TLC Blog

A-Z of great ideas for the classroom – Buzz Word BINGO

by Nina Jackson on June 15, 2016

Great conversations with great people often spark wonderful ideas.

I was on a long drive back from Surrey last Monday when I had a conversation with my dear friend and colleague Mark Anderson @ICTEvangelist about a Keynote I was presenting in Gateshead. We both agreed that a late night Keynote needed a little bit of ‘zing’ – so after some hilarious laughing about a few ideas and then mentioning the ‘eyes down’ approach up sparked the idea of Buzz Word Bingo. Here’s the summary.

Last week I gave a Keynote at ‘Talk of the Tyne’ in Gateshead for @Animate2Educate. I wanted the evening to be full of fun and interaction, so I decided to share the idea of Buzz Word Bingo. I did have another name for it, but I won’t go into that just now!

It was a 9pm slot, and not knowing my audience at the time, I wasn’t sure how they would take to such an activity. But there were prizes. Yes, prizes. And we all love a prize!

Not only were they a fun packed audience but the enthusiastic calls with ‘Buzz Word Bingo’ literally stopped me in my tracks with hysterical laughter. Thanks to Jon Tait @TeamTait for posting these on Twitter in anticipation and excitement that teachers might not know what was in the envelope!

Picture from #Talkonthetyne 2016

Picture from #Talkonthetyne 2016

 

Picture from #Talkonthetyne 2016

Picture from #Talkonthetyne 2016

Whether you’re a lover of Bingo or not, there are some terrific ways you can use it in the classroom in a variety of ways.

I came across this great site http://myfreebingocards.com/bingo-card-generator which allows you to create different templates and insert your own text, numbers and so on. I love the different themes too and you can create cards sizes 3×3, 4×4 and 5×5 as well as an Automatic generator.

Here are some of the themes.

You also get the Bingo Caller’s Card for reference and the opportunity to randomly mix the key words.

Screen Shot 2016-06-15 at 16.09.48

Screen Shot 2016-06-15 at 16.10.14

Using Buzz Word Bingo in the classroom for revision, assessment, listening skills, literacy, numeracy and so forth is a great way of getting your learners motivated and hooked with reading as well. You can use this across the key stages. I have had ‘A’ Level pupils love it too.

Why not ask them to create some of their own for homework or ‘own work’ as I like to call it.

You can download all the cards as a PDF or you can play on the web. It’s a great tool for the classroom.

Do let me know how you get on won’t you?

Just another simple idea from Nina Jackson @musicmind on A-Z of great ideas for the classroom series. 

 

Nina JacksonA-Z of great ideas for the classroom – Buzz Word BINGO

Related Posts

Take a look at these posts

Join the conversation