Unprepared? An Easy Way To Outwit That Frantic Feeling!
What do you do when you have a class to teach and you just don’t feel ready? Most of us have been there more than once. I know I have!
We find ourselves standing with a slightly panicky feeling in front of an expectant class of children, hoping no one else can see that on this particular day, we are simply not prepared to teach!
It could be for any number of legitimate reasons . . . unexpected family needs the night before, lack of time, too many other classes to prepare for, feeling stressed and overwhelmed with the demands of life, emergency substitution for a colleague, or simply being fatigued. All of these are reasonable possibilities for not feeling ready to teach the children before us.
Whatever the reason, it’s helpful to acknowledge it’s a tall order, being a Waldorf teacher. And because we are all human, there will be times when we don’t live up to our own hopes and expectations for delivering a well-planned lesson. There will be times when we simply do not feel prepared to teach.
I’ve accepted the reality that at one time or another, this situation will occur. And, I’ve developed a few strategies that help me navigate these uncomfortable moments when they do arise. I carry a few emergency “tools” in my teaching toolbox to help me get through these unexpected challenges.
When I’m really feeling stretched, without a well-prepared lesson plan, my favorite, fool-proof, fall-back lesson plan is a game almost everyone knows and loves — Bingo!
Why Bingo?
Students love games, and Bingo is an easy game that most children already know. I’ve never met a student who hasn’t loved Bingo!
But Bingo is not just a game! With a little bit of teacher intention behind it, Bingo becomes a learning tool for almost any grade-level. It can easily be adapted for the youngest to the oldest students.
Once you have the materials you need for the game, you can carry it to any classroom and easily launch what unexpectedly often becomes a favorite class for the students.
With Bingo, instead of feeling like you’re falling flat with nothing substantial to offer, you suddenly become a teacher “hero” to the students. You're the one who brings in a fun game they love to play!
Making Bingo Work For Different Grades
Bingo is a perfect way to support students in visually identifying numbers in the lower grades.
I recently needed an activity for my third grade math skills class. It was Friday afternoon. The children were tired and a bit edgy. I knew keeping their attention would be challenging, so I pulled out my Bingo cards.
After cheering their approval, the room quieted and their focus was deep and concentrated as they scanned their cards for the numbers I called. Third graders can capably recognize two-digit numbers, so
I kept the pace brisk, without long pauses between the numbers.
When I introduced Bingo to these students in first grade, however, I called numbers slowly to meet their developing skill with double-digit number recognition. It took a lot of time to find the numbers on the cards! Certain students needed my help to find the numbers, and it was not unusual to see students reverse the digits and identify a number incorrectly. As they became more adept as second graders, they could identify the numbers more accurately and the game could move along more quickly.
Bingo and Mental Math Facts
Later on in third grade, and moving on up through sixth grade, Bingo provides a fabulous opportunity for practicing mental math facts.
I like to use it for addition and subtraction facts. Instead of calling 25, I might call 30-5. For 68, I might say 60+8. This requires mental calculation that absorbs the thinking of every child, and does not allow anyone to tune out. Of course, you can also call much more challenging problems to solve, like 24+38 instead of naming 62. It all depends on the level of challenge that the students need and the skills you want them to practice. Bingo is such a flexible game that it can be adapted to any level of student ability.
By 4th and 5th grades, students begin to develop some proficiency in their isolated multiplication facts, and Bingo becomes a fun way to practice these. You can call basic facts like 8x7 for 56 or 4x6 for 24. You can also add on another operation for numbers that are not included in the multiplication facts. For example, 29 could be called as 5x6-1, or 37 as 4x7+9.
The biggest challenge I’ve encountered when bringing Bingo into a classroom is that we run out of time before the students are ready to stop playing!
The Logistics — Making Bingo Work in the Classroom
Years ago I created a set of my own Bingo cards (in the Waldorf tradition . . . by hand, using colored pencils, a ruler and scissors). There was something very satisfying about creating these cards for my students. This set has lasted me for over two complete class cycles (16 years), and I’m using it now once again with my third cycle of students.
I like having a personalized set that I’ve made myself because I could craft these cards with the specific numbers I wanted my students to practice.
Making our own classroom materials is part of being a Waldorf teacher, and I encourage you to create your own, if you are able to. It’s nice for students to see their teacher’s handwriting and experience the creative beauty that streams through their own teacher.
However, this is definitely a time-consuming process. Not all of us have time to create our materials from scratch without feeling overwhelmed and stressed. If this is the case for you, then allow yourself to find a version of Bingo online, or purchase a set with your school budget funds. That is also completely fine!
If you would like to try out my set of Bingo cards, click the link below. You will get access to a PDF file of scanned copies of my cards that you can download and photocopy. Because these cards are handmade, the quality of the numbers did not scan clearly in all cases, so you will likely need to go over some of the numbers with a colored pencil if you want the numbers to be clear. Also, full-disclosure . . . on at least one of these cards there is a mistake and the same number is written twice!
Enjoy! Bingo Number Grids
Glass gems are a math-manipulative staple I use constantly in the classroom, and they make the perfect markers for Bingo.
It’s handy to have a basketful of these on your shelf, but any kind of marker will work. Even little pieces of cut up paper could work for Bingo markers.
And finally, as I worked out the kinks of leading an effective Bingo game, I discovered that I needed a system to keep track of the numbers I called. I found it worked well to organize the numbers according to the 10s families. This makes it easy to see which numbers I’ve already called, and if I’m inadvertently leaving any out.
I also tend to roam the classroom during a game, and if I notice a child has not had any numbers called yet, I will choose a number off of their card so they feel included.
Once I have my Bingo materials set up and ready to use, I can bring the game as a meaningful activity in any grade level on a moment’s notice. It’s a game that offers a wonderful fall-back plan for unexpected times when you just don’t have a lesson at your fingertips and are feeling unprepared to teach.
If you haven’t tried Bingo with your students, I recommend it!
