[Edu] Games in the Classroom

[Magi D. Shepley]

You took it exactly the same way I took it, Laurie.  That's why I ... 
for once... kept my mouth shut.  My response, given that I have some 
kind of virus from one of my kids (okay, its only the 2nd time this 
year, and at least its over Spring Break!), would have been 
significantly less polite.   However, I'm somewhat more focused now...

Laurie Menke wrote:

>--- Kate Jones <kate at gamepuzzles.com> wrote:
>
>  
>
>>Let me see if I understand this, Magi:
>>
>>1.  Your students would rather play games than do
>>real schoolwork.
>>    
>>
>
>Playing games can be "real schoolwork."  Actually, if
>the games are appropriate, they can teach students
>much better than seatwork because they are highly
>motivating, multi-modal (equally involve the students
>who learn better by seeing, hearing, and doing), and
>tend to repeat important concepts frequently.
>
>  
>
I teach students with mental retardation and other disabilities.  4 of 
my students have IQs between 50-62.  1 of my students is considered 
emotionally disturbed (he has mild hallucinations, ADHD, and some real 
issues with reality testing) and other health impaired (the child has a 
bone disorder that he is watching his mother deal with, and is also 
dyslexic and may have a central auditory processing disorder).  The 4 
students with mental retardation, 3 of them also are 'speech-language 
impaired', which means they may or may not understand verbal language, 
and have difficulties giving verbal responses.  I have 1 student that is 
Spanish dominant, and no access to a translator.  That student has a 
severe seizure disorder that required a VNS Implant earlier this year 
because he was having 5 or 6 petit mal seizures daily, and hundreds of 
absence seizures. 
Its not that they would prefer to play games, it is that games give me 
the best opportunity to integrate their IEP goals, State Standards, and 
social skills necessary for the workplace.  My ultimate goal is to have 
my students be happy, productive and participatory citizens when they 
leave high school.  All of my students are 16 or older now, so that 
finish line isn't very far.
Because of their disability, they need to learn not just academics and 
social skills, but they also need to be taught recreation and leisure 
skills.  They don't pick up recreation skills just by observing others 
do it.  We go into the community once or twice a week, sometimes more 
often, and do things that seem incredibly strange: last week we went to 
the grocery store, and the week before that we went to IHOP. 

>>2.  Your students like Monopoly, Scrabble, Fluxx,
>>Uno, Dominoes (maybe
>>others) that you have in the classroom.
>>    
>>
They do.  Uno is the current favorite, although Fluxx was not too long ago.

>>3.  You want to use the games they like rather than
>>introduce them to new
>>ones they might also like. 
>>    
>>
>
>  
>
Wrong.  My students, particularly my student who is Spanish dominant, 
one of my lower functioning kids with mental retardation, and my kid 
with emotional disturbance react very badly to change.  If we change 
their schedule without advance warning (we hang all special events in 
picture symbols on a calendar at the front of the room), I'm going to 
have some real problems on my hands.   Frankly, I also don't have money 
to purchase new bits & pieces for games.  All of the games we have now 
were donated by a science fiction fan who knows a friend of mine.  That 
friend is involved with ICON, and let me know when this other woman was 
giving away a ton of games.  She was nice enough to drop that at my 
house on her way down from New York.  Otherwise, we wouldn't have 
anything but Fluxx, a 3-in-1 checker board (chess, backgammon), and some 
really old Uno cards.  Family Fluxx was a gift from a friend.

