their tickets. The first student to have words highlighted in a row says “Bingo!” and wins.
Here are some tips to make your bingo game more accessible and friendly to your audience:
- Replace the words on the card with pictures;
- Make students play in teams of two in order to have more fun;
- Give a small treat to the winner, it doesn’t have to be some special prize, as you can reward the winner by allowing them not do to the next homework;
- Don’t call out the words or pictures in the squares, but give hints so students can think about what’s in the square.
Educational Bingo Games
What you’ll place in your bingo tickets depends on your imagination. There is no limit on how the educational bingo games should look like, but here are some examples that can help you start your next bingo game.
Language Bingo
One of the most common subjects that teachers teach with bingo are languages. There can be different Language Bingo games, so here are a few examples:
- Definition Bingo: Read out the definition of a word, and let the students find the word on the card.
- Translation Bingo: Write words in a different language on the card and call out the English translation.
- Synonym/Antonym Bingo: Call out synonyms or antonyms of the words on the card.
- Rhyme Bingo: Call out rhyme words of the words on the Bingo card.
Math Bingo
We get it, learning math is boring. However, it can be very fun with bingo! Here are a few examples:
- Number Bingo: Read out sums, subtractions, divisions, and multiplications, and let the students find the answer within the numbers on their card.
- Decimal Bingo: Put decimals on the card, and either call out the numbers as they are or as fractions.
- Roman Numerals Bingo: Put roman numerals in the squares and call out them.
- Fraction Bingo: Let the students find the fractions you read out within their squares.
- Clock Bingo: Fill the squares with pictures of clocks with pointers in different positions, and read out the time.
Exercise Bingo
Using bingo to motivate kids to exercise can be such an interesting activity. For example, you can put a set of short physical exercises in your bingo tickets (sit-ups, push-ups, squats, jumps, lunges, crunches, arm spins, etc.) and call them out one by one. The kids should do the called activity and mark it on their cards. The first kid who has five activities in a pattern is the winner.
Human Bingo
Human Bingo is also known as People Bingo, Autograph Game, or Did You Know Bingo, so you might have come across one of these names. It is a type of bingo that helps people learn interesting facts about each other. Being a great icebreaker game, human bingo is also used as an educational tool in schools.
The point of human bingo is for every participant to introduce themselves, and then find people who match the traits on the card. People walk around the room or wherever you are playing and mingle until they find people that match the facts written on the human bingo cards.
If you know your participants, make a list of 20 to 25 interesting traits that describe each of them in different aspects. For example, use traits like “has a tattoo”, “has a baby”, “once lived in Germany”, “has been a football player”, etc. If you don’t know your participants, make a list of general traits such as “loves dogs”, “drives a car”, “drinks coffee”, etc. Then, the participants have 30 minutes to introduce themselves and the game begins!
In conclusion
Playing educational bingo games has gained a lot of popularity among schools. This increases the number of educational bingo cards that can be found online. For that reason, if you are interested to try this method for educating your kids or students, you can find numerous bingo cards on any subject online, or you can make some on your own.
