Games for Teachers
We don't have to tell you that fun classroom games are worth their weight in gold! Encouraging critical thinking, building social skills, and helping engage students with the curriculum? Yes, please. Get ready to bring game-based learning to your classroom with helpful printables, escape rooms, and more educational fun for elementary school students.
With a long list of benefits of learning games on hand, the teachers at Teach Starter have spent hours creating classroom card games, board games, scavenger hunts, and more that can help students build core competencies while having a whole lot of fun!
Game-based learning has gotten a lot of interest in recent years, but what exactly, is it? We know you've got a lot to do in your classroom and not a whole lot of time to do it, so our teacher team has put together a quick guide to gamification in education.
(Know all you need to know? Feel free to jump ahead to our printable and digital learning games!)
What Is Game-Based Learning?
In essence, game-based learning allows you to borrow from the gaming world to allow your students to engage with their lesson material in more dynamic ways. They can help improve student motivation and help students achieve learning objectives.
We like to think of it a bit like the parents who hide the broccoli inside the tasty hamburger. A little bit of gameplay helps the medicine — or core curriculum — go down!
Games aren't just fun, after all. They have failure baked into them, along with repetition, and the chance to accomplish goals along the way. Playing games in a classroom fosters many of those social and emotional learning skills, even when the topic at hand comes from the science curriculum or is focused on an ELA standard.
Why Are Classroom Games Good for Kids?
We hinted at some of the benefits earlier, but let's dig deep into the benefits of playing educational games in your classroom!
- They motivate students.
- Students develop critical thinking skills.
- They're student-centered.
- They build teamwork and leadership skills.
- Games encourage creativity and thinking outside of the box.
- They encourage students to challenge themselves.
- They improve student concentration.
Learning Games Ideas
Good teachers can make just about any lesson fun, but maybe you're looking for learning game ideas to mix things up. We thought you'd never ask!
Check out a few of our teacher team's favorite (and fun) ways to inject gameplay into your students' education:
- Digital escape rooms
- Card games
- Dominoes
- Active games
- Scavenger hunts
- Would you rather? games
- Bingo
- Board games
How to Use Games in the Classroom
Looking for a few fun ways to use games in the classroom? Our teacher team has a few quick ideas for you to try on for size!
- Play active games to help students get their wiggles out.
- Add a board game to your reading center or math center activities.
- Use flashcard-type or trivia games for material review.
- Explore new concepts in fun ways with games like 20 questions.
- Help students get to know one another at the beginning of a school year with teamwork games.
- Explore difficult concepts with skills-based games.
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Homophones Bingo
Make learning about homophones and their definitions an engaging whole-class activity with this homophones bingo game.
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Editable What's My Card? Board Game Template
An editable template to create your own What's My Card? board game.
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I Have, Who Has? Game - Place Value (2-Digit Numbers)
A whole-class game to reinforce your students' understanding of place value.
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Number Ring Activity (1-20)
A number matchup activity to practice numbers 1-20.
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Farm Yard Sounds — Random Student Partner Cards
A set of eight farm animal cards with matching animal sound cards.
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Taking From 10 - Number Facts Board Game
Practice the "Taking from 10" subtraction strategy with this board game.
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Numbers 1–30: Standard, Word, and Ten Frame Matchup Cards
A set of matchup cards to practice representing the numbers 1–30.
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Word Tile Total Activity - Lowercase
A fun activity that encourages students to think mathematically while developing their spelling skills.
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Numbers 1 to 20 Cupcake Matchup Activity
Use this matchup activity to consolidate your students' knowledge of numbers to 20.
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4-Digit Place Value Card Game - Flip It!
A fun game for students to play in small groups to consolidate their understanding of place value to the thousands place.
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Adverb Grammar Card Game - Flip It!
Reinforce your students understanding of adverbs with this fun card game.
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Cause and Effect Matching Cards
A set of 24 cards that can be used to help consolidate students' knowledge of causes and effects.
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I Have, Who Has? 4 Digit Place Value Game
Explore numbers up to 4-digits with this fun whole class place value game of 'I have, Who Has?'
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Comprehension Keys Board Game
A fun comprehension strategy board game for students to play during literacy rotations.
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Music Symbols and Vocabulary Match-up
Match up the music symbols with the related word.
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Before, During and After Reading Fiction Questions - Dice
5 different versions of dice to use when asking questions before, during and after reading.
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Initial Blends Bingo
A set of 30 bingo cards to practice initial consonant blends.
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Equivalent Fractions Pizza Bingo - Whole, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8
32 different bingo cards to practice finding equivalent fractions involving 1, 1/2, 1/4, and 1/8.
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Frog Fun Game - Beginning, Middle, and Ending sounds
Game cards and instructions for a frog-themed CVC word combination game.
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CVC/CCVC/CVCC Word Flashcards
A comprehensive set of flashcards for CVC, CCVC, and CVCC words.
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Multiplication Facts 0–12 Bingo
32 different bingo cards for students to practice their multiplication facts to 12.
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Jump Strategy Subtraction Game
Learn how to use the jump strategy to solve subtraction problems with a fun subtraction game.
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Chance PowerPoint - Level 1
An engaging 22-slide interactive PowerPoint to use in the classroom when learning about chance and probability.
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Ninja Race Phonics Game
A fun, engaging board game to consolidate students' understanding of digraphs and rhyme.
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Fine Motor Animal Match-Up Activity
A fun matching activity using wooden clothespins to develop fine motor skills.
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Unit Fraction Fairy Bread Matching Activity
Sort and match fairy bread model cards to the corresponding unit fraction cards.
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Compound Nouns for Kids - Puzzle Pop Game
‘Pop’ in a bit of extra practice with compound words with a fun set of Noun Compound Word Puzzle Pops!
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W, WH, or U? Phoneme Interactive Game
Decide when to use w, wh, or u to spell the /w/ sound with an engaging Interactive Phonics Game!
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Interactive Spelling Game - Words With m, mm, mb
Use an interactive spelling game to help your students learn to spell words with m, mm, and mb correctly.
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Time Matching Game - Hour and Half Hour Ice Cream Cones
Create a math center to practice telling time to the hour and half hour with a printable ice cream themed time game for first grade.
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Planets Escape Room Activity
Navigate facts about different planets with this fun and engaging escape room style activity with your students.
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Clock Reading Puzzles- Half-Hour
Practice reading analog clocks, digital clocks, and time in word form with a set of printable Telling Time to the Hour and Half Hour Clock Puzzles.