Review by Erin Brereton, Common Sense Education | Updated September 2012
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Game Classroom

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Fun, game-based homework helper can supplement classwork

Subjects & skills
Subjects
  • English Language Arts
  • Math
Skills
  • Character & SEL
  • Critical Thinking
Grades This grade range is a recommendation by Common Sense Education and not the developer/publisher.
K–6
Common Sense says (See details)
Teachers say (1 Review)
Price:  Free
Platforms:  Website

Take a look inside

5 images
The site homepage includes links to games, worksheets, videos, and lesson plan materials.
Games are listed by grade level and subject matter.
Because games are housed on other sites, the amount of feedback and challenges can vary.
Game Classroom provides brief game descriptions and information on the concepts that are covered.
Sections list additional problems, learning tips, and other items to help kids understand concepts.

Pros: Games should entice kids to use the site, which also offers worksheets and other learning materials.

Cons: Quality can be inconsistent because games are from other websites; users also can't track their overall performance.

Bottom Line: Even if a few games don't pack the strongest educational punch, Game Classroom's plentiful resources make it a worthy math and language learning tool.

How Can I Teach with This Tool?

The site's structure makes determining which activities will work best for various age groups simple. Teachers can easily judge which materials and games can help support their curriculum; lesson plans are also available to help plan classroom activities.

Kids don't need to register to play the games, which helps ensure they'll have a safe experience on the site. However, it also means teachers won't be able to track their performance, so educators may want to encourage kids to keep a runny tally of their game scores or submit printed worksheets for approval.

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Standards:

Game Classroom is a website that provides dozens of games, grouped by grade level and topic. Games are geared toward K-6 students and reinforce math and language skills, ranging from reading a clock to how literary devices like symbolism and metaphors work. 

Many games are from Scholastic, PBS, and other educational sites. However, kids don't need to leave Game Classroom to play them; they'll appear within the site browser. The site also offers videos, worksheets, and other resources on the educational topics that games touch on. 

Because most games are housed on other sites, their instruction level and content varies. Some provide hints and second chances to guess answers; others unfortunately don't give much feedback, which could help increase comprehension. Kids will likely often need to visit the corresponding Game Classroom lesson or video section for detail on some of the concepts. Some links don't lead directly to games, which can be confusing; kids may also come across a few broken links.  

But generally, the site can give kids a solid chance to practice a number of key skills. Kindergarteners can work on their counting abilities; first-grade games focus on skills like reading and addition; fourth-grade games touch on advanced math concepts like prime numbers, multiplication, and division; and sixth-graders get help with research reports and statistics. If the games they play don't happen to include clear instruction or consistent challenges, Game Classroom's worksheets, sample math problems, learning tips, and other resources can help kids fully understand the subject.

Overall Rating
Engagement Is the product stimulating, entertaining, and engrossing? Will kids want to return?

Kids should enjoy playing the diverse games, which are from a variety of sources. As a result, feedback and instruction can be inconsistent; sample problems and other materials help flesh out concepts. Videos offer additional instruction.

Pedagogy Is learning content seamlessly baked-in, and do kids build conceptual understanding? Is the product adaptable and empowering? Will skills transfer?

K-6 students learn about math and language topics ranging from counting to multiplication and statistics in games, worksheets, lesson plans, and videos. Content is listed by grade level, and games link to related resources.

Support Does the product take into account learners of varying abilities, skill levels, and learning styles? Does it address both struggling and advanced students?
Adults can sign up for an e-newsletter with activity ideas and learning tips or read past issues on the site. More than 65 lessons plans are available, and teacher profiles offer ideas for using technology in the classroom.
Common Sense Reviewer
Erin Brereton
About our ratings and privacy evaluation.

Key Standards Supported

Geometry

  • 3.G.1

    Understand that shapes in different categories (e.g., rhombuses, rectangles, and others) may share attributes (e.g., having four sides), and that the shared attributes can define a larger category (e.g., quadrilaterals). Recognize rhombuses, rectangles, and squares as examples of quadrilaterals, and draw examples of quadrilaterals that do not belong to any of these subcategories.

  • 4.G.1

    Draw points, lines, line segments, rays, angles (right, acute, obtuse), and perpendicular and parallel lines. Identify these in two-dimensional figures.

