What Are the Benefits of Games in Elementary Learning?

Children learn by being actively involved, and games are a perfect way to engage elementary students in educational tasks. Not only do games require active participation, but they also focus attention on the academic skills being taught and offer such rewards as advancing to a new level, earning points or other teacher-designated rewards.
It may appear that using games in the classroom is simply a way to let kids play instead of attending to important academic tasks, but children learn more when they find the task enjoyable.

Kinesthetic Learning

Classroom games generally involve hands-on components. Whether the child physically moves around the room, holds tokens or game pieces or moves objects, the process activates kinesthetic learning, a preferred mode of learning for young children.

Visual Learning

Visual cues used in games activate visual learning. Pictures, signs, posters and other images provide visual stimulation and assist in recall. Children who are visual learners are adept at recalling facts and concepts when they are presented with visual cues. Playing games with visual components sharpens visual discrimination skills as well.

Auditory Learning

Auditory learners benefit from the conversation used in games as well as the use of music, rhymes and lyrics. Hearing others respond to questions or verbalize their strategies assists auditory learners in recalling information.

Verbal and Communication Skills

Verbal and communication skills are sharpened as students learn to follow directions, complete tasks and express themselves during the game. Word games build vocabulary skills, and words learned in the course of a game are more likely to be remembered because they are used in context or to advance the game.

Math Skills

Math skills are developed while playing games, even if the game isn't math related. Children strategize and calculate moves in the game, sharpening their mathematical reasoning and learning to predict outcomes. Estimation skills are refined as the children calculate the number of moves needed to complete the game or the amount of time needed to complete the task. For games with timers, kids learn to estimate and use time wisely.

Social Skills

Social-skill development is a natural result of playing games, as children learn to take turns and settle conflicts. Learning to win or lose gracefully goes a long way toward developing necessary social skills. Social interaction also develops conversational and negotiation skills.