Educational Word Games

Teachers and parents everywhere agree that it can be difficult to teach children outside of the classroom, but educational word games make it possible for kids to have fun while they learn. These word games can target a student’s particular problems or subjects on which they are having in school, or they can offer gifted students challenges that they might not encounter in the classroom.

Educational Word Games

Most teachers turn to games when they are having trouble educating their students with traditional methods. Many teachers argue that with games, students are more eager to learn and they remember the material better since the learning experience is more memorable. 

The important thing to remember about educational word games is that it is imperative that you choose games that are as fun and interactive as possible.  Most young children simply do not have the patience or interest for games with extremely complicated rules and might become frustrated when the game is not easy to grasp, hindering the learning process. 

It is also a good idea to target the right skill level for your students from the start: By finding the right level for your student that ensures that they are just challenged enough but not struggling so much, they are less likely to feel discouraged and quit. Here are some excellent sites that balance educational needs with fun and games: 

• This multi-level game at Eduplace.com targets specific skill levels and helps kids learn about words.
• Education.jlab.org is special because it has a mix of word, grammar, and language games on the site, as well as many math games and games that target additional skills. You can also find flashcards. Although they are not games per se, flashcards make it possible to memorize without becoming too bored.

Free Online Word Games

The best thing about educational games is that they are available online, and usually they are free. Teachers, educators, and parents are often happy to share the games that have helped their child succeed in the hopes that other children will also learn from them.  Many companies also understand the importance of free word games, so they put some of them on their websites for the convenience of their visitors. 

Here are a few more websites that feature word games that, like the sites already mentioned, are available for free to visitors:  

• The Problem Site has a plethora of games that can target a variety of student needs. Hangman, Telephone Games, Word Scrambles and Word Searches are some of the word games featured on this site. Other educational games about math and science are also featured on this site.  With a membership, you can access additional features on the site as well.
• Wordtrotter creates a storyline that ties together many word and grammar games into one fun experience for kids. This site is safe for kids to surf on their own.

• More educational games that are centered around grammar and vocabulary can be found on The Kidz Page, but they are located on a fun, colorful site that children can surf on their own.

Still Not Finding What You Are Looking For?

Ask teachers what kinds of educational word games they include in their lesson plans. You might be surprised how many complete lesson plans you can find online for free – and most of them are only shared after they have been tested for years by educators.  Unique games are often a critical part of these lesson plans. 

What Are the Benefits of Using Educational Games to Teach About Words?

Most people who are parents today remember grammar lessons as they used to be: Copying definitions from textbooks, memorizing verb forms, and writing vocabulary words over and over until they were drilled into the brain. Games can be just as effective, and in terms of teaching tools, they are arguably the most fun, too. Try introducing educational word games when students are falling behind their peers but you worry that they will quickly be discouraged by more traditional methods.