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Guest post contributed by Classcraft Ambassador Helaina Storie
A good story hooks you and doesn’t let go. I have stayed up all night finishing a book because I wanted to know what happened next. The same thing can be said for games. I have been a gamer for about 20 years now. I have been a teacher for 10 years, and in that time, I have used games in class but never to the extent of what I’ve done by introducing Classcraft and my own spin on a math adventure.
Over a year ago, I came across some articles talking about using game mechanics in designing classes. It intrigued me because I hadn’t thought of bringing my passion of gaming into the class in that way. As I did more research, I got super excited and realized I could tap into kids love of video games.
When I first started, I realized I needed an overarching theme and a story to hook my students and gamify my classroom. So I came upon a book designed for what I had in mind called Secrets of the Wizard, written by author Jim Bennett, who’s also a middle school math teacher. The book claimed to combine math puzzles with a story where you had to solve a puzzle to proceed to the next page of the book. I am drawn to fantasy movies, graphics, and books, so this sounded perfect! I use Secrets of the Wizard on my class website to tell the story of what my class is trying to accomplish as they solve math problems and work through quests.
For example, one puzzle from the book might ask them to add up all the pieces of rope that are tied around the Wizard Galimedes and his faithful helpers, Epie the elf and Perod the gnome. They earn XP points as we do our warm-up, math lesson, and reflection for the day, and together the activity immerses them into what’s happening in the classroom.
Now that I had a theme and story, I needed the kids to feel they were directly involved in the story. I searched and came across an online program called Classcraft that appeared to provide the motivation and engagement I was looking for. Classcraft gives each student an avatar and powers they can use in class. It simulates a role-playing game that can be used for everything from behavior management to a complete learning management system (LMS). In Classcraft, I assign the kids into teams or “guilds,” and then the fun begins!
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You can assign students as one of three types of characters with special abilities or powers (Warriors, Mages, and Healers), or you can let them choose their character themselves. Their special powers grant them real-life benefits, like extra time on an exam or getting to eat a snack in class. The more you allow students choice, the more involved they become. What’s nice is you can customize the game to what works for you and your class. Classcraft has enabled me to really invest the kids in what they’re learning and award them for participation and teamwork in class.
Homework completion is almost never a problem because the students police each other. At the beginning of the year, one of my students protected someone from falling in battle due to not completing their homework, and the second time around told them they would have to learn to do their work because they weren’t protecting them again. Classcraft creates positive peer pressure for students to do what is right without me saying a word!
This year has been an adventure. I have created a class website that has game mechanics, which I encourage you to visit at www.mathquest.xyz. This is the one place I bring it all together. Between Classcraft and Secrets of the Wizard, I found great resources that makes math into an adventure with enormous rewards. Not only are my students motivated, but they love math! I hear kids pass my class, asking others, “Is Mrs. Storie your math teacher? I hear they do games in there …” and I just smile. As I look back at 2015, I realize I am so lucky to be able to use my personal passion to make my job so rewarding for both me and my students.
Helaina is a math teacher and has been with RISD for over 8 years now. Her campus is one to one allowing her to gamify her math class and make her class engaging using tools such as Classcraft. You can find her on Twitter @HStoriegamified.
Photo credits: Halfpoint / Shutterstock.com; Classcraft