Using Bingo Games in the Classroom

Bingo is not just a game for senior citizens to joyfully play in bingo halls. I don’t know about you, but I enjoy a good bingo game from time to time. Did you know that using bingo games in the classroom can be a fun way to review? When I started creating classroom resources for my Teachers Pay Teachers store, bingo games were one of the first things that I created. Why? My students enjoyed playing bingo and didn’t even realize that in the midst of the fun that they were having, they were reviewing what I taught. Here’s how I use bingo games in my classroom…and you can do the same. Trust me, your students will beg you to play!

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Currently, I use bingo games in my classroom as a form of review for math concepts. I typically save my bingo games for Fun Fridays. In my classroom, I don’t teach a new lesson on Fridays. Instead, we quiz on the lessons taught during the week. After the quiz, my students do math stations while I meet in small groups. Sometimes we forego the math stations in favor of projects or games like Bingo.

The bingo games that I create require students to make their own bingo cards which really adds to the fun. Depending on the type of Bingo game, my students can solve the problems first and then assemble their bingo cards. For example, the three digit addition bingo game above would take too long to play if my second grade students had to solve each problem when I called out the sums. So, the students solve each problem first and then they cut out the problems for their bingo cards.

Bingo games aren’t just for math review. Bingo games can be used to practice sight words, nonsense words, geography, history, and much more.

And of course, I love to use bingo games to celebrate holidays. I teach in Louisiana, so we celebrate Mardi Gras in February. My students love playing Mardi Gras Bingo. These games are quick and easy for almost any grade. Quick tip: If you’re playing bingo with your students and they can’t read yet, you could also display the words using your document camera. I also have easier bingo games called BOO games. The BOO games are great for PreK and Kindergarten.

What do you think about using bingo games in your classroom? Do you currently use bingo or some other type of game to review in your classroom? Let me know in the comments below.

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