Help designing a game?

[Librarian of Doom]

It just occurred to me that I have a great resource here in the Rebellion that I should be tapping into.

Backstory:

I am, as most of you are aware, a school librarian. I struggle with my middle school kids. I want to make reading fun and relevant for them, as well as teach them important life skills. I strongly believe that they really need to read in order to get better at reading, so I try to give them free time in which to do so. Unfortunately, with them being middle school kids, "reading" time, often turns into gossip/flirting/goofing off time. I'm trying to improve my classroom management skills, but since they don't receive a grade for their time in the library, it's hard to give them any consequences short of detention, which is often not warranted. (I'll hand it out right quickly if it is).

I was hoping to have some kind of program in place for this next school year, loosely based on the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan (If you haven't read them, you should. They're excellent). Kids would be sorted into "cabins" based on their Greek god or goddess "parent" and the cabins would compete against each other to meet reading goals. There would also be capture the flag games, because it's in the books, and hey, who doesn't love capture the flag?

While I was looking at the Gen Con page wistfully, I noticed that they have a special day for librarians and educators (even more wistful), and that it includes a session on D&D in the classroom. I got to thinking about making my challenge more of a role-playing thing. In the books, the kids go on quests and fight monsters. If I'm tying this all back in to reading, I guess I could have the kids complete reading goals in order to level up and get equipment. I have a vague idea of how I want it to go, but it's all very vague and unfocused.

Anybody got any good ideas on ways to make this work? I'll need to run it for approximately 150-200 kids, who I will see once a week in groups of 25-30ish, if that helps. We use Schoology at my school, which is basically Facebook for schools, so I could use that to communicate with them, set challenges, etc. I'm well-connected with the language arts/reading teachers, so if I ask them I'm sure they can set it up so the kids get a grade of some sort for it.

[leadchipmunk]

I don't really have any advice, but I am interested in people's ideas and how this turns out. So, I'm tuning in.

[Librarian of Doom]

Also, what would be a convenient way to set up online character sheets? And a good LARPing system for Capture The Flag?

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

LoD - GREAT idea!!!!!

I'm actually an educational game and virtual world researcher - so these questions really capture my attention! Oh, and can I please plug my favorite conference for you to attend next year AS A PRESENTER???? Games, Learning, and Society is held in Madison, WI every June - and they also have an educator's forum as part of a pre-conference. You'll love the networking opportunity, and we really would love to have more people from "the field" sharing what you're doing, especially in Libraries!!

Some ideas to kick around about the logistics. MIGHT be able to use Google docs for the character sheets, but I'll keep looking around to see if any Wizards of the Coast fans have put up easy to use online character sheets. Some generators get really too in depth for this age group.

And I just sent off an email to a colleague who does LARPs. He might have some ideas for your kids.

For more points and experiences, you could have them solve crossword puzzles like these: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Daily.aspx

Oh, I'm SO EXCITED - this is a great, great idea. And I loved the books!!!

[Vicarious Ink]

Quirky idea: Give them all paintball guns and let them fun wild.

[Librarian of Doom]

LoD - GREAT idea!!!!!

I'm actually an educational game and virtual world researcher - so these questions really capture my attention! Oh, and can I please plug my favorite conference for you to attend next year AS A PRESENTER???? Games, Learning, and Society is held in Madison, WI every June - and they also have an educator's forum as part of a pre-conference. You'll love the networking opportunity, and we really would love to have more people from "the field" sharing what you're doing, especially in Libraries!!

Some ideas to kick around about the logistics. MIGHT be able to use Google docs for the character sheets, but I'll keep looking around to see if any Wizards of the Coast fans have put up easy to use online character sheets. Some generators get really too in depth for this age group.

And I just sent off an email to a colleague who does LARPs. He might have some ideas for your kids.

For more points and experiences, you could have them solve crossword puzzles like these: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Daily.aspx

Oh, I'm SO EXCITED - this is a great, great idea. And I loved the books!!!

Thanks so much for the input! I would love to attend that conference, and definitely would love to present. I would especially love some LARPing ideas. I'm thinking I'm going to pitch it to the kids as "like a video game, but we're playing it in real life" The crosswords or something similar will be great for getting them in the library and started on something productive

Quirky idea: Give them all paintball guns and let them fun wild.

