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| Didax "Class Ideas" Newsletter Archive |
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Happy 2008! Here at Didax we're ringing in the New Year with games and more games. As this month's article by Dr. Helen McGrath points out, classroom game-playing is a great way to reinforce concept learning and build social skills. This month?s Internet links will take you to some additional suggestions for using games to bolster children?s engagement and learning. And don?t forget to check out the subscriber-only special featuring 20 brand-new-for-2008 Didax games.
Whether you?re a teacher looking to add an element of fun to your lessons or a parent wanting to turn off the home electronics and have some quality family time, you won?t want to miss the information in this issue!
Cindy O'Neill, Editor |
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| The Value of Games: Learning Social Skills in the Classroom |
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 by Dr. Helen McGrath
A game is a fun activity when there is both a skill element and a luck element. In children?s games, players are trying to match or better another player?s or group?s score or trying to reach a certain level in order to continue playing, as in many computer games. If there is also a luck element?for example, the question you are asked or the player you have to play against, children can more easily save face if they don?t win. Most teachers already have a small repertoire of golden oldies such as Hangman or Bingo, but games are such great teaching tools that it is worth the effort to create a more extensive collection over time.
In this article, we?ll look at some of the benefits of classroom game playing and give you some suggestions for getting the most out of these fun breaks from classroom routines.
Game playing fosters a positive classroom climate
Children thrive emotionally and learn in classroom climates that are warm, positive, supportive, and prosocial. Games can help create such climates by connecting children with each other through the sharing of an enjoyable task that asks them to show what they know or think, to problem-solve, or practice skills they have already learned. Life contains elements of both cooperation and competition, so it is important that children have opportunities to learn and practice the social skills to handle both. Through educational games children can learn and practice social skills related to both competition and cooperation, such as taking turns, sharing, thinking of the rights of the other players (e.g., not taking too long when you have your turn), playing fairly by the rules, being a good winner and loser, and using humor effectively as a social tool.
Games are a way to individualize the curriculum
Games can be an effective way to individualize the curriculum for children of different ability levels. Many games are relatively simple and mainly allow practice, revision, and consolidation of concepts. However, there are some that can be played at a simple level but also tap into higher-level thinking. The old standard game of Twenty Questions is an example of a game that can be played and enjoyed by all children but with different qualities of thinking. A good version for young children involves each child having a word pinned on his or her back (for example, the name of an animal). As the children walk around the room, they ask each other questions to try to guess what their word is. The answers given can only be ?yes? or ?no.? Some children will more quickly figure out effective categorical questions than others, but you can ask for suggestions of good questions/categories before the game and write a list on the board.
Games encourage the development of non-traditional intelligences
Games can also be an effective way to engage and develop children who have strengths in intelligences other than those traditionally associated with academic outcomes (i.e., verbal and logical-mathematical intelligence). For children with strengths in art (spatial and visual intelligence), you can play a game where children are given a sheet of paper with a shape already drawn on it and ask them to turn it into an original drawing. They ?win? if they draw something that nobody else in the class thought of. For children with strengths in drama, you can play charades with two class teams around a class theme such as ?feelings.?
Games such as Quick Draw can help children to develop not only their drawing skills but also the higher order thinking skills of categorizing and empathetic thinking. The game can be played with two class teams. Children choose a card with a word written on it and then draw a picture on the board to help their team to say that word. There is a time limit and no miming or spoken words can be used. Before the game, children can be encouraged to use empathetic thinking by being reminded to ?think of what you can draw that will help your team to think of the word.?
Games are a non-threatening way for children to test their abilities
Games can be a relatively safe for children to test themselves and compare their levels of skills and abilities. You can see them doing this spontaneously on the playground as they hit, kick, and throw balls to each other, shoot goals and chase each other around. When these contests happen within the context of classroom game-playing, it may be less threatening than within an academic context. If the child does not do well, it may not seem as important as an academic failure can be.
Games bring social rewards
Treasure hunts are games that can help to create strong bonds between children at different levels, and also help them to understand and appreciate the usefulness of language. They are good ways to engage boys because movement is an important component. Older students can help to create and set up treasure hunts and can go with each pair of younger students as they tackle the hunt. For very young children, decide on some simple instruction starters to be repeated on each card (for example, Go to the ? OR Look in the ? OR Find a ?) instructions. Each clue leads to the next. The last clue leads to a simple prize or a ?Congratulations!? certificate. Older students often respond well to simple rhyming clues such as (for the next clue, which is on the library door):
Go to the door and take a look
Where children go to find a book
Games can also be a positive tool for behavior management and motivation. Write on separate cards the names of a number of fun games that also have an educational purpose. Tell children that each time the class reaches a specific goal, one child can choose one of the games as a class reward. A class goal might be no put-downs in class for the day or the whole class learning to spell specific words or recite a multiplication table accurately.
Whole-class games as rewards can also be effective if you want to encourage a specific student to achieve a behavioral or learning goal. There is social power in being able to ?earn? a reward for the whole class.
Guidelines for Game Playing
Consider the following guidelines when using or making up your own games for young children:
1. Games should not take very long to play.
2. Games should require minimum preparation. Time is too valuable a commodity in classrooms to allow for elaborate ramping up to play a game.
3. Always have a debriefing session at the end of the game. Stress that winning and losing can happen because of many factors, such as luck, skill and effort. It is not always about who is ?better? at something. Knowing that effort and practice can make a difference to performance can motivate children to practice at home and/or try harder.
Dr. Helen McGrath is the author of Dirty Tricks: Classroom Games Which Teach Students Social Skills (Pearson Education Australia, 1997) and co-author with Toni Noble of BOUNCE BACK! A Classroom Program for Teaching Students to be Resilient (Pearson Education Australia, 2002). |
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| Free Downloadable Games Activity Pages |
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 This month's downloadable activity pages come from the World Teachers Press series Math Masterpieces. Each book presents 19 paintings by significant artists in puzzle form. Complete the accompanying math exercises correctly to rearrange the puzzle pieces into the famous work of art. It's a unique and fun way for students in grades 3 to 7 to practice math concepts and learn about art at the same time. |
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| Games Internet Links |
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 The Internet is an invaluable resource for game ideas and lore. Check out these links for fresh suggestions for games you can play in the classroom (including baseball!), a lesson plan that uses Monopoly as a springboard for class learning about Native Americans, and a fascinating look at the history of some of our best-loved games. |
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| February Newsletter Theme: Sequencing |
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 Next month, Class Ideas will take a look at sequencing: the skill of putting actions or events in order. And we'll introduce some of Didax's brand new sequencing card series geared especially for young children and special needs learners. Sequencing cards are an ideal visual tool for helping children understand cause and effect, verb tenses, and the life cycles of plants and animals, just to name a few applications. So tune in next time for more on this engaging approach to language development, cognitive processing, and content learning. |
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