Back to School Bingo Cards (free printable, 30 cards)
Thirty-six back-to-school words, from backpacks and pencils to cubbies, recess and the line leader, on unique printable cards for the first week.
36 items · a 5 × 5 card with a free space needs 24 or more. More items make the cards differ.For review bingo, type answer | clue (“56 | 7 × 8”): the card shows the answer, the caller reads the clue. Two columns pasted from a spreadsheet work too. Start a line with an emoji (“🐶 dog”) for a picture square.
Showing 4 of 31 pages. (Print always prints every page.)
To save a PDF, choose Print, then “Save as PDF” as the printer. Only the sheets print.
30 different cards. No two are the same. The card number and set number on every card let the caller check a winner (press C while calling).
About this set
The first week of school is about routines and belonging, and this set supports both. The words cover the supplies in the backpack (pencil, eraser, crayons, glue stick, scissors, ruler), the places in the building (classroom, library, cafeteria, playground, hallway, cubby), the people (teacher, principal, new friends) and the routines you are about to teach (line leader, circle time, class rules, show and tell). Kindergarten students can point to most of these in the room, so the game doubles as a tour, and older students can play it as a calm first-day warm-up while you take attendance and sort supplies.
Grades: Pre-K to 5th grade. Best in: August, September.
The words on the cards
Backpack · Pencil · Eraser · Notebook · Crayons · Markers · Glue stick · Scissors · Ruler · Lunchbox · School bus · Teacher · Classroom · Desk · Locker · Cubby · Recess · Library · Playground · Cafeteria · Principal · School bell · Calendar · Name tag · New friends · Folder · Binder · Whiteboard · Homework · Line leader · Class rules · First day · Pencil sharpener · Hallway · Circle time · Show and tell
How to play, and five ideas
Room tour: call a word and have students find the matching thing in your classroom (the cubby, the whiteboard, the library corner) before they cover the square.
Rule review: when “Class rules” is called, pause and ask a student to state one of your rules in their own words.
Introduce yourself: the first student to get bingo says their name and one thing they are excited to learn this year.
Supply check: use the game to make sure every student knows what each supply is called and what it is for before the first lesson that needs it.
Open house: print one card per family at open house with the caller list, and have students teach the game to a parent.
Yes. Add your mascot, your room number, your principal’s name or your specials (art, music, P.E.) to the box, and the cards are rebuilt with them. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
Is it too easy for older students?
For 4th and 5th grade, play it as a get-to-know-you game: each caller word gets a one-sentence story from a volunteer (“My favorite recess game is…”) before anyone covers the square.
Can I change the words?
Yes. The 36 words are in the box above the cards. Delete, add or edit any line and the cards are rebuilt at once. Nothing is saved on our servers.
How do I call the game?
Press “Call the game”. Each press of the space bar tumbles the ball cage and pops out the next item in very large type, with the list of items already called beside it. Press C and type a card number to check a winner, P to change the win pattern, V to have each call read aloud, and F to fill the projector.
How do I save the cards as a PDF?
Press Print and choose “Save as PDF” as the printer. Each page can also be saved as a PNG picture from under its preview.
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