Solar System Exploration: December 2012

One of the major things that I wanted to try this year was to use the Little Big Planetary Exploration level as a graded activity in Science class.  Last year the state of Virginia added a standard (read: information that we have to teach) on the solar system.  My students are required to learn the order of the eight planets (no Pluto, may it rotate in peace) and differentiate between terrestrial and gas giants.

After we came back from the Thanksgiving Holiday (a three day break) it was time to begin our study of the planets.  I printed out the data collection sheets and decided to have the students work in small groups of four while I guided the rest of the students through the necessary information.  The groups working would be able to make up the information while we review at the beginning of class.

This group worked to complete the activity during a free period.

Their score for the activity comes from two parts of the activity.  The bulk of the score (80%) comes from completing the data sheet.  The data sheet is rigorous.  Students are expected to record given and observed information about each planet and draw a quick colored sketch.  It is an involved process that tells the students each planets name, high temperature (in degrees Fahrenheit), and the ratio to the planet earth.  They must then observe the size of each planet, it's rotation speed, and how high they can jump.  The other 20% of the score comes from the students score on the level.  Their entire level score comes from 8 multiple choice questions presented to them at the end of the level.  After being presented the question students drop a marker into one of three color coded baskets.  Correct answers earn 500 points.  Incorrect answers lose 100 points.  All of the questions can be answered by looking back at the data they should have collected playing the level.

This is a sample of what the students are filling out as they work.

As of December 14th more than half of my students are finished with the activity.  It would be more but my family was dealing with a stomach bug that kept me out of my classroom three of our science days.  The students that have finished the activity seem not only to have greatly enjoyed their trip through the solar system, but also seem to remember very well the information presented to them.  The remaining students will complete the activity once we return from Winter Break.  So far the experience has been amazing.  I will share more about it once the activity is complete.

Play testing Stop, Thief! with the students

In September I stopped working on shooting gallery where students shot at multiples of a given number in order to meet a more immediate need: Place Value.  The fruits of that labor can be found here; Stop Thief: A Place Value Game.  The level was published last night.  However, in December, I got to partake in one of my favorite things to do with the kids; play test.  You see after I pour hours and hours into these projects it is fun to give it to the kids and say "Alright, break it while I watch."  I say this sincerely.  I take a great deal of joy in watching them break my levels, or die in the same spot over and over, or point out an obvious detail that I missed.  To share in the fun, here are a few pictures and a couple of quotes from that day.  I'll be back with more about using the level later on.

Girl student: "Mr. Renard, this number doesn't have any comma's, but all the rest of them do."

Me: "Huh, how bout that?"

They all wanted to hold Sackboy.

Boy student: "Mr. Renard, instead of going to the end of the level I fell off the building and now I am stuck in the bad guys hiding space behind the number three."

Girl student: "Mr. Renard instead of trying to jump over to the other building, can you put one of those bouncy things in."

Me: "Why? You'll still be jumping from one roof top to the other."

Girl student: "Yeah, but he doesn't do the pretty spin when you jump normal."
Note: I did add the bounce pads so you can do a pretty spin from one building to another.

Boy student: "Mr. Renard, you can't leave this wall (before you bounce up the ally) blank.  Is there spray paint in the game?"

Me: "No, but I am planning on putting some stickers there."

Boy student: "Can it be stickers of cool things?"

Me: "Sure."

Playing With Objectives

"Mr. Renard, this is fun."

"I know.  Learning can be fun, right?"

"We're learning?!"

"Yep, transitions and putting events in order."

"Oh, wow, that is really cool."

Last week in reading we were reviewing a bunch of different skills.  I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to try something out.  One of the many reading comprehension skills we work on is sequencing events.  Teaching kids not only to put events in order but to use transition words like first, next then, after that, and finally.

With this skill in mind I went to the first Little Big Planet game looking for a basic level that had some random events but would be easy enough for my students to play.  My thought was go to the first world and pick an unforgettable level; I choose Skate to Victory.

Early in the week I sat down and played the level noting five events that took place during the level.  I was purposefully looking for things that would not be obvious to the children, that way they would have to pay attention to what was going on.  The events listed were...

• ride down a hill on a skateboard with Humpty Dumpty
• climb a haunted tower with some help from boots
• saw a king in a sub marine
• jump across a canyon using windmills to go farther
• open a gate using a jetpack

The students played in reading groups, which have four kids in each.  They had a little more than 15 minutes to complete the activity.  We have two controllers so I let two kids play at a time and they had two switch when they got to the second room of ghosts.   Students that were not playing had to keep track of the order of events.

