Playing games in a math classroom isn’t all about fun and, well, games. While games are undeniably more fun than worksheets, I’ve also seen my students get so much more math practice, and answer so many more math questions, through games. One game that’s always a hit, while being simple to set up and play, is Bingo. Bingo makes math review a snap to plan and it’s a lot of fun to play.
Overview of bingo
Bingo is one of my students’ favorite games. I can’t really explain it because I’ve never been a big Bingo player myself, but my students get so excited when we play. It probably has to do with the chance of winning and that the winning is by chance not skill. Anyone can win, not just the same kids who win everything.
You may worry that playing Bingo will waste class time, but I’m here to tell you that your students will be more engaged in this activity. Setting aside time to play this game is a small price to pay for getting students working and enjoying math. And prizes for winners don’t need to be anything major. Kids will play for stickers, homework passes, or Jolly Ranchers.
Materials to play
-Student Bingo cards
-Teacher question cards
-Small prizes
Instructions
My philosophy is to maximize class time and the learning experience. When we play a game like Bingo, every student needs to complete every question. Typically, they use a personal whiteboard to show their work or I have them record their work on paper and collect it at the end of the time.
- Set up the game
Pass out one game card per student. Each game card should be unique.
- Establish rules
Explain the rules of the game to students and how someone wins the game. Also explain that all students will complete all questions.
- Display questions
Choose a question card and display the problem on the board. All students complete it individually, ideally on a white board or dry erase sleeve (paper works as well).
- Students show work
All students show their work to the teacher at the same time.
- Review the answer
The teacher reveals the answer, reviews the math concept. Then, students check their work.
- Update Bingo cards
Students look for the answer on their card and mark it if they have it. Repeat this process with additional questions.
- BINGO
When a student gets 5 in a row horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, then they yell, “Bingo!” The come to the teacher to check their answers and get a small prize.
- End the game
Keep playing until you run out of time, or until you have had 6-10 winners.
Try one for FREE
If you’d like to try Bingo in your class class, click here to download a free one-step equations Bingo game. Just enter your email and it will be sent right to your inbox. One-step equations problems can be solved quickly, but are such an important skill to review. This game works great as a sponge activity.
When you get this download, be sure to open both files. One file contains 36 unique game boards for students. The other file contains teacher directions and game cards. These should be printed double-sided, with questions on one side & answers on the other.
Getting the most out of the Math Bingo Game
Let’s dive into tips and tricks that will help you make the most of math bingo games. First of all, sometimes it takes a while before someone gets Bingo. There are a lot of different problem cards and it can take a while. And sometimes I let people get a second Bingo, but usually I cut it off after that. So, here’s how you can keep your students engaged, even when reaching Bingo proves elusive:
When you get to the point where there have been 6 to 10 winners you might shift the game to playing for blackout. That means you have to mark-out every square on your card. This can get a little crazy, but the kids love it.
It’s essential that every student completes the work and that they aren’t just waiting for answers. To encourage and reinforce this expectation students can show you their boards as they complete the problem and you can give them quick feedback.
Another fun variation is letting a students be the teacher and run the game. If there is someone who knows the material especially well, give them a chance to run the game by presenting the question cards. It will get them engaged and they can learn to evaluate the work of others.
If you have a small class you can give each student two Bingo cards to complete. This gives them a little bit more of a chance of winning. They get pretty excited about having the second card.
Also, I’ve learned to print out a separate copy of the Bingo cards for each class. That way, if you have to continue the game to the next day, then you will know which questions you have already done with each class. This step’s essential with problem cards being presented in random order each time you play the game.
Save time with these math Bingo games
The links below will take you to some of the Bingo games that we have in our store. Bingo works great as a sponge activity or a review activity so I love having a couple on hand. You can print them out and have engaging math games ready to go at a moment’s notice. (You know, like when your planned lesson gets side tracked by a fire drill and you have 15 random minutes to fill instead!)
- Middle School Math Bingo Bundle
- Scientific Notation Bingo
- Distributive Property Bingo
- Adding Integers Bingo
- Multi-Step Equations Bingo
- Multiplying and Dividing Integers Bingo
- Absolute Value Bingo
- Area and Circumference Bingo
- Slope-Intercept Word Problems Bingo
- Two Step Equations Bingo
- Identifying Slope and Y-intercept Bingo
Try math Bingo in your classroom
Playing Bingo is both simple and fun. It quickly gets students engaged and can be a great game to add to your rotation. You can play this game every month or so and then the students look forward to it and don’t get bored. It works great for a review before the test, cyclical review, or as a practice activity.
Be sure to grab the free one-step equations Bingo game and check out just how fun and easy this review game is.
Give it a try and let us know how it went!
Thanks for reading! Until next time.