I'd love to. Do you want to buy me 30+ sets of paintball equipment and clear it with the parents?

[leadchipmunk]

Some ideas to kick around about the logistics. MIGHT be able to use Google docs for the character sheets, but I'll keep looking around to see if any Wizards of the Coast fans have put up easy to use online character sheets. Some generators get really too in depth for this age group.

Second for Google docs. It is a good way for them to be able to access it at any time, share it with you/teachers and is infinitely editable. I know of no online DnD-like generators that would work. Also, you could set it up as a spreadsheet and form. If you have enough spreadsheet skills (of which I am severely lacking), you could have them put in their experience gained on a spreadsheet and any "items" owned or used, etc. on the form and it will automatically update and possibly even level up their character sheet.

I'd love to. Do you want to buy me 30+ sets of paintball equipment and clear it with the parents?

I can help with the parents. When they say it is too dangerous for their kids or that it hurts too much or anything like that, just shoot them and go "See? It ain't that bad."

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

Ohhhhh - I LIKE the idea of coordinating with the PE teacher. Swimming for Posideon, archery for Artemis, running for Mercury ..... They can tackle any number of puzzle activities for quieter time and INT points.

Paintball - cool, but with so many schools banning ANYTHING that resembles a gun or could POSSIBLY get a kid hurt (no more running at recess or touch football in some schools) - you'll need to find alternatives that will work at your site.

[Librarian of Doom]

We're a very, very small school, so swimming is not possible; we have no pool. We do have an archery program that started last year, and a nice big field where the PE teachers train them for track and cross-country, but they jump over chairs to train for hurdles, if that tells you how little equipment we have. I will need to coordinate with them; thanks for pointing that out. And I do like the balloon idea. I was planning on using a modified/simplified version of the Mind's Eye Theatre LARPing rules, but the balloon would be much better.

[Reindeer]

We're a very, very small school, so swimming is not possible; we have no pool. We do have an archery program that started last year, and a nice big field where the PE teachers train them for track and cross-country, but they jump over chairs to train for hurdles, if that tells you how little equipment we have. I will need to coordinate with them; thanks for pointing that out. And I do like the balloon idea. I was planning on using a modified/simplified version of the Mind's Eye Theatre LARPing rules, but the balloon would be much better.

Wait.. so in the US, middle schools only don't have pools if they're small? That's... I dunno what to think about it actually. I've never even seen a school-owned pool, unless we're talking about secondary ed with a sports profile.

Your school don't need to own a pool in order for the kids to go swimming. Public pools will sometimes offer discounts for school children. If you've got one nearby, you could always check with the school lead if they'd be willing to found such a project.

Why not task the children to BUILD proper equipment as part of the project? Get the janitor involved, work in small groups of maybe five kids, and take the opportunity to teach them how to safely handle a hammer. You would need materials of course, but these are things that can be acquired for a relatively cheap prize. You could build benches and stuff that would be useful even outside of p.e. class to build some motivation from the founding area.

[KAllen]

My last 4 years of teaching were middle school kids...probably the reason I became a cop. Of course I ended up the the G-Thug-Wannabes, so that might have something to do w/ it.

Anything you can do to get them to read is cool. Even if it's comic book, reading is reading and it's good for them.

[SusieBlu]

http://classrealm.com/blog/classrealm-the-quest-to-make-learning-a-grand-adventure/

I read a news article talking about a teacher trying to bring gaming into his class room.

The above link is him being really successful with the idea. It may have some useful stuff for you.

[Librarian of Doom]

Wait.. so in the US, middle schools only don't have pools if they're small? That's... I dunno what to think about it actually. I've never even seen a school-owned pool, unless we're talking about secondary ed with a sports profile.

Your school don't need to own a pool in order for the kids to go swimming. Public pools will sometimes offer discounts for school children. If you've got one nearby, you could always check with the school lead if they'd be willing to found such a project.

