Making a Game of It

A traditional Algebra 2 classroom is composed of a Warm Up, Review of the Warm Up, Review of the Homework from the previous night, a Lecture and a possibility of starting homework problems before the end of the class.  The next day is much the same. My goal this year is to empower students.  That is why I am going to start gamifying my classroom with my next Unit.

Students have already chosen their teams of 3 that they will work with through January Mid-Terms.  Students will be expected to work on Missions, Quests and Challenges together.  Each team will work to ensure that each team member is successful in their learning.  Tracking of the teams points will be done in ClassCraft.com.  Students will choose their team names next week.  I have a week and a half to set up the missions in ClassCraft and adjust the Missions, Quests and Challenges in Schoology.

I will need to talk with some gamifiers to find out how to set up the scenario that will drive the Missions, Quests and Challenges.  Somehow I need to learn how to weave a story throughout each Unit, so that the flow of the class is seamless.  Making it easy for students to follow the flow of their assignments, while learning and engaging in the Algebraic concepts.

It is important for me to set the stage for students, so there isn't confusion on what is expected from each student and each team.  I hope that making the math more engaging and allow for learning.