You’re reading Part 3 in our guest series contributed by Classcraft Ambassador Sam Schneider. Read Part 2 here, or start at 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 #3: Differentiating Instruction (with a menu) – One of my favorite methods for differentiating instruction and giving students control of their learning experience is using a “menu.” Lay out several options for assignments for your lesson (worksheets, creating questions, drawing diagrams, etc.) and let the students pick what they want to work on.
There is some additional creative effort needed on your part, but the end result is students picking what learning method appeals to them. Disguising it in a story is just like the scaffolding idea, but this method gives it a “Choose Your Own Adventure” appeal.
An example from my music class: When my students were approaching the end of the Jazz unit, they had to hunt down the “Jazzasaurus.” Their hunt could either have them “track it” by making a timeline of Jazz history; study some “Hidden Eggs,” which were worksheets about key artists; “lure it in” by creating questions for an assessment (later used in a Boss Battle in Classcraft); and several other options. They had to use at least two of these hunting strategies to be successful.
Stay tuned on Wednesday for tip #4!
Photo credit: Tom Wang / Shutterstock.com