How Differentiating can be Incorporated into Gaming Time…
If you visited my brick and mortar classroom, you would see every kid working on something at their own level during each subject of the day. I was known as the Differentiating Queen! Everyone thought what I was doing was so difficult, but really it wasn’t. In a later post, I’ll share my differentiating secrets, but today we’re just going to focus on gaming and differentiated instruction. As I mentioned in my previous posts, I don’t do games the way most teachers do. You can learn more about how I play games by visiting my posts on Part 1 and Part 2 on Games in the Classroom. The games that I typically play with my student are not skill focused. They are game focused. That might sound backwards, but it allows me to pull in any skill I want my students to practice while we are playing the games. There is so much flexibility with doing it this way, if I so choose, I can have 4 students playing a game practicing different skills from 4 different subjects!
A quick review….
Most of the games I play with students are slightly altered traditional games whether they are board games like Sorry, Trouble, or Candy Land or active games like Baseball, Kickball, or Darts. I also play games that I’ve created, but for the most part they are some type of variation similar to traditional games. The slight alteration that I make with these games is that prior to a student's turn, I have the student answer some type of problem or demonstrate some skill they have learned. For the most part, if they get the answer correct, they take their turn. If they are incorrect, they wait for the next round to try again. Not every game works that way, but most can.
Now for the differentiated part…
There are 2 types of groups:
1. A small group of students that are all working on the same skill (addition facts to 5). If that is the case, I may use a set of flashcards with addition facts to 5 on them to have the students answer during the game.
2. A class or small group that is not working on the same skills or even at the same level. I often find this in my center groups as they are chosen by the student. If that is the case, I could choose to pull out of my files a baggie of flashcards with addition facts to 5 that John is working on, another set of flashcards with sight words that Marcus is working on, and another set of flashcards with cvc words that both Juan and Sue are working on. I would place the three stacks of flashcards in front of me. When it is John’s turn, I will pull from the addition stack. When it is Marcus’ turn, I will pull from the sight word stack. When it is Juan’s turn I will pull from the cvc word stack, and the same for Sue’s turn. Yes, I have a lot of flashcard sets. I didn’t go out and make them all in one day. I accrued them over time (like we do the stuff in our garage!) After I create them, laminate them, and usually use them, I put them in labeled baggies and file them in file folders marked with their skill. You may not be prepared with all these different stacks of flashcard skills and that’s ok too! Don’t stop reading! I don’t always use flashcards. My favorite thing to use is a small dry erase board. It doesn't matter if I’m working with the whole class, I can differentiate a game to work on a specific skill for each child’s turn with a dry erase board. I like dry erase boards because they can be a bit more interactive as well for the student.
Below are a few examples of how I differentiate for students with a dry erase board playing several different games.
· If we are working on spelling, I can allow the student to use my dry erase board to spell the words I tell them. For some students, I might give them easy words like dog or pig while other students might get words like truck or even thunder. Students get points for each letter they get correct in the word.
· While playing 4-Square with 2 students, I have one student complete a multiplication fact on the board by drawing an array. For the second student, I write a word problem that he needs to read and solve. When each student answers correctly, he can insert a game piece into a chosen slot.
· During the first round of playing kick ball, four students come up to Home plate. The first student is shown a picture of a plant cell and is asked to find and define the word nucleus. The second student is asked to read the word honesty and give an example of a time when she chose to demonstrate that trait. The third student drew a picture to demonstrate what it means to divide 12 by 2. The forth student was shown a list of numbers and asked to find the only prime number in the list.
The most important part of playing games like this with your students is that you have to KNOW your students very well. You need to know what their strengths are, their weaknesses, what motivates them, what discourages them, how to read their body language, and how to best support them to be successful in what ever the are learning.
· You need to have accurate assessment data that you understand in order to have a clear picture of what your students’ academic strengths and weaknesses are.
· Observe them as they play, when they talk to their friends, and have conversations with them to find out what motivates them and what discourages them. Watch their body language as they interact with other students in various situations.
· Research, study, observe and reflect on the cognitive phases that students go through as they learn subject matter, so you can understand how to move them through those phases successfully.
Why do all this for a game? First, you can’t differentiate effectively unless you know what your students need to learn. Second, during a game where you are having students practice skills that are new to them, if they are struggling they may become discouraged. You need to know what motivates them, because games are meant to be fun, even when the purpose is educational – especially when the purpose is educational. If you know your students’ body language, you can determine if they are having fun, getting discouraged, feeling that the questions you are providing are too hard or easy, etc. The games that I’ve shared with you are so flexible that within the game, if a student is struggling, throw in some questions you know he or she will be able to answer to boost his or her confidence. If a student is getting bored because the questions you are providing are too easy, raise the level of difficulty and say, “This one might be hard…” When they get it, make a big deal to congratulate them and keep increasing the level of difficulty until you hit the level your student needs to work on. If students are getting bored with the game in general, you might change your voice and tell them they have… “Mooooved on to the BOOOONNUUUUUSSS ROUND!” Last, you have to know what baby steps students need to take in order to move them from point A to point B. Continue to learn how students learn through research, study, and observation! Observation is meaningless without reflection. Reflection is the putting together of the puzzle pieces so that something can be better understood.
You might think after 3 posts, I should be done talking about games, but I’m not. J My next blog post topic is a continuation of Games in the Classroom – To Compete or Not To Compete… Please be a commenter. I want to hear from you. You all have wonderful ideas to share with others. Don’t think that we’ve already heard them before, because somebody hasn’t!! I look forward to collaborating with you!
Teacher Jen
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