Review of 2021: Our Top 10 Online Educational Games

Here at Busy Things, we know how much you value the fun and laughter our online educational games bring to your classroom, so given it’s December and a traditional time to review the year just passed, we wanted to highlight some of what we consider our best activities, along with the reasons why they appear in our Top 10.

PLEASE NOTE: We’ve labelled them 1-10 but they are all fantastic, and really are in no particular order.

Anyway, here goes!

1. Extract from ‘The Last Wolf’

(Book extract – KS1 English)

Using this book viewer is a great way to share an extract from this lovely story with your class. Unlike when you share a book, all of your pupils will be able to follow along with the words and pictures if you present it on your whiteboard, and you’ll still be able to go at the pace appropriate for the class.

The activity also includes an optional grammar feature, which highlights specific grammar elements like nouns and verbs, and there are even supporting comprehension resources to follow on from the activity.

2. Adventure 2B: The Bungle in the Jungle

(Challenge – KS1 and KS2 Computing)

The second game on our list is actually a challenge consisting of five levels! The children must construct a program in each level to help Beard Man collect the treasure and escape from the temple.

It’s a really fun way to teach the children about repeat loops and sequencing commands, and the various obstacles they need to tackle along the way will really get them thinking!

3. Hen hunt

(Game – KS1 Maths)

Hen hunt was our first ever 3D game so holds a very special place in our hearts, and as it often appears in our 40 most played games, we think you like it too!

It’s great for teaching about spatial orientation and decision-making but is fantastic just as a fun game to play too.

How many doors do your pupils need to open before they find the hidden chicken?

4. Paint like Vincent Van Gogh

(Paint project – KS1 and KS2 Art)

Paint like Vincent Van Gogh is one of the picture projects within our ‘Make a Masterpiece’ series, which touches on all the art movements, starting with Impressionism and going right through to Pop and Op Art.

The ‘Paint like …’ series explores the characteristics of each type of painting, and lets pupils put that learning into practice, either by transforming a photo into a Van Gogh painting online or by explaining the techniques that will help them reproduce a painting offline.

The tools are so easy to use. Even a novice artist can get amazing results. Have a go and see for yourself!

5. Busy oven

(Widget – KS2 Cooking and Nutrition)

Our open-ended widgets are designed either to help teachers demonstrate and teach tricky concepts at the front of the class or to allow children to experiment in a risk-free environment. This one is one of the latter and focuses on cooking temperatures and durations.

It’s an activity we particularly love because it involves food and includes some very funny animations for reactions.

6. Pretty Things: Busy blocks

(Game – EYFS and KS1 Art)

This online educational game is like no other as there is simply so much going on! Pupils choose their 2D shapes and release them into the frame. They can then choose barriers and frames to contain them or let them bounce freely, they can disperse them using wind, blow them up or attract them with magnets. It’s physics, maths and art all combined and completely mesmerising!

It’s great for children to explore cause and effect with, and for teaching them how to navigate around a strange environment. It really builds up their confidence both with interacting with technology and facing the unknown.

7. Hieroglyphic codes

(Writing project – KS2 History, and KS1 and KS2 English)

Egyptian hieroglyphics have got cult status and creating them is always a winner in the classroom. This game will help your pupils develop hieroglyphics for their own names, based on how they sound (not their spelling).

Once they’ve done something relatively simple, the activity can then be stepped up a gear. Could they create a message? Could another pupil decode what they’ve written?

8. Nouns and verbs quiz

(Quiz – KS1 and KS2 English)

Our quizzes are multiple-choice and bursting with character, so they’re an excellent way of tracking progress against learning objectives but a whole lot of fun too!

Great for summative or formative assessment, if you set a quiz from the Assignments area, each child will get the same set of questions so it’s a fair test. You can also use them for self-assessment purposes as, after completion, the children can review where they went wrong with a view to understanding how.

9. Apostrophes

(Demo – KS1 English)

The demos on Busy Things are interactive presentations, which focus on a specific learning objective. They can either be viewed as a slideshow or you can walk through them step-by-step at your own pace.

Apostrophe – Contractions is one of the very few demos we have, but it, along with its sister demo Apostrophe – Possession, is very popular. It makes what can be a very dull subject interesting, explaining it in a simple yet engaging way for the children!

10. Falling wall

(Game – KS2 Maths)

The Falling wall game asks pupils to consider symmetry when deciding where to place the pink man to keep him safe. When the wall falls will he get crushed or be saved by the square hole?

Pupils will relish the naughtiness of monkey blowing up the wall and the humour of poor pink man being squashed, be that into a cylinder shape or completely flat.

So that’s it, our Top 10 games for 2021!

Want to see more than just a description?

That can certainly be arranged! Simply sign up for a 28-day free trial here and take a look around. If you’d like to join one of our free Zoom tutorials, we’d be happy to show you around.

Not sure about our selection?

If you don’t agree with our choices, please do let us know! Did we miss your favourites out? Put us in the picture by messaging us below.