  • 4.G.2

    Classify two-dimensional figures based on the presence or absence of parallel or perpendicular lines, or the presence or absence of angles of a specified size. Recognize right triangles as a category, and identify right triangles.

  • 4.G.3

    Recognize a line of symmetry for a two-dimensional figure as a line across the figure such that the figure can be folded along the line into matching parts. Identify line-symmetric figures and draw lines of symmetry.

Measurement And Data

  • 3.MD.2

    Measure and estimate liquid volumes and masses of objects using standard units of grams (g), kilograms (kg), and liters (l).6 Add, subtract, multiply, or divide to solve one-step word problems involving masses or volumes that are given in the same units, e.g., by using drawings (such as a beaker with a measurement scale) to represent the problem.7

  • 4.MD.3

    Apply the area and perimeter formulas for rectangles in real world and mathematical problems. For example, find the width of a rectangular room given the area of the flooring and the length, by viewing the area formula as a multiplication equation with an unknown factor.

  • 5.MD.3

    Recognize volume as an attribute of solid figures and understand concepts of volume measurement.

  • 5.MD.3.b

    A solid figure which can be packed without gaps or overlaps using n unit cubes is said to have a volume of n cubic units.

Number And Operations In Base Ten

  • 3.NBT.1

    Use place value understanding to round whole numbers to the nearest 10 or 100.

  • 5.NBT.7

    Add, subtract, multiply, and divide decimals to hundredths, using concrete models or drawings and strategies based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction; relate the strategy to a written method and explain the reasoning used.

  • 5.NBT.2

    Explain patterns in the number of zeros of the product when multiplying a number by powers of 10, and explain patterns in the placement of the decimal point when a decimal is multiplied or divided by a power of 10. Use whole-number exponents to denote powers of 10.

  • 4.NBT.3

    Use place value understanding to round multi-digit whole numbers to any place.

  • 4.NBT.4

    Fluently add and subtract multi-digit whole numbers using the standard algorithm.

  • 4.NBT.5

    Multiply a whole number of up to four digits by a one-digit whole number, and multiply two two-digit numbers, using strategies based on place value and the properties of operations. Illustrate and explain the calculation by using equations, rectangular arrays, and/or area models.

Number And Operations—Fractions

  • 5.NF.3

    Interpret a fraction as division of the numerator by the denominator (a/b = a ÷ b). Solve word problems involving division of whole numbers leading to answers in the form of fractions or mixed numbers, e.g., by using visual fraction models or equations to represent the problem. For example, interpret 3/4 as the result of dividing 3 by 4, noting that 3/4 multiplied by 4 equals 3, and that when 3 wholes are shared equally among 4 people each person has a share of size 3/4. If 9 people want to share a 50-pound sack of rice equally by weight, how many pounds of rice should each person get? Between what two whole numbers does your answer lie?

  • 5.NF.4

    Apply and extend previous understandings of multiplication to multiply a fraction or whole number by a fraction.

  • 4.NF.1

    Explain why a fraction a/b is equivalent to a fraction (n × a)/(n × b) by using visual fraction models, with attention to how the number and size of the parts differ even though the two fractions themselves are the same size. Use this principle to recognize and generate equivalent fractions.

  • 4.NF.6

    Use decimal notation for fractions with denominators 10 or 100. For example, rewrite 0.62 as 62/100; describe a length as 0.62 meters; locate 0.62 on a number line diagram.

  • 4.NF.7

    Compare two decimals to hundredths by reasoning about their size. Recognize that comparisons are valid only when the two decimals refer to the same whole. Record the results of comparisons with the symbols >, =, or <, and justify the conclusions, e.g., by using a visual model.

  • 3.NF.1

    Understand a fraction 1/b as the quantity formed by 1 part when a whole is partitioned into b equal parts; understand a fraction a/b as the quantity formed by a parts of size 1/b.

  • 3.NF.3

    Explain equivalence of fractions in special cases, and compare fractions by reasoning about their size.

  • 3.NF.3.b

    Recognize and generate simple equivalent fractions, e.g., 1/2 = 2/4, 4/6 = 2/3). Explain why the fractions are equivalent, e.g., by using a visual fraction model.

