One size never fits all in any classroom. When it comes to activities and projects, it’s helpful to have some flexibility in the design so that students with varying abilities and interests can benefit.
We definitely want projects that promote meaningful deep dives into content and a GAME DESIGN project is one I can highly recommend for use with gifted students of all ages.
For students in grades K-2, I’ve found it’s best to start with a BOARD GAME PROJECT. Consider this list of critical thinking skills and depth and complexity tools used in such a project. Creating a board game from scratch requires high-level thinking, and there are no templates here. My students have always been extremely proud of their games and parents have understood the work that goes into them; they keep them for years!
| This board game project was part of our WONDERS curriculum in 1st grade GT. Students learned and practiced basic research skills while exploring wonders of interest to them. Read more about thematic units HERE. |
BOARD GAME PROJECT: HOW-TO (Individual Games)
Begin by asking students to share about board games they’ve played. Explain that a lot of thinking goes into designing and creating a board game. Have students suggest what they think a game designer does in the process of creating a new game. If you have some board games in your classroom or can bring some in from home, have the students look at them and discuss the decision-making that may have gone into creating each game.
With younger students, making the board first gives kids immediate ownership in the process and motivates them to see the project through. Young students might have trouble actually drawing a gameboard, so I’ve found that it’s easiest for them to make a gameboard out of a simple 10″ x 12″ file folder and colored coding labels (dots) that form a path from START to FINISH. It’s important that students plan the path BEFORE placing the dots on the folder. Two-color counters can help with this. Have students open up the file folder and use two-color counters to create a nice winding path with a START at one end of the folder and a definite FINISH. (Note: you can borrow these counters from another teacher at your school if you don’t have them). Assist students in creating a satisfactory path, then give them a sheet of colored dots and instruct them to remove ONE counter at a time and replace it with a sticker (see photo at the top of the post). We always ended up with really great gameboards this way!
Have students think of a game concept. Will the players be racing to get something that is at the finish? Are the players lost and trying to find their way “home?” Is the game a test of survival? At this point, students may think of a title, but it’s not necessary. They’ll have time later for that.
In the class sessions that follow, students illustrate their boards, collaborate to create the game questions, write instructions and rules, and test their games. I’ve detailed how each of these steps might be accomplished with younger students HERE. I did this project with my first graders who met with me once a week for half a day. We devoted about 35 – 40 minutes each week to this project, and it did take many weeks. Because it combines research skills, questioning skills, and thinking skills, I felt it was time well spent. We often worked right up to the last day of GT, when they played their games and then took them home, with great excitement!
BOARD GAME PROJECT (Giant Group Game): HOW-TO
If the idea of helping students create individual games is intimidating, you might prefer to make one giant class game. Game questions could still be created individually, as described in the steps above, but the game board could be a feature in the classroom or even on the playground. Students can work together to create the rules. It could be used as a fun way to review things they’d learned and questions could be added throughout the year.
Some teachers have created classroom decor based on game themes. A Pinterest search of “Board-Game Themed Classroom” will result in dozens of ideas for classroom decor, bulletin boards, and also suggestions for incorporating games into the curriculum. However, in the gifted classroom, I would have students create an entirely new game idea that is original or an adaptation of an existing game. For example, the game show “Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?” was popular at one time, so my students created “Are You Smarter than a First Grader?”
EVALUATION
My students helped create the rubric we used in evaluating their games, as suggested in the PETS™ curriculum. Through probing questions, I was usually able to elicit from students some good criteria to use in determining the “best” games. They included: educational, fair (everyone has a chance to win), and for all ages. I discuss this more in the last section of this post.
Have you tried game design projects in your classroom with kindergarten, first, or second-graders? What can you share in the comments about your experience? Your comments below will benefit all readers!
You may also be interested in: