“Do you teach bell-to-bell?” Although this question can elicit a few eye-rolls, it really is an important strategy. If students have too much downtime, they can easily get off-task. And nothing is worse than a lesson that went by too quickly, and you find yourself left with 15-20 extra minutes to fill.
That’s when I like to have a game up my sleeve. One of my go-to’s is Catchphrase, an engaging electronic game that’s simple to pull out on a whim. Students love it, and it builds their vocabulary and background knowledge.
This year I added a new game to my arsenal: Gridlingo! It’s a spin on a classic word-creation game, where students build words on a 5 x 5 grid one letter at a time. Gridlingo combines the fun of wordfinds and crossword puzzles with strategic word-building games. The longer the words students can make, the more points they receive.
One great thing about Gridlingo is the whole class can compete against one another, and it only takes about 15-20 minutes (maybe more like 10-15 if you have played it before). The only things students need to play are a gamesheet (printed on a third of a sheet of paper) and a pencil.
My wife, who is also an English teacher, keeps a stack of Gridlingo gamesheets in her desk, and when she finds herself with a bit of extra time at the end of class, she pulls it out. She says it’s a hit with her students–bringing out their competitive sides while keeping their brains working. She even has students asking to use a dictionary!
Why are games like this important? They really do build students’ vocabularies and strategic thinking skills. Plus, they are a fun way to build class camaraderie. They’re a tool that all teachers should have in their toolbox.
Click here to read more about Gridlingo!
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