Single Row Bingo

Michael J. Sexton

OBJECTIVES:

PROCEDURE:

My wife taught me this game as a good way to get a fast review in. I used it with numbers, but you can really use it with just about any vocabulary set you are using.

You take a sheet of paper with a four-by-four blank grid on it.

You then place your vocabulary set up on the board. (In my case, I did numbers.)

You tell the kids to choose four words / items and to place them in the top row (only) of the Bingo sheet. (I demonstrate it so the kids don’t start filling in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th rows yet.)

After the kids have their sheets filled in, you randomly call out words / items and have the kids circle them as in normal Bingo. The first kid to get all four circled is the winner and he/she comes to the front of the room. (In the case of ties, I bring them both forward.)

The rest of the kids draw a solid line through their first row to show that it is done, and they fill in their second row (only) with any words / items from the list. The kids who won the first set now get to draw randomly the vocabulary cards and read them out loud while the others play. This repeats until all four rows have been filled in.

NOTES:

• Though I almost never use regular Bingo, I find this game fast, easy, and exciting for the kids. They love the fresh start with each row.

• The kids also love “playing the teacher” as we call it when they can read off the words.

• I have found that a twelve word vocabulary set is ideal for this activity.