As children get older, we tend to emphasize the importance of study, hard work and discipline. But playtime can be just as impactful for middle schoolers as it is for kindergartners, infants and other young children.
Play affords middle schoolers the opportunity to work on the kinds of soft skills they don’t touch on as often in the classroom—including sociability, self-discovery and active collaboration. Many modern games can also effectively teach traditional subjects, such as math, language arts and geography.
This playbook will outline four educational games for middle schoolers that you can enjoy with your kids. From simple card-based activities to more involved board games, this selection runs the gamut and covers a variety of skills and subjects.
1 – Fraction War
This is a slight variation on the classic card game War that helps kids practice comparing fractions. It’s generally played between two players, though more can join if you have a larger group.
To start, grab a deck of cards and:
- Deal two cards face down to each player.
- Have everyone flip their cards over one by one. The first card each player flips will represent the top number of a fraction (the numerator) while the other number will represent the bottom (the denominator).
- Have your kids simplify their fractions and compare. Whoever has the highest number in the end wins and collects all the cards on the table
- Repeat this process until the deck is fully dealt out. Whoever has the most cards at the end is the ultimate winner.
Let’s pretend two players are dealt six and two, and ten and five. 6/2 is three, while 10/5 equals two—meaning the player with six and two wins the round. Since middle schoolers often have a functional grasp on fractions, you can also enhance the complexity of the game by giving each face card a different value and setting aces at 11.
2 – GeoGuessr
GeoGuessr is a popular online resource that helps kids learn to identify different landform regions, cultural signifiers and other context clues as they try to guess where in the world they are.
The game begins by dropping you in a random location somewhere on Google Maps’ Street View. Then, you have a short time to assess your surroundings and drop a pin on a world map to try and pinpoint your exact location.
The game develops kids’ critical thinking skills, helps them recognize foreign languages and landmarks and can generally boost their geography acumen all while providing loads of exciting, educational fun.
3 – Blurt!
Have you ever had a word on the tip of your tongue for what feels like an eternity? Then, something clicks and you finally shout it out? Well, that’s the entire purpose of the game Blurt!
Blurt! is a language skill-building game meant to help kids recall important words and what they mean. It’s set up in much the same way as other traditional board games but, in order to move around the map, you must recognize different words’ definitions and blurt them out as they’re being read.
The game supports anywhere from three to 12 players and is suitable for ages seven and up. Pick it up for your family’s next game night if you’re looking to develop your kids’ vocabulary and listening abilities.
4 – Mission US
The average history scores of American eighth graders have been experiencing a steady downturn over the last few years. Mission US aims to remedy these ailing grades by making history a fun and engaging topic.
Mission US is a publicly-funded, interactive educational platform loaded with learning games for middle schoolers. It covers a variety of periods and topics in American history, including:
- The American Revolution during the 1770s
- Westward expansion during the late 1800s
- Mass immigration at the turn of the 20th century
- The Great Depression of the 1930s
- The onset of World War II during the 40s
- The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s
Mission US is specifically aimed at students in grades six through eight, so it’s a perfect way for your middle schooler to brush up on the most relevant points of American history. Whether they have a test coming up or they simply want to have some fun while learning more about our country, you can load it up to send them on a journey through past epochs of the American story.
More Fun, Educational Games Await Your Kids at Camp Galileo
Organizing learning activities for middle schoolers is an excellent way to support their intellectual progress, but they also need social and experiential education to develop into well-rounded, motivated teenagers. That’s where Camp Galileo comes in.
Camp Galileo‘s acclaimed summer program encourages kids to engage in collaborative play while simultaneously teaching them about STEAM exploration and creative expression. We pride ourselves on our ability to inspire resilient, confident out-of-the-box thinkers who strive to make the world a better place. And we don’t forget the fun along the way, either—every activity we plan combines the spirit of traditional summer camp with our ongoing commitment to fostering innovation in our attendees.
Explore our camps to find one in a city near you, and enroll your child for a summer experience that’s a cut above the rest.
Sources:
- Hechinger Report. Play is crucial for middle schoolers, too. https://hechingerreport.org/.
- Education Week. 17 Favorite Classroom-Learning Games. https://www.edweek.org/.
- National Center for Education Statistics. U.S. History and Civics. https://nces.ed.gov/.
- Mission US. Welcome to Mission US. https://www.mission-us.org/.