Why not task the children to BUILD proper equipment as part of the project? Get the janitor involved, work in small groups of maybe five kids, and take the opportunity to teach them how to safely handle a hammer. You would need materials of course, but these are things that can be acquired for a relatively cheap prize. You could build benches and stuff that would be useful even outside of p.e. class to build some motivation from the founding area.

You know, you're right. The huge (800+ kids) middle school I worked at before this one didn't have a pool, either. But if you think I'm wrangling a bunch of hormone-crazed middle schoolers at a public pool....well, maybe. If I got enough help. I could hold it over their heads as a reward if they do well. And building equipment might be a possibility. I'd have to get with the administration and see what they think. Good ideas.

My last 4 years of teaching were middle school kids...probably the reason I became a cop. Of course I ended up the the G-Thug-Wannabes, so that might have something to do w/ it.

Anything you can do to get them to read is cool. Even if it's comic book, reading is reading and it's good for them.

I hear you! I was actually working at the alternative school for the East Baton Rouge district for my first two years straight out of school. Those kids simultaneously broke my heart and made me wanna smack their heads together. I would be seriously burnt out by now if I'd stayed in that job.

http://classrealm.com/blog/classrealm-the-quest-to-make-learning-a-grand-adventure/

I read a news article talking about a teacher trying to bring gaming into his class room.

The above link is him being really successful with the idea. It may have some useful stuff for you.

Great link!!! thanks for sharing!

[Librarian of Doom]

Okay, so my husband suggested that instead of giving points for "quests" I give them for "achievements". I was thinking about giving them a "Readerscore" like the Xbox "gamerscore". There would be achievements like:

1R - Cracked a book - when they finish reading a book

1R - Quiz monster - passed an Accelerated Reader quiz

5R - Bookworm - finish 5 books

5R - Jack of all Genres - read 1 book each from 5 different genres

And so on and so forth. Now I'm trying to come up with a clever name to call this program. The only thing that really comes to mind is "Library Live" as a lame ripoff of Xbox Live, but, as previously mentioned, lame. Anybody else got any clever ideas?

Also, if you have any ideas for more achievements, I'd love to have those too. I'm trying to get this idea refined, but school will be starting back in about a month, so I need to get it figured out ASAP.

[Atalan]

Also, what would be a convenient way to set up online character sheets? And a good LARPing system for Capture The Flag?

Dagorhir or Belegarth have the simplest fighting systems for LARPs (however, they might undermine your attempts to give out good things as winning is largely based on skill, and without practice, it becomes based on athletic prowess, which might cause the kids who did the most reading to not do very well, if I remember how middle school works well).

Both are full contact games. However, it is not unusual for special restrictions to be added for additional safety (at Ragnarok, Dagorhir's largest event, this year there was a tournament for those too young to be able to fight in the main battles). But the idea of the full contact game might be far more appealing than having a character sheet to carry around while playing.

[Librarian of Doom]

Dagorhir or Belegarth have the simplest fighting systems for LARPs (however, they might undermine your attempts to give out good things as winning is largely based on skill, and without practice, it becomes based on athletic prowess, which might cause the kids who did the most reading to not do very well, if I remember how middle school works well).

Both are full contact games. However, it is not unusual for special restrictions to be added for additional safety (at Ragnarok, Dagorhir's largest event, this year there was a tournament for those too young to be able to fight in the main battles). But the idea of the full contact game might be far more appealing than having a character sheet to carry around while playing.

I just don't think I can get permission to do full contact, even with the safety restrictions. It's silly, since they're just as likely (if not more) to be injured during oh, say, basketball, football, volleyball, baseball, softball, cheerleading, cross-country, track and field, archery etc., etc., etc., but there you go. Wish I could. I'd love to get started with Dagorhir or Belegarth myself.

[Atalan]

Well, here's the thing... the equipment will have to be padded for full contact, because I seriously doubt they'll control themselves to only light hits...

