The Thief reveals himself!
You will note that huge decimal.
Playing LBP works really well as a small group station.
Send that bad guy to jail.
Was it hundreds or hundredths?
One thing is for sure, it was fun.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
But the Children Love the Bounce Pads
I just wanted to share photos of using Stop Thief!: Decimal Edition as a math station. It worked amazingly well, the kids were able to play through it two times and fill out a two question half sheet to give me feedback. Humorously enough, with over 100 bounce pads in the level, the number one request was more bounce pads. Enjoy the pictures.
Friday, April 19, 2013
Humbling Encouragement from my Clientele
So we go into Spring break and my co teacher sends these to me. Both of them come from girls in our class. Think that they are enjoying LBP in the classroom?
I know about half of you reading this right now are thinking, '15 minutes for recess!?!" Sadly, it is what it is.
We made the brainstorming section on this one,
but didn't make it to the final copy.
Monday, April 15, 2013
One Giant Leap For Sack Kind: A Reflection
As we have entered into the assessment-centric time in education, data is king. Every educator must able dissect the performances of his students rapidly and flexibly in order to adjust plans. I have become very good at breaking down the what my students need simply by looking at a few wrong answers. It is at this point that I am excited to share with you something that probably won't surprise anyone: It worked.
One of my goals when I created the Little Big Planetary Investigation was to have the children complete it for a grade. Starting in December my students embarked on a journey through the cosmos in groups of four. Here are some of the take aways to share...
1. They loved it! Each group was so excited to get their chance to complete the activity. Kids who play games for fun and kids who don't play much at all were excited to do the work. They savored every second that they had the controller. They were polite and respectful of each other.
2. The data sheets were all completed very well. The work that students completed during the activity was amazing. When I designed the activity I intended for the data sheet to give students key information and make observations. They need to pay attention to collect the data when it is presented. Then they need to make observations about how high the character jumps, how fast the planet is moving, and what the planet looks like (and draw it). Many of the groups did a great job helping one another and the final products were super.
3. They want more! I included a feedback survey at the end of the data sheet and I repeatedly saw comments like, Can we do more of this? Can we do things like this in math and reading? They really enjoyed themselves and they want more. Now, if I could just find the time to make more.
4. It seems to have worked. When completing the unit test I did a question breakdown. The questions covered during the activity were the least missed questions on the test. To me, that would suggest that the kids remembered this information better than information covered through traditional means.
5. Things like this take time. Not only did it take time to create, but it took a while to cycle all of the kids through. If I get the opportunity to complete this activity next year, I will set up the way students complete the activity differently. It was totally worth it, I just need to structure when they do it a bit differently so the activity is completed in a more timely fashion.
Overall, simply amazing. I am totally convinced that this sort of thing has a place in classrooms. The kids response and application of the activity displayed that. Next subject.
One of my goals when I created the Little Big Planetary Investigation was to have the children complete it for a grade. Starting in December my students embarked on a journey through the cosmos in groups of four. Here are some of the take aways to share...
1. They loved it! Each group was so excited to get their chance to complete the activity. Kids who play games for fun and kids who don't play much at all were excited to do the work. They savored every second that they had the controller. They were polite and respectful of each other.
2. The data sheets were all completed very well. The work that students completed during the activity was amazing. When I designed the activity I intended for the data sheet to give students key information and make observations. They need to pay attention to collect the data when it is presented. Then they need to make observations about how high the character jumps, how fast the planet is moving, and what the planet looks like (and draw it). Many of the groups did a great job helping one another and the final products were super.
3. They want more! I included a feedback survey at the end of the data sheet and I repeatedly saw comments like, Can we do more of this? Can we do things like this in math and reading? They really enjoyed themselves and they want more. Now, if I could just find the time to make more.
4. It seems to have worked. When completing the unit test I did a question breakdown. The questions covered during the activity were the least missed questions on the test. To me, that would suggest that the kids remembered this information better than information covered through traditional means.
5. Things like this take time. Not only did it take time to create, but it took a while to cycle all of the kids through. If I get the opportunity to complete this activity next year, I will set up the way students complete the activity differently. It was totally worth it, I just need to structure when they do it a bit differently so the activity is completed in a more timely fashion.
Overall, simply amazing. I am totally convinced that this sort of thing has a place in classrooms. The kids response and application of the activity displayed that. Next subject.
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