“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.” – Fred Rogers
Although I’ve been teaching for many years, I am always looking for new ideas for games that will help my students look forward to learning. Over the years, IEW has published several blogs about games. If you, like me, struggle to invent fun activities, these resources will inspire you as you plan for next year.
To start off the school year, “Breaking the Ice” suggests activities to help you and your students become acquainted. In this blog post teachers and tutors share additional ideas for starting the year off well.
Experienced teacher Katie Eades shares her enthusiasm for games and learning in “For the Love of Games.” She provides ideas that are adaptations of popular games. The blog “Salting the Oats” explores how simple reward systems can inspire students to put forth greater effort. Ticket systems, contests, classroom auctions, and team competitions provide tangible recognition for hard work while the classroom maintains a positive atmosphere.
Do you play review games while your students are standing in line? “Oh, What You Can Do . . . in a Line! (Part 1)” provides ideas for student learning when they are not at their desks. From compiling a set of review questions in Part 1 to coaching them on answering questions concisely and practicing sentence structure in Part 2, these classic blog posts have simple ideas you can easily implement.
As you approach the holidays, students often need help focusing when they would rather be thinking about holiday parties and breaks. In “‘Tis the Season for Fun and Games,” teachers share ideas that keep students on track and learning.
Finally, if you prefer listening or watching to learn some tips, this webinar features Lori Verstegen, the author of many of the Writing Across the Curriculum courses, which include game suggestions.
In “Inspiring Learning” Andrew Pudewa’s daughter Ellie Diaz shares a story of when her dad created an activity that was fun and led to learning. “My father continued to make short stories for me to edit, and I continued to devour them. I edited them faster than he could write them. It became one of my favorite things to do in my free time, and despite the educational nature of the activity, it felt like a game to me.” Andrew often speaks about the principles of motivation and the four forms of relevancy. Using games to teach provides contrived relevancy as Andrew describes in Podcast Episode 166. All of the IEW in Writing courses, produced in partnership with Hillsdale College K-12 Education, include game suggestions.
For many students, the most memorable moments of a class are not the worksheets, lectures, or quizzes—they are the games. Whether students are tossing a beanbag while brainstorming quality adjectives, racing to create the longest alliteration, or working together to answer questions about structure, games have a unique ability to transform learning into an experience that students eagerly anticipate. As numerous IEW teachers have discovered, games are not distractions from learning; playing games helps students engage with, practice, and retain what they are learning.
by Danielle Olander
