20 Instructional Strategies That Engage the Brain: #4 Games
As I travel around the United States presenting, I am realizing that the fun has gone out of teaching and learning in so many classrooms! With increased emphasis on standardized testing, benchmarks, and accountability, school is just not fun anymore! In the name of increased academic achievement, many school systems are even removing recess time from the students’ school day. Fortunately, other school systems are doing just the opposite. As I taught in Singapore, whose students have some of the highest math scores in the world, I noticed that students were spending time learning math and then, just as importantly, stopping math instruction for recess.
While preschool children love to play games, it is also one of the 10 principles that keep people living beyond the age of 80. There is a pertinent saying: You don’t stop playing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop playing. Playing games is beneficial throughout one’s life and elementary, middle, and high school students would benefit from spirited interaction in the pleasurable strategy of game playing. Not only is the strategy motivating, but it also can put students’ brains in a positive state. When the students hear their teacher say, Let’s play a game!, the stress level is decreased and the retention rate for content increased.
What the Research Says
Using games during instruction can foster social and emotional learning, increase participation, and encourage students to take risks (Nguyen, 2021).
Games can provide a fun and interactive way for students to promote problem solving and critical thinking skills while engaging with cross-curricular content (Lane, 2023).
All ages can benefit from play since it improves brain function and relationships, relieves stress, and boosts creativity (Robinson et al., 2021).
Make It Happen
Play Wheel of Fortune with the class by selecting a content-area vocabulary word previously taught. Place one line on the board for each letter in the chosen word. Have students take turns guessing letters of the alphabet that may be in the word. If the letter is in the word, write it on the correct line. If it is not, place the letter in a column off to the side. The first student to guess the word wins a point.
During a class discussion, when a question is asked, toss a Nerf or any other soft ball to the student who is to respond. The student gets one point for catching the ball and two points for answering the question correctly. If the student is correct, he or she can randomly pick the student who is to answer the next question and randomly toss the ball to that student. If the student answers incorrectly, he or she must toss the ball back to you so that you can select the next student. Be sure to ask the question of the entire class prior to selecting someone to catch the ball and answer the question.
Have students play the Who Am I? game by providing written clues regarding a famous literary or historical figure already studied. Have students take turns standing and reading their clues aloud as class members try to guess the identity of the figure. Any student who is the first to guess wins a point. In no one can identify the figure, then the student providing the clues gets the point.
For additional research and more specific examples of instructional activities that engage students in the strategy of Games, consult Chapter 4 in the 4th edition of my best-selling book, Engaging the Brain: 20 Unforgettable Strategies for Growing Dendrites and Accelerating Learning.
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