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.