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It should be noted that a debate is going on in the educational community about whether kids should play games at school or not. Some cite students' tendency to focus only on winning and learning the game rules as opposed to learning the intended information. Happy Kids, however, welcomes games in the classroom, as long as the focus of the activity is on building fluency in English and learning the instructional content. Educational game software abounds on the Internet and can be a very effective method for giving students supplemental grammar, spelling, and vocabulary practice. Students tend not to particularly enjoy reviewing these areas in class or their workbooks. By using games, you get an instant boost in motivation and interest in learning. Use games as a center or whole group activity (in the computer lab.) Try the resources below.
Educational games are one of the most popular types of instructional software, especially among students. Educational games attempt to use students' love for playing games to "trick" them into doing instructional activities. While similar in nature to drill and practice and simulation programs, games add game-like rules and competition to add the thrill of winning as an element of motivation.
Educational games can offer some considerable advantages to a teacher in the classroom. In language arts, especially with grammar, spelling, and vocabulary work, students can be difficult to motivate to practice the content. Educational games on the computer offer a more enjoyable format for practicing that can better hold student interest and therefore be a more effective instructional method than more traditional practice activities. Simulation games (like the famous Oregon Trail) also offer the particular advantage of simulating a concept or event difficult to replicate in the classroom while also providing the motivation that comes with competition and the prospect of "winning".
Clockwords
Clockwords
Grammar Ninja
Grammar Ninja is a free and simple drill and practice game for practicing identifying parts of speech. Students are given sentences and asked to identify a part of speech. They then throw throwing stars at their selections. The game is simple, but engaging. It works very well supplementing a lesson on parts of speech or as a full-grammar review activity.
Clockwords is a very interesting game. It takes more of a constructivist approach to teaching vocabulary as it does not ask students to identify certain words, but to supply ANY words to defeat the enemy spider robots. This game comes with an interesting back story that is meant to suck students into the mission of saving a special machine and fighting off an enemy. To do so, they must input words as fast as they can to defeat the enemy. Bonus "ammunition" is given to words inputted that match the letters of special "shots" in the chamber. This game also works well for practicing typing skills as speed is a necessity.
Other Game Sites
Other Game Sites
There are an abundance of sites that offer free games. Below is a list of a few you can try out today.
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