Community Helpers Bingo

I have been reading a lot of blogs lately. I am addicted! There are so many great blogs by and for educators that I cannot seem to keep up. I started a folder in my documents for downloads from these sites about 2 weeks ago and it is already full! I have already downloaded about 30 different activities! My next big task is to organize them, but in the mean time I thought I would pay it forward so to speak.

Even though I am only a student teacher, I think I can contribute ideas and activities that other teachers can use. So here it goes: Community Helpers Bingo. This is probably my favorite lesson so far. My children LOVED it.

Materials and Directions:
- Print Bingo Cards. Each card has a combination of labeled community helper pictures on it. I put the cards in slip covers for durability (it is like cheap lamination!).The cards also have a full-page image of each community helper. I used these the first few rounds to help the children make sure they had the right answer to the clues.

- Give the children bingo markers. I used unit cubes because they are stackable and do not slide around easily.

- Print the Bingo Clues. I would read these clues and the children would be responsible for marking the corresponding clues on their board. I also supplemented the clues listed with images from community helper books we had read in class.

-Giving the clues: I would read each clue 2 or 3 times. The first few I called we discussed as a group. For the first few rounds I put up the corresponding full page picture. Then the children were on their own. I was pleased to see how well they worked with each other. They talked about their answers at the table and even helped each other find the pictures on their boards!

-Awarding prizes: I really did not want to emphasize the "winning" part. We would play until 3-4 winners called "Bingo". The first time a child won the game, I would check their board and give them a sticker. By the end of the lesson all of the children had won at least one game...I might have influenced the game a little bit and made sure certain helpers were called towards the end. I won't tell if you don't!

-Play, Play, Play! We played several rounds. We played lines, diagonals, corners, x's, T's, L's, and full cards. I drew a picture of what their card should look like on the board each time so the children could better understand what a "Bingo" looked like.

-Noise Level: This game was a little bit loud. I personally am not bothered by noise during games or activities. The children were really good about quieting down when I started to read the next clue, but you might want to use a timer or bell to transition between reading clues and looking time.

The children had such a good time with this activity, we left it out in our Science & Social Studies center for them to play independently.