A Bit About... Learning Games!

I absolutely can not stand sitting in a classroom listening to a teacher lecture for over an hour. I find my mind wondering and I watch the clock constantly. I dread going to the class and can't wait until it is over. This is why I am a firm believer in learning games. I like having fun in the classroom. I don't mean cutting up and getting nothing accomplished. I mean having fun while learning something that might otherwise be pretty dry material.

Since I am teaching secondary school age kids I don't want to treat them like they are babies. I want to connect with them on a level that would be fun for them, not a third grader! In one of my previous education classes we had to come up with fun games to fit certain age groups. One of the games was similar to jeopardy where students were on teams and had to get the questions right for a certain amount of points. Another game was tic tac toe with two people being against eachother at a time. This game can work with groups also. Even when reviewing for a test a game can be played. Randy Pausch used the "head fake". Most high school students are all about competition. They want to do better than their friends! So what is the head fake here? By letting them compete, they will actually be learning too!