Didactic games in elementary school as a means of personal and social development of children
In this article, the didactic game is presented as an important and relevant means of organizing students’ cognitive activity and arousing vivid interest in exploring the world. It is emphasized that a didactic game is universal as it encourages children to engage in learning activities and helps to improve their communication skills. A didactic game also plays an important role in the development of human personality. A didactic game is considered as a psychological tool for the development of students: it helps to increase their motivation, overcome the mental barriers and learning problems, develop their cognitive abilities, memory, imagination, logic, imaginative thinking. The paper describes the distinctive features of didactic games and their functions in the learning process. The authors conclude that didactic games are important to children's development in primary school and make recommendations as to the organization of game-based learning activities.