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You’re reading Part 2 in our guest series contributed by Classcraft Ambassador Sam Schneider. Read Part 1 here.
As a teacher, one of my personal goals has always been getting students to engage with material that would otherwise bore them. Using Classcraft revolutionized my classroom management, and then I realized it could change the way I presented my lessons, too.
By incorporating simple elements you can find in standard video games and board games, you can easily add excitement and suspense to researching topics, completing assignments, and even taking assessments.
Tip #2: Scaffolding – While UbD focuses on creating a lesson with the end goal in sight, scaffolding is about breaking a lesson down into smaller steps to complete it.
This is very popular among the administrators who have done my observations. In a gameplay scenario, you tell the students they are gathering supplies or training to take down the boss. Only when they’ve accomplished each individual task will they be able to complete the mission.
An example from my music class: “The Training” was the first mission of the year where students understood the process of critiquing a piece of music. The first assignment was finding and identifying the example. Then they analyzed what they liked (and didn’t like) from the example by breaking it down in short thoughts. Afterwards, they took their writing and expanded upon it to form a paragraph of solid critique. All throughout the process, they were also being trained in proper procedures for completing assignments and being introduced to Classcraft.
Stay tuned on Tuesday for tip #3!
Photo credit: Sunny studio / Shutterstock.com
