by Bobby Coles

Created on: October 27, 2009   Last Updated: November 11, 2009

An elementary school classroom is a wonderful dynamic that needs to be continually cultivated. The lessons that these children learn will carry on with them for the rest of their academic careers, and into their adulthood. Games can be a viable strategy for teaching life specific lessons. A fantastic game to be played in the elementary classroom is called Tribes.

In the game of Tribes, the class is split up into different teams, and they are forced, through a series of tasks and challenges, to form bonds, and to learn to work together, creating a sense of community and an overall atmosphere of mutual respect. This game challenges players to become leaders or followers, and overall, the game will promote friendship and co-operation. The game is terrific, especially when played under the guise of fun instead of learning. This is a great game if you can find it, which should not be too difficult.

There are many great games that can be played in the elementary school classroom, it is just a matter of finding those few games that your particular students thoroughly enjoy and actively participate in when played. Elementary students love games, as it seems as though it is a break from the mundane monotony of rudimentary learning, but this is merely a subterfuge. Many of the best games that are played are actually building upon concepts being studied. This is the benefit of playing games within the confines of the elementary school classroom. It is the job of the teacher to promote the games to the students.

A great elementary game to play with your students is a variation of Wheel of Fortune or Hangman. The game is fun and exciting, and can provide a great outlet for creativity if the students are allowed to choose the words or phrases. This is also a great game for building vocabulary and reading skills. All students can learn from this style of game, whether or not they are an auditory learner (hearing the letters guessed appeals to their strengths, as does unscrambling words), a visual learner (actually seeing the words being formed), or kinesthetic learner (physically guessing the letters, writing them in, participating in the game). This gives the teacher the chance to appeal to all of the diverse learning styles, and incorporate a style of teaching that helps each and every student within the classroom.

Another tried and true game to play with the elementary school classroom isJeopardy, which gives the students the chance to participate in a question and answer

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