When people think about gamification most people think about
traditional types of games. I think that
most people think of students playing games like Jeopardy or Deal or No Deal. I have created many games like
these to help my students review and learn.
It really is my first foray into creating a culture where games play a
part of a students learning.
When I was
younger my 8th grade teacher had a game called News Game she got
weekly and was kind of like jeopardy where we played in groups. She also kept all the results and at the end
of the quarter we played a large final round for several days. So you could win a week and you could win the
final end round. We never won anything,
but man did I have fun playing every week.
In honor of Ms. Kinkoph my 8th grade SS teacher, I have a few games below that you can try out
in your classroom.
Jepperball
The most popular game that I have used and was given by my
wife from her memories of a teacher using it in the classroom is called Jepperball. Jeopardy is probably the easiest game to
create as a review game. There are ppt templates all over the internet and now you can even use one that is connected to your Google account. Thanks Richard Byrne!
2.
Split the class into two groups. I have always played with two teams and each
person gets to be the spokesperson at least once or twice. The spokesperson can ask his or her team what
they think the answer is. Only the
answer given by the spokesperson can be considered right.
3.
Student are allowed to use their notes or review
sheets.
4.
If the spokesperson gets the answer correct they
are then allowed to shoot the ball into the basket. They can choose to go for 1, 3 or 5
points. I put tape on the floor
different distances for each point value.
If they want to be safe they might go for one point and just drop it
in. Most boys love to try to go for the
5 bonus points to prove their athletic prowess and take the risk. It really is fun to watch.
5.
The added point values help teams that might
have fallen behind catch back up. On the
jeopardy board I keep the point values simple from 1-5 points.
This game has been tremendously popular for years in my
classroom. When I taught self-contained special
ed they really liked this one because they all were given many chances because
my classes were so small. That year I
tried other games and they always told me that they were fun, but not as fun as
Jepperball. This game has a way of
engaging students who might not be as good at the knowledge part a way of being
involved. It also causes the students to
discuss, move around, and engage with their review materials that might not
happen when they go home.
When I taught in the Bridge Program with students who had
autism this was a favorite of theirs. It
probably had something to do with the fact it was more challenging and had some
risk involved. I also had really small
classes then and it allowed them all multiple chances to pick a case and answer
a question.
1.
You need to create a set of questions. I used the Jeopardy board for this to help me
remember what questions were harder and which were easier. You could just write them out on paper. You need more questions than jeopardy in case
they get them wrong.
2.
I then turned another jeopardy board into the
board of cases. I numbered them so they
wouldn’t know what was in them.
3.
I split the class into to two teams.
4.
Each person gets a chance to answer a question
and talk with their team about what they think the answer might be.
5.
Once they get the correct answer I offered them
a deal that is sometimes better or sometimes worse than what is in it. The point vales are 1-5.
6.
It is fun to watch them get all riled up and
excited when they get a big case.
7.
Here are some pictures of what it looked liked:
HSA 52 Card Pickup
This game I created when trying to come up with other things
that I could do to review for the 10th grade state test in
Maryland. Most students enjoyed this one
and I used questions from old tests to help them work through how to answer
them. This could work for other large
exams like semester or final exams because there are so many questions.
1.
You will need to create a board that has a
question for each card in the deck. It
should look something like this when you are done:
2.
Split the students into two teams.
3.
The same spokesperson rules apply here as well.
4.
You will need a deck of cards.
5.
When it is a spokesperson’s turn they get to
choose a card. What card they choose is
the question I selected on the board.
6.
They can answer with their group. If they get it right they get the points
associated with the card. So if they
pick a 10 they get 10 pts.
7.
The game is really random and most liked
playing.
This is the simplest form of gamification in the
classroom. It is a little traditional,
but it is a great way to start. All of
the games get students using discourse, taking risks, and reviewing their material. I recommend having them do a review sheet
first that can help them during the game.
They are reviewing material the entire time this way and I have had
students I the pas thank me because they felt like they needed to do less at
home. Give these couple a try. It takes a little work at first, but once
your game is created it is available as long as you don’t lose the file.