About This Lesson
Despite the fact that many don’t consider play time as a valuable part of a day in the classroom, educators know that games are an enjoyable and respected way to teach students educational concepts. Find an assortment of activities that you can work into your daily lesson plan. With the new pursuits, you may find the children even more engaged, enthusiastic and eager to learn.
Math Puzzles
Even students who aren’t fond of math will enjoy Sudoku puzzles, which can also provide additional educational benefits at the same time. Although the children may simply think they’re having fun trying to complete a puzzle by filling the numbers below 10 into a grid without repeating their position in the same row or column, they will also be improving their logic and cognitive reasoning skills. You can tailor the puzzle’s difficulty by adding or deleting the number of three-by-three squares that you require the kids to complete. As they realize that they have the skills to finish the task, they’ll also have more self-confidence, which may encourage them to work on math-related problems that they previously disliked.
Drawing Challenges
With the latest desire for educators to add art to education plans – turning the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math acronym from “STEM” to “STEAM” -- games revolving around artistic endeavors can help teachers add more creativity to daily lessons. In addition to devising art projects such as painting and crafting that will get students to use their imaginations, giving them time to play games like Pictionary that will let them compete using their artistic abilities. The challenge requires participants to draw pictures that will help their teammates guess the proper word, book title, movie or song, for example.
Communication Activities
Children who are effective communicators will be able to express their needs, socialize with friends and get their point across when they want to argue about or ask for something. Allowing students to play games such as charades during the school day will help educators teach communication skills the kids must find creative ways to use expressions and motions to convey a word or thought. Teachers can also include such activities as Taboo which require kids to get their teammates to guess a word by saying related ones – a requirement that will also increase verbal skills and innovative thinking.
Memory Games
Teachers who notice their students struggling to memorize facts or recall information can include memory-related games into the daily lesson plan. Consider playing a classic matching activity in which pairs of picture cards are placed face down on the table – players take turns turning two cards over hoping to match the pairs, needing to remember which cards they’ve seen before and where they were located. You can also bolster kids’ memory by placing 20 different objects on a tray, walking around with it so everyone can make a mental note of the items, then removing the tray and asking them to write down as many as they can recall. The friendly competitions will encourage the children to try to remember more each time in order to outscore their classmates.
Online Activities
Because children love video games, including time to play them in class can also serve as a way to encourage them to learn more educational concepts. Websites such as PBS Kids or National Geographic Kids, for instance, include free games, electronic coloring books and activities that feature favorite characters from the channels’ popular programming. Although they think they’re playing online, the students will also be performing tasks that teach math, shapes, colors, problem-solving, research skills and more.
Though your students may think that they’re spending part of the day simply having fun, you’ll know that the games they’re playing are actually teaching skills and concepts that will help them with subjects like math and writing. The activities will enable you to reach not only different types of learners, but also children with different attention spans and skill sets.