As well, for Dagorhir (don't know if Belegarth has the same thing) this thread is for people looking for groups: http://www.dagorhir.com/forums/index.php/topic,20350.0.html

[azsf]

a lot of good suggestions here for the physical side of things, but not a lot for the reading... :/

i worked as an assistant teacher for about 5/6 years, and tangential learning is probably the best suggestion i have for you. essentially, you get the kid interested in one topic, and then they learn about the other topics from that. for an example (keeping with the greek myths thing) get a kid interested in hercules, then they go find out other info that relates to his myth. this can work well with more physical games as well, but im not sure how it would go in a team environment (especially where reading, not learning, is the focus).

if the books are all non-fiction... well you could try putting them all in the "restricted section" and telling the kids they've been banned for younger audiences because the content is too mature

[Avalon]

This is a fabulous idea. Seriously. The only things I can say to get the kids more heavily involved is to get their parents involved as well. Not necessarily in the game, but in reading at home. There was an experiment done in the UK that, long story short, found that the reason young boys specifically (and I'd be the same is true for girls) don't read in school is because their parents of the same gender don't read with them. Boys' fathers don't read with them, for example. A good way to get this started, besides making sure that the parents are aware of this trope, is to invite the kids' folks in to the library one afternoon for a "kick off" party or something, and tell all the parents to bring something to read and share. Tell them to keep it short, a paragraph from their favorite book, a comic strip, even an internet joke (I'm a big fan of the "real college entrance essay" myself) but they ALL have to read.

Absolute best of luck! I remember trying to get my ESL kids to read when I was a teacher in the states and it was like pulling teeth, especially with my immigrant kids, since they usually had really nasty home lives.

[Sambalina]

I came across this recently:

Pokemon Reward System

(Warning, the website can be EXTREMELY slow at times, hang in there)

Yeah, it's pokemon, and it's for esl, not reading, but some of the ideas could be adapted (Ie: kids get (or make) a character that levels up through their classroom achievements). It sort of harnesses our way of doing things here at NF too -level up your life, level up your reading!

Sounds like a great project, LoD. Please keep us updated on how it goes. I teach middle school too, and they are a difficult age group, to be sure

[azsf]

those are awesome achievement ideas athena! diggin' it

[Raincloak]

You might find it easier to divide the kids into classes. Ms. Sunshine's class vs. Ms Rainbow's class, and so forth. (Or homeroom numbers. Whatever.) You'd need to scale the challenges a bit, obviously kindergarteners cannot plow through as many pages as 6th graders.

What you might do is design an imaginary "dungeon," and have each class read their way through it. (Or "temple," if you're going with the Percy Jackson theme?) More pages or books read = more steps through dungeon. Make a big poster with a map of the dungeon, and put a tag where each class stands, kinda like Candyland or Parchesi. Move the tags every day as the classes read. Periodically issue challenges on chosen days, or when specific squares are reached. Treasure chests could be awarded when a class hits certain goals.

I'm not actually sure middle school kids would buy into this, since if I recall right, they're a pretty cynical bunch. But maybe your school's different. When I was in 7th grade the problem was not getting the kids to read pages ... it was more like getting them to show up for class, getting them to stop smoking at recess, getting them to quit beating up yours truly (yes, I was a bully magnet), etc. But what do I know, I'm not an educator.

[Librarian of Doom]

Well, here's the thing... the equipment will have to be padded for full contact, because I seriously doubt they'll control themselves to only light hits...

As well, for Dagorhir (don't know if Belegarth has the same thing) this thread is for people looking for groups: http://www.dagorhir.com/forums/index.php/topic,20350.0.html

Thanks! I think there used to be a chapter near me; I'll check it out.

a lot of good suggestions here for the physical side of things, but not a lot for the reading... :/

i worked as an assistant teacher for about 5/6 years, and tangential learning is probably the best suggestion i have for you. essentially, you get the kid interested in one topic, and then they learn about the other topics from that. for an example (keeping with the greek myths thing) get a kid interested in hercules, then they go find out other info that relates to his myth. this can work well with more physical games as well, but im not sure how it would go in a team environment (especially where reading, not learning, is the focus).

if the books are all non-fiction... well you could try putting them all in the "restricted section" and telling the kids they've been banned for younger audiences because the content is too mature

Thanks for the suggestions!

