I don’t know about you, but I grew up with games for learning. I honed my mental calculation and money counting skills with Monopoly and Yahtzee. Scrabble and Boggle expanded my vocabulary and spelling skills. I developed super fast reflexes with Slap Jack. (Not technically a learning game, but fun nonetheless!)
I carried on the tradition of games for learning when I became a teacher. Practically anything I wanted to review I did with gamification. So much so, that one of my students told me that he’d always remember me as the teacher who loved to play games!
Once the pandemic hit, I needed some digital learning games in Google Sheets. Even now that teachers and students are back in the classroom, digital games are here to stay.
While scouting around on Teachers Pay Teachers, I came across a store that has a variety of games made with Google Sheets that you can play with your whole class or in small groups. I tried out a few of these games with my family, (since I’m not in the classroom now,) and I can 100% recommend these.
[click_to_tweet tweet=”Gamify your teaching with these games for learning made with Google Sheets (TM). They’re based on classic and popular games.” quote=”Do you use games in your classroom? Gamify your teaching with these popular choices.” theme=”style3″]
Games to Practice Vocabulary and Spelling
Wheel of Wealth is a game similar to the famous television game with a spinning wheel and phrases to guess. My family loves to play card games and word games after holiday dinners. This past Thanksgiving, I popped a few idioms into this game and we had a great time.
It’s easy to set up, because the author, Mathy Techy, has included instructional videos for the teacher or game leader. You can also follow the super explicit written directions, complete with diagrams and screenshots to help you set up the Master Gameboard.
Don’t worry if you’re not a techy type. These directions are very clear. All the games are set up in a similar manner, so once you’ve learned how to set up one, you can set up any of these games.
We loved Wheel of Wealth, and it’s something we plan on continuing to play at my house. In the classroom, as one of your games for learning, you could use it with:
- Quotes from leaders
- Quotes from books
- Idioms
- Learning words and expressions in a new language
- Names of important people or events in history
- Capitals of states or countries
- Biology, chemistry, or general science terms
- Review of classroom routines and procedures
I’m sure you can come up with even more categories to use Wheel of Wealth. Plus, this game is free! That’s right, it won’t cost you a single cent to add this one to your teacher repertoire. If you’d like to see a preview, click here to see Wheel of Wealth in the Mathy Techy store on Teachers Pay Teachers.
LEARNLE Vocabulary and Spelling Game
LEARNLE is modeled after a popular online word game. You may have played it. You need to guess the word letter by letter. It’s perfect for practicing spelling and vocabulary words. The beauty of this game is that it’s easy to differentiate with it. Students can play on their own or work in groups. The setup is similar to the other games mentioned in this blog post.
I’m definitely addicted to word games, and this one is one of my favorites. We play it every night after dinner. We play one round each night. Here’s the link to check out the LEARNLE preview in the Mathy Techy store.
Classic Games to Practice Basic Math
Shut the Box was one of my 3rd grade students’ favorite games. I found an old wooden Shut the Box classic game in a thrift store and brought it in. Now you can give this game to your students to play in Google Classroom (™).
This one doesn’t need the teacher to do any set up. Just assign it and go.
If you don’t know about the learning game Shut the Box, it’s basically a game using dice, addition and subitizing, and nine number tiles. The object of the game is to roll the dice and use the number thrown to turn over the tiles. It’s fast paced, fun, and I can’t think of a better game to practice subitizing and addition.
Here’s the link to Shut the Box in the Mathy Techy store.
Games for Learning Patterns
Patternle is the perfect game for learning and practicing how to analyze patterns and algebraic thinking. Each year, I don’t know how many hours I spent at the whiteboard, drawing pattern blocks and working with students to learn the critical thinking skills they need to discover new patterns. I really enjoyed it, and since it was more of a game than a lesson, the students loved it too.
Now you can put your pattern in a Master Gameboard and let your students practice their pattern skills. You can include hints to help them when they make errors. This game worked with all of the patterns I put in it. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, using decimals, exponents, squares, cubes, roots.
The students will know if they’re working on the correct pattern puzzle because each time you update the Master Gameboard, you can put in a verification word. The verification word tells the students they have the latest puzzle to complete.
Definitely check this one out if you teach math, from basic math to algebra and beyond. Patternle is the custom pattern guessing game from Mathy Techy.
Game to Teach Order of Operations
BEDMASle is a guessing game using the order of operations.
Whether you teach BEDMAS or PEMDAS, this is the order of operations game to have handy in your classroom. It’s modeled after another popular game. I have a friend who plays the online game every day. I’m going to surprise him with a few rounds of BEDMASle when I see him next week. ?
The teacher puts an equation into the Master Sheet and the students have to use the order of operations to figure it out. It’s a perfect addition to your pre-algebra and algebra games for learning. I can also see it being useful as a challenge activity for students in earlier grades. Check out BEDMASle here.
If you liked any of these games and purchased one or more, don’t forget to leave a review for Mathy Techy on Teachers Pay Teachers. The reviews earn you credits to spend on Teachers Pay Teachers. If you save up your credits until there’s a sale, you can pick up resources for less money than you would imagine!
I recently bought over $200 in clipart for under $5 by using my credits I earned from leaving reviews and feedback. You can do it too!
If you’re still with me, thanks so much for reading this far! This entire post has been devoted to the Mathy Techy store because the products are super useful, high quality, and they’ll help you gamify your classroom.
Have fun!
