Module 13: Using Games & Inconsequential Competition to Promote Student Engagement (pgs. 157-165)
Please share your thoughts on how you: 1) Use games that focus on academic content and
2) Use inconsequential competition in your teaching.
- What are your thoughts how effective these two strategies are in helping to engage students?
- What are some suggestions for inconsequential items students could earn (i.e.: a coupon to buy juice in the cafeteria p.164)?
Oh, I wish I had time to play games in intervention! I love using games! I still have a Jeopardy board that I used in 1st grade. The kids loved it! I think playing games is definitely an effective way to get kids engaged and a great way to review. I really like the other examples of games-Name that Category, Talk a Mile a Minute and Classroom Feud. I think kids would really enjoy these. Have any of you ever played these games in class?
ReplyDeleteMichelle don't you think you could incorporate some of the learning that happens during intervention into a game. It may not be the fun games like you discuss above but maybe another way of adding a little competition that gets students to engage students in a fun way. Just thinking of maybe one of the PLL lessons where they have to read words. Who can read them faster or could you make a memory game out of them and they have to read the word and make a match? Just thinking how to tweak what you have to make it a game.
DeleteYes, Jamie. Sounds good!
DeleteInconsequential items:
ReplyDelete1. lunch with the teacher/principal
2. messenger for the day - run errands for the teacher all day
3. get to sit wherever they want during the next math lesson
4. coupon to sit at the teacher's desk
5. one free homework day
6. get to drive the Elmo instead of the teacher
7. coupon to sit by a friend at lunch
8. coupon to be the first in line at the end of the day
9. coupon for free dress day
10. coupon for a trip to the office to be praised by Miss Allison!
Can we offer a free dress day? I was thinking since Susy and I are buddy classes, one could be "extra little buddy time" where my big can go help their little for a small time period decided by the teachers.
DeleteQuestion 5- Module 13
ReplyDeleteI laughed when I read one of the bulleted factors to ensure student engagement...Mild Pressure. I know when I play a game or have competition there is nothing mild about it! (Right Michelle, my towel friend?) I do realize that students need instruction in this area to keep team based activities nonthreatening.
I use the activity of timed responses on whiteboards in groups during decoding. I pose a task for students. Without discussion they write responses and pass the board to their teammate. They can pass the board if they have no response. This is a great way to observe who has mastered the skill and who hasn't. I usually time them for 1 minute. The group that has the highest total after a few rounds received a bead for their necklace to go towards earning a teamwork charm. Since we aren't using necklaces this year, I'll find some other reward.
I'd like to try using the games Talk a Mile a Minute and Classroom Feud during math. The text states that competing in the spirit of fun increases engagement.
Oh Val, so true!!! Not mild at all!
DeleteI use Jeopardy to review lesson and concepts in my room. The kids LOVE it and it's fun to watch them interact with information in this way. I didn't do many games, if any, last year and reading this section reminded me that I need to. I really like the idea of playing them through the unit and then the team with the most points win at the end. I usually use money as the reward in my room since we do an economy. $50 for the winners, $30 for second place, $10 for third place and $1 for all the "need a little more practice" teams.
ReplyDeleteLove this, Amy!
Delete1) Use games that focus on academic content- I have seen the positive effects of this so many times in math interventions. This is really pretty much what we did everday. It sounds bad when the kids go back and say, "we played games". It's funny though that they don't even realize that they are learning. Anything BINGO related, or if there is a sticker involved you better look out! The engagment of your kids is going to go through the roof! I've played Jeopardy in my own classroom before, but to keep the engagement level high for everyone, they played in small groups, with one spokesperson giving the "final answer". I've even left the option of stealing for half the points open to the other team, so they are still paying attentino too. I think the elment of a game, takes a student who would normally be withdrawn and unsure of a skill or concept and make them willing to try.
ReplyDelete2) Use inconsequential competition in your teaching: I think this is a good way, to help out the students who are struggling, in a way that is under the radar just enough that they rest of the class doesn't see they are having trouble. They can learn from their peer/partner at the same time. Games are a great way to involve all the kids, at all the levels. When I think about some of the game shows that used to be on TV, there was a lot more thinking involved, than with the games that the kids play today. Even the shows on TV (jeopardy is still on) don't require as much thinking as they used to. The millionare show is just a recalling of information. They are not doing anything with it. But the $100,000 pyramid like they mentioned or the old show, Password. Those require higher levels of thinking like assosiation and classification. Most of the games on the gaming systems, don't make it that high. I think they are out there, but it's not what the kids are picking to play for the most part.