Top Reasons to Use Games

I think most of us know that kids love games, but at least if you're me, it's so hard to incorporate them into the classroom, because they require so much preparation. Even with the Internet, where templates abound, it's hard to track down what you are looking for. But Cheryl Temple, assistive technology services specialist for FCPS, has done the legwork for us. She compiled a bunch of templates on the JOSTI CD I have (which, once again, will be available to check out from the library), but here is a sneak peek.

Basically, Temple identified three types of games that can be modified for educational purposes: traditional games such as Connect 4, Tic Tac Toe, Cootie Catchers, and Bingo; video games such as Sim City, America's Army, and Revolution for social studies, River City, Quest Atlantis, and Food Force for science, and Skill Builders and Whyville for elementary; and game shows such as Chain Reaction, Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, and The Price is Right.

There are plenty of collections online to find templates for all three types of games: Try Jefferson County Schools, Internet4Classrooms, and EducationWorld. If you're feeling more adventurous, you can make board games from scratch. The drawing tools in Microsoft Word are usually enough to make a game board, and the Avery Wizard download for Word is good for creating game cards.

I've used the traditional game Charades and the game show $10,000 Pyramid for review in my AP Language class. And I use lots of video games from News University for instruction in my journalism class. The students' enjoyment is enough of a payoff for my hard work. But if you want to take the pressure off yourself, don't forget that you can have students design games themselves. After all, most of us learn best by teaching others, even when fun and games are involved.