This is a fabulous idea. Seriously. The only things I can say to get the kids more heavily involved is to get their parents involved as well. Not necessarily in the game, but in reading at home. There was an experiment done in the UK that, long story short, found that the reason young boys specifically (and I'd be the same is true for girls) don't read in school is because their parents of the same gender don't read with them. Boys' fathers don't read with them, for example. A good way to get this started, besides making sure that the parents are aware of this trope, is to invite the kids' folks in to the library one afternoon for a "kick off" party or something, and tell all the parents to bring something to read and share. Tell them to keep it short, a paragraph from their favorite book, a comic strip, even an internet joke (I'm a big fan of the "real college entrance essay" myself) but they ALL have to read.

Absolute best of luck! I remember trying to get my ESL kids to read when I was a teacher in the states and it was like pulling teeth, especially with my immigrant kids, since they usually had really nasty home lives.

Thanks! Great suggestions!!!

More achievements, huh?

Storyteller - Read a story aloud to a younger sibling, friend, or junior student

Author - Write a new story, and show it to your teacher or librarian

Trilogy Triumph - Read three books in a series

Lucky Dip - Without looking, pick a book from a box to read [Dress up a few boxes all fancy with coloured paper/foil, ribbons etc., books sorted by reading level and/or gender (if you must)]

Everyone's a Critic - Write a book review [Reviews, or selected favourites, go up on a noticeboard for people to look at.]

Champion Bookworm - Read 10 books

Superstar Bookworm - Read 20 books

Genre themed achievements: Supersleuth - Read 5 mystery genre books. Dragontamer - Read 5 fantasy genre books. Etc.

Classic Connoisseur - Read a book that was written more than 30 years ago.

eBook Experience - Read a story on a kindle, computer, or other electronic reading device.

Mercury's Apprentice - Give a student a list of books or resources, and start a stopwatch. They've got to find as many of the items on the list as they can as quickly as possible and bring them to you to unlock this speed-based achievement. (Good for teaching how to locate items quickly, shelving system, Dewey, etc.) (Make more challenging lists for Mercury's Journeyman, Mercury's Master, that they can try only after completing the prior ones.)

Love these!!!

I came across this recently:

Pokemon Reward System

(Warning, the website can be EXTREMELY slow at times, hang in there)

Yeah, it's pokemon, and it's for esl, not reading, but some of the ideas could be adapted (Ie: kids get (or make) a character that levels up through their classroom achievements). It sort of harnesses our way of doing things here at NF too -level up your life, level up your reading!

Sounds like a great project, LoD. Please keep us updated on how it goes. I teach middle school too, and they are a difficult age group, to be sure

What a great story! I love finding out all these ways that educators are gamifying their classes!! I will definitely update with woots and arghs

those are awesome achievement ideas athena! diggin' it

Yes, yes they are! I'm totally stealing them

You might find it easier to divide the kids into classes. Ms. Sunshine's class vs. Ms Rainbow's class, and so forth. (Or homeroom numbers. Whatever.) You'd need to scale the challenges a bit, obviously kindergarteners cannot plow through as many pages as 6th graders.

What you might do is design an imaginary "dungeon," and have each class read their way through it. (Or "temple," if you're going with the Percy Jackson theme?) More pages or books read = more steps through dungeon. Make a big poster with a map of the dungeon, and put a tag where each class stands, kinda like Candyland or Parchesi. Move the tags every day as the classes read. Periodically issue challenges on chosen days, or when specific squares are reached. Treasure chests could be awarded when a class hits certain goals.

I'm not actually sure middle school kids would buy into this, since if I recall right, they're a pretty cynical bunch. But maybe your school's different. When I was in 7th grade the problem was not getting the kids to read pages ... it was more like getting them to show up for class, getting them to stop smoking at recess, getting them to quit beating up yours truly (yes, I was a bully magnet), etc. But what do I know, I'm not an educator.

Well, it's a small rural school with less than 500 kids total in PreK-8th grade, so it may be a little different from your experience. I'm not 100% sure it will work, but at least I'm trying something. I do like your "reading the way through the dungeon" idea. I was going to have the elementary grades do a "book adventure" theme with passports, so I may do that with them. Thanks!!!

[Librarian of Doom]

My latest cry for help-what would be the most efficient way to keep track of these achievements? I was thinking make a giant spreadsheet, with one sheet per class, but is there a better way? Take pity on my ignorance, rebels!!!