CHAPTER 1: Let the Games Begin!

Teaching Classroom: Great Classroom Games

CHAPTER 1: Let the Games Begin!

The remarkable power of games to engage our attention is evident all around us. Individually, and as a culture, we spend vast amounts of time, energy, and resources to watch and participate in games. Athletes are well-paid, stadiums are lavish, video games are ubiquitous, and school calendars are arranged to make sure that interschool sports can be accommodated. I’ll bet that your cell phone even includes some tiny games so that you can play while waiting at the fast-food drive-up window. We are so awash in games every day that we may not even notice their abundance.

Let’s face it, games are fun and fun is motivating. Along with food and shelter, fun is one of the basics of life people will seek. We will do something fun over and over again, just to have the experience. Things that are not fun will often be avoided, lied about, delegated to others, or generally shoved to the back of the closet—unless there is another payoff at the end of the drudgery, such as a paycheck or some boost to our personal status.

This is the rationale for taking school skills and wrapping them up in some fun to harness the power of games for learning. The features that make some games fun and others dreary are tricky, but we know that people enjoy a challenge, some fair competition, an escape into another reality, and a bit of surprise, and so the games in the pages that follow contain those motivating features.

Classrooms are busy places and that teachers never seem to have enough time. With that in mind, many of these games use common school supplies and can be implemented with little preparation, and that is a great place to start if games are new for your class. For example, “Back Words” or “Shoebox” can be played while a group is waiting in a line, turning a fidgety transition time into an enjoyable bit of skill practice. These are just two instances of games actually making more time for learning, rather than taking time away from an already jam-packed day. Providing curriculum-relevant game materials at learning centers is an excellent way to engage students who finish other work early, and well-designed games can make “free choice” periods much more productive. It is all about making classroom time more relevant, productive, and engaging.