Looking for educational games to help students learn while having fun is a great way get kids excited. Everyone knows that students learn in a wide variety of ways, and in order to optimize learning, whether kinesthetic, visual, or auditory learners, we must tailor instruction, so every student learns as much as possible, in the way that works best for them. Creating a token economy is a great way to set up educational games to help all students learn. The value of token economies is used in training animals, getting co-operation from young children, getting co-operation from people in large, institutional settings, and in classrooms. Educational games go hand-in-hand with the learning processes, and work wonders in aiding learning, by inspiring students to compete for a common goal. The role of educational games in a token economy is one of positive reinforcement. At a special occasion, say the end of the term, when finals are cumulative, and difficult to study for, have two different colors of lollipops, and have each student choose one as they come into the door. Once they have taken their seats, tell the students that all the people with red lollipops are the "A-Team ? and students with green lollipops are the "B-Team. ? The moment students enter the classroom or party site, and are given a treat, they know something special is going to happen, and are catapulted into a party mood. Instruct the students that you are playing a game, to help them all prepare for the final exams, because you know how difficult it can be to remember something you learned at the beginning of the term, and you want every one to do well on the exams. Tell them that you have cheese dip, chips, and drinks for after the game, but the losers will have to serve the winning team, before they get to enjoy the treats. My favorite educational game is "Learning Jeopardy ? there are squares on the board, under various categories, each worth increasing amounts of points. Encourage students to take notes, and remind them the test will be taken directly from the material covered in the educational jeopardy game. Going down the line, each student will get to choose a category (Macbeth, Beowulf, Grammar police, etc.) and a dollar amount. Flip a coin to determine who begins, and the educational game is ON! If the team doesn't know the correct answer, the question is passed to the other team, and the team with the most points at the end of the game, are the winners. This is only one great educational game, and one way of turning your classroom (or at home study party for your child, and some of their classmates) into a fun, educational game certain to make learning fun! |
