What does Bingo teach preschoolers?
Bingo is an old and well-known game that makes me think of old people, but there is so much you can do with it! How about a Spring preschool activity playing Bingo?
Bingo doesn't have to be the traditional B-I-N-G-O game or anything. I like to just give out pages with a variety of pictures and then use different techniques for the students to find the matching picture on their page, and once someone finds them all, well, that's BINGO!
Whether you're looking for a time filler or are specifically working on number or literacy skills, visual referencing, speech and language goals, or just direction-following, here are a few creative ideas how you can use Bingo with your preschooler or young student.
The first two I'm not even going to count in the list because they are your traditional ideas.
Of course….
- Show the picture and students find same. Yeah, so hold up the calling card, and the students find the same picture on their Bingo card if they have one.
- Name the picture only (no visual). Call out “yellow dog,” and the students find the picture on their Bingo card.
There, that wasn't so tough. Now, let's get creative!
Speech and Language Ideas
Describe by feature, function, or class (e.g., “Find something that you ride” “Find something you sit on” “Find an animal”).
Describe by associations (“Find something you need for the rain”).
There are a TON of other ideas in this area, but I only add these to get you started. Any speech and language goal you have can be turned into a Bingo game, easy peasy.
Get some ideas for Language IEP Goals for Preschool in the blog HERE.
Include Core Words!
Building Literacy
- Use phonics clues (“Something that starts with mmm” “Something that starts with ch” “Something that rhymes with bee”).
- When teacher calls out a card, have a student put it in a sentence. “I use an UMBRELLA when it rains.”
- Spell the word (for advanced students). “Do you have the word c-a-t?”
And grab some ideas for Cognitive IEP Goals for Preschool HERE!
Social Ideas
You may not think of Bingo as a social game, but you can turn anything into a social activity! This is great for young learners who are learning to “cross boundaries” and engage in simple interactions with peers.
- Do one Bingo page for each two students. Require them to work together to find the items and color.
- Give each student their own Bingo page, but they can work together to fill ALL the squares and call out BINGO as a team.
- Call an item, then have students raise their hand if they have it on their page. Wave to a friend who also has the item.
Find more on Social Emotional IEP Goals for Preschool on the recent blog HERE.
Random Ideas!
And just a few creative ideas to round out my 10 Ways to use Bingo with Littles!
- Give students a turn to be the Caller.
- Give a creativity prize for someone who marked their items in the most creative way.
Whether it's a Spring preschool activity playing Bingo or any other season or reason, just think outside of the box. So many possibilities!
Get this Emotions Bingo FREEBIE here!
This set of feelings bingo cards includes an increasing level of difficulty with cartoon faces. It's perfect for early childhood learners!
Get this LARGE Bingo activity as a thank you for joining my team!
Look for other Bingo activities like those below or lots of great EMOTIONS activities in my TpT store HERE. I plan to do a variety of other Bingo activities soon plus I'm always working on Social Emotional Learning activities for littles, so check back frequently!
Looking for a SIMPLE activity to teach identifying feelings and emotions to toddlers, preschoolers, or students with disabilities? A fun social emotional learning activity? This set of PRINT and DIGITAL feelings bingo cards includes an increasing level of difficulty with cartoon faces. It's perfect for early childhood learners!
This bundle includes 3 additional resources: animal emotions (giraffe, cow, and penguin) to spice up and make learning fun! You can also find this on my site HERE.
Here's a low-prep, easy-to-make Spring activity for your preschool or Kindergarten classroom for Easter or just Spring fun. Bingo is a classic game that allows for so much differentiation. Great for preschoolers, speech and language students, special education, or even toddlers! Includes visual communication boards with core words to help with your language learners as well as a bunch of ideas of how to use Bingo in new, creative ways!