>You seem to be implying that Magi is trying to stifle
>her kids.  She *wants* to teach them new games they
>would also like.  That's why she sent her original
>request.  She just doesn't have the funds to buy more
>and wants to use the parts she already has. 
>Additionally, students with learning disabilities have
>difficulty getting used to new things, so using parts
>they are familiar with gives them a better chance of
>being able to learn the game.
>
>  
>
It is very hard for me to teach new rules to games to my students 
without modeling and visual cues.  This is really true for my student 
who is Spanish dominant because my Spanish isn't good enough to really 
help him.  It took us 6 weeks to teach him how to play Uno, and while he 
now plays independently, he still doesn't say Uno when he is down to one 
card.  Several of the other students also need this prompt, and need 
prompts to remember they can lay a same card that is a different color 
down as well.  Monopoly didn't take quite as long, but with 2 of the 
students, I'm not expecting them to count the money on their own.  We 
play Monopoly and other money games using the 'Next DOllar' technique, 
which has the student count up to the next number.  For monopoly, we 
count up to the next "biggest" number, and ask the bank for change in 
that denomination.   Two of my students will shut down (My Spanish 
speaker will throw things at times) if they get too confused by work.

>>4.  You want them to use the games they know and
>>like, but not actually let
>>them play them, only to use them to do math problems
>>and learn math skills.
>>    
>>
>
>It is appropriate for Magi to try to use the games to
>teach as much as she can.  Students are in school to
>learn.  "Because it's fun" is an excellent reason for
>doing something educational, but a poor reason for
>doing something that is not teaching students skills
>they need to know.  I am guessing that Magi would also
>like some faster alternatives.  She gave the example
>of Monopoly.  How long does it take you to play a game
>of Monopoly?  I would say a minimum of 3 hours playing
>the regular rules.  Of course she needs something a
>little less time consuming!
>
>  
>
Monopoly... not finishing a game... takes us an entire day or a short 
game can take an entire morning.  I don't have that kind of time always 
to allow them to play. 
If I can use their love of Monopoly to teach them some additional math 
and reading skills, I'm damn sure going to do it!  We're already using 
it for a new behavior plan in the classroom that THEY designed.  You 
see, Monopoly is age appropriate.  My kids may have mental retardation, 
but they are very conscious of looking different from their classmates 
in other rooms. 

>>5.  You want the students to fall for this and
>>produce learning results.
>>    
>>
>
>You intimate that she is tricking her students or
>somehow being untrustworthy.  I doubt she is going to
>try to represent her games as anything other than what
>they are...ways of learning math and other subjects
>that are more fun than drill and rote memorization. 
>She's not saying she's got the best game ever, just
>that it's a fun learning alternative.
>
>  
>
She's doing more than intimating it.  She is saying it right out in the 
open.  And, frankly, since this woman has NEVER been in my classroom, 
doesn't KNOW me or my students, she can take it and ... 

>>6.  You're looking for ideas for how to accomplish
>>this.
>>7.  You'd like to do this, if possible, at no cost.
>>    
>>
>
>Of course free materials are every teacher's dream. 
>Do you have any idea how difficult it is to purchase
>needed supplies with the budget teacher's are
>provided?
>  
>
Forget the budget.  I am in a wealthy district.  I had NO materials in 
my classroom when we started the year.  Fortunately, this is not a new 
situation for me to be in, and I am not only good at making my own 
stuff, I have purchased tons of stuff over the years.  I used to work 
for an inner city district that didn't even give me a 
whiteboard/blackboard.  I had to buy it myself along with toilet paper, 
and soap!   When I left there, I had a $4000 credit card bill that was 
95% school supplies.  I also taught myself how to beg for materials 
then, and write grants. 
This year was slightly abnormal for this school because the classroom 
existed before this year (new classrooms get a bit of start-up 
funding),but the previous teacher didn't do functional academics or 
cooking the way I do, and the way the administration wants.  So, I had 
to recreate from scratch.  I spend a huge amount of my own money on my 
classroom yearly, far more than the piddling $250 that the federal 
government lets me take off my taxes...  And that's just on stuff that 
is easily classified...  Its not on the stuff that would make an IRS 
agent's head spin around ala the exorcist when he looked at my recepts!  
How many other people can take a turkey dinner, strawberry shortcake and 
jello off their taxes???

Magi