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.