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Gamifying Lessons is Possible, Even Without Technology
Apps such as Class Dojo, Socrative, Nearpod, Zondle and Play Brighter tend to dominate most conversations about gamification in education. This focus on technology can alienate teachers who may think, "I don't have any computers in my room, so that leaves me out!"
Yet "gamifying your classroom" simply means using game mechanics to motivate students, argued Linda T. Darcy in an ASCD Express article. The characteristics of a good game are the same, she said, whether that game is on the Internet or in a box with dice and a board.
Darcy offered five practices teachers can use to encourage game-like engagement in the classroom, and none of the practices requires technology.
Read the full story.
Article by Celine Provini, EducationWorld Editor
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Subject: ELA- Reading
Grade: 3
Lesson Objective: To identify the moral of a fable
Common Core Standard: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.2- Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.
Materials:
Printable Student Paragraph Worksheet
Starter:
Say:
Has anyone ever told you a story that had a lesson at the end of it? What was the story? (Allow the students to answer.)
Main:
Say:
There are some stories that have lessons at the end of them. Those stories are called fables.
A fable is a story that has animals as the characters. The lesson at the end of a fable is called the moral. The moral of the story teaches you something about how you should act or shows you a different way to think about something.
One fable that most people have heard of is called The Tortoise and The Hare. The animals race each other and the hare is so far ahead that he takes a nap. The tortoise keeps going and wins the race even though the hare is faster. The moral of the story is, “slow and steady wins the race.”
The story teaches us to keep trying and doing what we set out to do, even if it seems like there are people who may be faster or better than you are. If you keep going, you will finish.
Another fable is about a lion and a mouse. The mouse saves the lion’s life by chewing a net and setting it free. The moral of that story is, “little friends may become great friends.” That fable teaches us not look at how someone looks, but at what they can do and how they help you.
You are now going to read the fable “The Ants and the Grasshopper.” While you are reading, I want you to think about what the moral or lesson at the end of the fable is.
You should think about what parts of the story helped you to figure out the moral.
Then, you will write the answer the questions that are below the story.
Does anyone have any questions?
Feedback:
Say:
Who would like to share their answers? (Allow the students to share and go over the answers and where they came from.)
Written by Kimberly Greacen, Education World® Contributing Writer
Kimberly is an educator with extensive experience in curriculum writing and developing instructional materials to align with Common Core State Standards and Bloom's Taxonomy.
Copyright© 2019 Education World
Subject: ELA- Reading
Grade: 3
Lesson Objective: To understand and identify literal and nonliteral language in a story
Common Core Standard: : CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, distinguishing literal from nonliteral language.
Materials:
Printable Paragraph Student Handout
Starter:
Say:
Have you ever heard someone way something like, “I could eat a horse,” or “I slept like a log?” Did you understand what they meant? (Allow the students to answer.)
Main:
Say:
There are two types of words and phrases. One is called literal language, which means that you say exactly what you mean. Examples of literal language are, “I am very hungry” and “I slept really well last night.”
The other type of words or phrases are called nonliteral or figurative language. This means that you use different words to say what you mean. Instead of staying “I am very hungry,” you would say, “I could eat a horse.” Both phrases mean that you are hungry, but the make different pictures in your head when you hear them.
By saying, “I could eat a horse,” you are making the person you are talking to understand just how hungry you are when they imagine you eating a whole horse.
Another example is “I slept really well last night,” and “I slept like a log.” Which phrase give you a better picture in your head of what happened? (Allow the students to answer.)
The phrase, “I slept like a log,” helps you to imagine someone sleeping so well that they didn’t move at all.
Can you think of any nonliteral language that you have heard or used? (Allow the students to answer. Make a list on the board of their responses.)
You are now going to read part of the book, Thank You, Amelia Bedelia. While you are reading, I want you to think about any nonliteral language that you are reading and what it means.
Then, you will write the answers to the questions that are below the story.
Does anyone have any questions?
Feedback:
Say:
Who would like to share their answers? (Allow the students to share and go over the answers and where they came from.)
Written by Kimberly Greacen, Education World® Contributing Writer
Kimberly is an educator with extensive experience in curriculum writing and developing instructional materials to align with Common Core State Standards and Bloom's Taxonomy.
Copyright© 2019 Education World
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