Finding new online resources and websites to engage learners in classroom review can be challenging, even for experienced teachers. You might already be familiar with some of the most popular ones, like Kahoot and Gimkit. Today there's a growing list of new websites that make it easier than ever to engage learners! Blooket is one of my favorites for offering gamified opportunities for skill practice.
Since educational games on the site can be used both in class and outside your classroom to review content, Blooket is an excellent addition to the websites you're using to keep students on track this year. Today I wanted to share more about the site and how to use it in your classroom.
What you'll find on this page:
What is Blooket? Can You Play Blooket for Free?
Yes! Blooket is a free website that offers educational games for review and practice. The games are organized by subject, grade level, and topic. You can create your content or use pre-created options from other teachers. There are also leaderboards and awards to add friendly competition to the mix!
As a teacher, you'll love how easy it is to use Blooket to design vocabulary practice, review games, formative assessments, math facts, and more!
Getting started with Blooket
You might be wondering, how does Blooket work? The great news is setting up an account and getting started is quick and easy. Even better…it's free!
Simply create a free account using your email address or syncing with Google. From there, you can log in and head straight to your dashboard, where you can create your own questions or use a premade set of questions.
Hint: Write down & save your Blooket login so you can easily refer to it when needed.
If you've come looking for inspiration, you'll find plenty! Click “Discover Sets” and browse through hundreds of premade question sets across thousands of topics. You're sure to find something your students will love.
How to Start a Blooket: Creating your Set
However, if you're coming with content, it's easy to import that, too! Click the tab that says “Create a Set,” and you'll be taken to the template page. Fill in your set's title, description, and images from there.
Next,add your multiple-choice questions. There's an easy-to-use layout with four answer choices, similar to what students see on many state assessments. You can add images if needed. In addition, you can set a time limit for each question if you're working on fluency or want to add an extra challenge.
Once your set is complete, you'll finish and publish it. This adds to your library, making it available to you and other teachers.
Note– One of the ways this site remains free is that all sets created are added to the shared library for all teachers to use. Therefore, be sure you're not adding copyrighted materials when creating sets.
Getting Started with Blooket Game Play
Once you've finished creating your set, you're ready to specify the type of assignment you've made. Since you're the teacher, you'll set all assignments as “Host.” (The “Solo” option is for students.)
Here are some of the game options you might choose:
Game Modes: Hosted Game – Live Mode
Hosting a game on Blooket.com means your students work simultaneously in a group game session. This is a live session that promotes friendly competition between classmates. You can easily track student participation and how students are progressing. You can even control whether students are assigned teams or earn points individually.
The game will continue until all questions have been answered or the time limit has elapsed, whichever comes first. After that, you can set a password for your room and specify whether you want it to be public or private. If it's public, anyone with the link can join. If it is private, only the students you invite can join.
Once the game is over, you'll see how each student performed. You can share these results with your class or keep them private. If you want to use the same set again, create a new game!
One thing I love about Blooket is that you have so much control over the details. For example, you can randomize student names, allow late joiners (which is super helpful when you have students coming and going for special services), determine the number of questions students are asked, and more!
Participation isn't just limited to a computer, either! Students can participate in hosted games on their smartphones or tablets using theBlooket app.
Game Modes: Homework Mode
Using the ” HW ” tab you can also assign games to help students review important concepts as part of their homework using the “HW” tab.
This takes you to a page where you can set a specific due date and a goal. This goal can be a set amount of minutes for gameplay or a particular amount of tokens earned in play. In addition, the Student Engagement Portal helps you monitor progress and ensure students are on track.
You'll generate and share a Game ID with your students. The code is provided when you publish your game.
Many Game Options to Choose From
Bloket, Blookit, Booklet, Blooklet, Bloomet…I've seen and heard it all. While your students may not be able to remember the site name quite right, I promise they'll remember it and ask for more.
One thing students love about Blooket.com is that there are many game options. It's like a learning arcade! This makes it great for differentiating based on student interests.
Here are just a few of the Blooket games students can play:
- Deceptive Dinos– Become a top paleontologist! Find fossils by answering questions.
- Gold Quest– Amass riches by answering questions
- Crypto Hack– Answer questions to mine cryptocurrency and hack others.
- Fishing Frenzy– Cast your line to reel in the biggest fish in the sea!
- Tower Defense –Answer questions, build towers, and design a defense system to protect yourself from the Blooks.
- Cafe– Run your own cafe! Serve food to customers, restock supplies, and get upgrades by answering questions.
- Factory– Answer quickly to upgrade your Blooks and make virtual cash in your factory.
Benefits of Blooket in the Classroom
Blooket is a great tool to use in the classroom because it's so versatile. You can use it for review, homework, or even as a fun way to introduce new material. It's easy for students to access, even from home. And it's a great way to keep students engaged in learning.
Plus, the results page provides valuable data that can help you track student progress and identify areas of need. It's also great for setting up review games to keep skills fresh and reduce the need for test prep mode in spring.
If you're looking for a fun and interactive way to engage your students in learning, check out Blooket! You'll be glad to add this great site to your repertoire ofonline games.
For those kiddos who love gamified learning, introducing this site can offer an exciting way to learn that's also very academic. It can be used for many subject areas and topics, so it's great for all learners!
Do you use Blooket in your classroom? What are your students' favorite games? Be sure to share in the comments below!