Operations And Algebraic Thinking

  • 3.OA.7

    Fluently multiply and divide within 100, using strategies such as the relationship between multiplication and division (e.g., knowing that 8 × 5 = 40, one knows 40 ÷ 5 = 8) or properties of operations. By the end of Grade 3, know from memory all products of two one-digit numbers.

  • 3.OA.1

    Interpret products of whole numbers, e.g., interpret 5 × 7 as the total number of objects in 5 groups of 7 objects each. For example, describe a context in which a total number of objects can be expressed as 5 × 7.

  • 3.OA.4

    Determine the unknown whole number in a multiplication or division equation relating three whole numbers. For example, determine the unknown number that makes the equation true in each of the equations 8 × ? = 48, 5 = _ ÷ 3, 6 × 6 = ?.

  • 4.OA.4

    Find all factor pairs for a whole number in the range 1–100. Recognize that a whole number is a multiple of each of its factors. Determine whether a given whole number in the range 1–100 is a multiple of a given one-digit number. Determine whether a given whole number in the range 1–100 is prime or composite.

  • 5.OA.1

    Use parentheses, brackets, or braces in numerical expressions, and evaluate expressions with these symbols.

  • 5.OA.2

    Write simple expressions that record calculations with numbers, and interpret numerical expressions without evaluating them. For example, express the calculation “add 8 and 7, then multiply by 2” as 2 × (8 + 7). Recognize that 3 × (18932 + 921) is three times as large as 18932 + 921, without having to calculate the indicated sum or product.

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Key Standards Supported

Language

  • L.3.2

    Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

  • L.3.3

    Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.

  • L.4.1

    Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

  • L.4.1e

    Form and use prepositional phrases.

  • L.4.1f

    Produce complete sentences, recognizing and correcting inappropriate fragments and run-ons.*

  • L.4.2

    Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

  • L.4.2d

    Spell grade-appropriate words correctly, consulting references as needed.

  • L.4.5

    Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.

  • L.4.5b

    Recognize and explain the meaning of common idioms, adages, and proverbs.

  • L.5.1

    Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

  • L.5.2

    Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

  • L.5.5

    Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.

  • L.5.5c

    Use the relationship between particular words (e.g., synonyms, antonyms, homographs) to better understand each of the words.

Reading Foundational Skills

  • RF.3.4

    Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

  • RF.3.3

    Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.

  • RF.4.4

    Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

  • RF.4.3

    Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.

  • RF.5.4

    Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

Reading Informational Text

  • RI.3.1

    Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

  • RI.4.3

    Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.

  • RI.5.2

    Determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text.

Reading Literature

  • RL.5.7

    Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text (e.g., graphic novel, multimedia presentation of fiction, folktale, myth, poem).

Speaking & Listening

  • SL.5.1d

    Review the key ideas expressed and draw conclusions in light of information and knowledge gained from the discussions.

  • SL.5.2

    Summarize a written text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

  • SL.5.3

    Summarize the points a speaker makes and explain how each claim is supported by reasons and evidence.

Writing

  • W.5.4

    Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.)

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Teacher Reviews

Write a review
Featured review by
Jill P. , Classroom teacher
Classroom teacher
East Grand School
Danforth, United States
Good place to find educational games for student practice of skills.
The major focus of this site is a clearinghouse of games that allow skills practice for students in grades K-6. The games are grouped in two categories- Math and Language Arts. The teacher can filter the games by grade level to find appropriate content. I have used several of the games with my students. Some games are better than others, so I would highly suggest trying the games before you assign them to students. Many have good quality content, but there is a lot of wait-time for the game to load or reset. In many of the games the player can choose a level (easy/medium/hard or slow/medium/fast) to accommodate processing times. I feel that many of these games would be great for special education students because of the repetition. The site also includes three other types of resources for teachers- videos, lessons and worksheets. There are not many videos listed- there are certainly many better resources for finding educational videos. The video section has many more math videos than language arts videos. The lessons section is pretty good. Many of the lessons are right on the Game Classroom site itself and those are indicated by the words "Game Classroom" at the end of the lesson title. These lessons may include sample problems, learning tips, online resources, extra help problems, newsletters, and related games found on the site. Some of the lessons are links to other sites where the lesson is listed out. Lastly, the worksheet section is nothing special. There are limited topics and some of the links do not work- you will have to copy and paste the URL into a new tab to get to it. I have had more luck just googling what I am looking for.
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