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You’re reading Part 4 in our guest series contributed by Classcraft Ambassador Sam Schneider. Read Part 3 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 #4: Jigsaw Groups – In this strategy, you take a large assignment and assign different tasks to different group members. In Classcraft, you already have groups (teams), the students have already selected roles (Warrior, Mage, or Healer), and so all you have left is to give each character type a different approach to completing your story’s goal.
If that doesn’t appeal to you, then just give the students the options to complete the task and let them divide up the responsibilities themselves. An example from my music class: When I am teaching guitar, maintenance of the instrument is one of our first topics. I have students select topics such as tuning the instrument, replacing a string, identifying parts, and proper posture. Each team has to cover each topic, but it becomes up to decide who diagrams the guitar, who demonstrates replacing a string, and who gets to research different methods for tuning. Then to wrap it up, there’s a quickfire event judged by “Six String Sally,” where teams compete against each other (and the White Mountain Trek timer) to accurately complete each task.
Stay tuned on Thursday for the last tip!
Photo credit: Halfpoint / Shutterstock.com
