You’ve probably noticed if you follow my TeacherspayTeachers store that I am a big advocate for Games in classrooms, especially with younger children, but I encourage all teachers even through college to incorporate games into learning time. I think the more fun you have while learning, the easier the information being learned is absorbed and understood. If you do it right, games can be the application of what was learned and therefore the students are learning the skill or concept at a higher level. Usually, they don’t even know they are learning! I’m not saying the teacher should “entertain” students all day. There are times when discussions, direct instruction, differentiated instruction, and other teaching strategies will better meet your students’ needs. What I am saying is that the use of learning through games is just as important as each one of these strategies used at the appropriate moment.
Class discussions are effective when you want students to feed off of the information that others have and build on those ideas with their own. It creates a community of students that respect each other’s opinions when used correctly.
Direct instruction sometimes gets a bad rap, but is effectively used when students need specific information given to them or to reinforce discoveries they have made on their own.
Differentiated instruction is the more recent buzz word in a teacher’s vocabulary. It too is an important strategy for teaching when students are on different levels of understandings, which is ALWAYS!
Of course there are many other important strategies like small group instruction, tutoring, collaborative learning, and many more, but I’m not going to define these as my goal is to prove how using games is equal to the use of strategies teachers already use in their classrooms.
Games can be effectively used as a practice of skills, review of skills, the application of a skill or even during the learning process. Games can also be played in whole groups, small groups or even in solitaire. They can easily be differentiated for students learning at different levels, working on different skills, or even different subject areas! They are very versatile and fun, which is why I love them!
Using games to practice skills/concepts is a fun way to help students master skills/concepts they are working on. After you’ve taught a new skill, choose a game that will allow students to practice the skill in order to move toward winning the game. An example of this would be to use a blank Bingo board game in a math center after students have learned addition facts. Show the students an addition fact, have them use manipulatives to figure out the problems if needed, and then cover one of their squares if they figure out the answer. In this game, students win when they fill up their entire board.
Using a game to review is similar to those used to practice skills/concepts. When students play the game, they have already learned the skill/concept and the game is used to help refresh these ideas and solidify their understandings. An example of this would be to use a standard board game, like Trouble. Show the students a sight word they are reviewing. If they read their word correctly, have them move their game piece the correct number of spaces according to their POP!
Games can be used to a have students apply what they know about a skill/concept in order to move toward winning. An example of this would be when students are learning place value. When working with a small group, have students roll 2 dice or more depending on the number of digits in a number your students are working on. When it is the student's turn, tell the student where to put each die on a place value chart. You might tell the student to put the 4 in the hundreds place, the 3 in the tens place, and the 1 in the ones place. Have the student read the number as a whole. If the student completes the task correctly, he or she can write the number down on a smaller place value chart. At the end of the game, have students find the number on their list with the greatest value. That student is the winner!
Games can be used during the learning process to teach students a skill through trial and error. In this situation, you don’t want students to be punished for making a guess or mistake as that is how they are learning, but you do want students to be made aware of their error and to challenge them to remember what they learned for next time. An example of this would be a game I use to teach self-correcting reading skills called Beat the Tiger from teaching Cupp Readers created by Cindy Cupp. In this game, the tiger wants the student to win, but if a error is made and is not self-corrected by the time the student moves on to the next sentence, the Tiger gets a point. If the student doesn’t make an error or if the error is corrected before moving on, the student gets the point. A discussion about the results, goals to improve, and/or celebrations for good work are all essential for a learning game to continue to be fun!
Unfortunately, I couldn’t share all the information I have about Games in the Classroom with you in one Blog post. As you can see this one is quite lengthy. I have 2 more posts coming out later on this subject. Follow my Blog, Twitter, or Facebook to be updated on the latest Blog posts. If you don’t already, I also encourage you to follow my TpT Store as I have several game products there and will be coming out with more soon!
I hope you make it your goal to try to incorporate games into your learning sessions with students this year. If you do, you will fall in love with them as I have! Share your wonderful gaming experiences in the comments section below! I’d love to hear from you!
No comments:
Post a Comment