The activity had some real positives and some things that need refining.  First, the kids were always engaged, even the students who were not directly playing.  They did a really nice job of discussing the order of events. When discussing the events they were using the transition words, and they were able to write the events in correct order using those transition words.  One down side was because some kids don't have much experience with games, or Little Big Planet in particular, playing through the level took all of their time and they had to finish the next morning.  That is not the end of the world, but this is the reason I try to keep the stuff I make for them fairly simple and straight forward.

Overall, it was a good first attempt at using official levels in class.  It is just a matter of finding the right objective to work with.

A BIG Friday

This week was a hard week because I got really sick.  As any educator can tell you, being sick is horrible.  There is a lot to do in order to be out.  Then when you go back, there is just as much to do to catch up.  This week I had a bunch of Little Big Planet stuff planned and I was not sure I would get to any of it after being out Tuesday and Wednesday.  After talking with an amazing teaching partner, I decided to just work through most of them today.

Here is a quick recap with more details to follow a bit later on.

• For the first time I did an activity that was based around a level already on the game (Little Big Planet One to be exact) with a learning goal attached to it.
• I have science groups working to complete the Planetary Investigation in small groups.
• A small group of students was testing out a place value game I am putting the finishing touches on.
• I got the student proposals back from a number of fifth graders.  

I will be writing more about each of these soon, but I just wanted to share.  It was an amazing day.  

Thanks to those of you checking in regularly.  It is encouraging.

Same and Opposite sorting game in class: October 2012

The first level that I put together for classroom use was the sorting game.  For more information on the level itself you can look at the level page.  In October, using the PlayStation 3 donated through DonorsChoose.org, the children played the same and opposite game as a station during our reading block.  The game is designed to let kids play together, but in order to let the students who don't play video games on the PlayStation get used to it, I had the children take turns.

My reading class has three small groups of five students each that rotate from one station to the next every 20 minutes.  During the Little Big Planet station, children took turns playing one at a time.  The game takes 90 seconds per turn.  Before we started, I explained to the students that there would be several opportunities to play, and everyone would get a chance.  However, I needed students to remember that there were other groups in the room working on different activities, so they could not distract other students from their work.  I also pointed out to other groups that they needed to stay on task rather than spend the entire time watching their classmates playing Little Big Planet.  To help with this, I turned the television so that the other groups could not see it.

Watching the students interact with the game was truly amazing.  They all watched quietly for the first few turns.  Then something really cool started to happen; they started helping each other get the right answers:  "Oh, same!  Those mean the same thing!" or "Opposite, wet and dry are opposites."  When someone was confused about controls, the others tried to help.  When someone got a higher score, they all celebrated.  If someone didn't do so well, the others were encouraging.  It was really cool and a good start to the program with this group.

The other reading group at our grade level, taught by a different teacher, decided to let the students play the same game in pairs after completing a test.  I was unable to be with them the entire time, but I have heard that the students responded very well and seemed to enjoy themselves.  There was one girl who plays Little Big Planet regularly.  She was apparently extremely helpful when the kids were confused. One of the teachers in the room commented later that she was really amazed at how quickly the kids picked up on what to do and how well they worked while playing.  All in all, it was a great first step to using Little Big Planet this school year.

Alright, let's see what you've got

On Friday, I took the plunge.  After talking with my students about it for a few months I passed out the Pitch form.  Fifth grade students who had expressed interest in using Little Big Planet to create a level of their own have until Friday, December 7 to give me their idea for a level.  From all the kids that return their ideas I am going to sit down and look for the six best and most realistic ideas.  Starting in January we will work on completing the design and then making them a reality using the creation tools in Little Big Planet 2 or Little Big Planet Karting.

Needless to say, the students were excited, a few trying to whisper their ideas to me as we passed in the hall.  I gave them four basic ideas to choose from.

• Platforming
• Top Down
• Kart Race
• Battle Arena

This group of kids is really creative and I am excited to see what they come up with.  I will share more as some of them start to come in.  

Giving learn through play new meaning...

Welcome to LBP in the Classroom.  My name is Adam Renard and I am an elementary teacher in southwest Virginia.  In 2011 I had an idea to combine my passion for teaching and my enjoyment of Little Big Planet to give my students a way to learn through PlayStation.  After a couple of years of hard work and amazing support from both my school community and the wonderful Little Big Planet community I am sharing this information with anyone interested in knowing more about this initiative.  I plan to keep you updated on what I am creating for the use of my students, share information about the game, and give regular updates about a small group of students that I will be working with to design their own levels in Little Big Planet 2 or Little Big Planet Karting.  Please enjoy what you see and by all means use anything if you want to.  If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

Much respect,

Adam