The Gamified Teacher

Because of student apathy, low reading levels, and short attention spans, many teachers feel that class reading time is like pulling teeth, but it doesn't have to be that way. Reading, whether as a whole class or in small groups, can be entertaining and engaging for students and teachers alike. You simply need to add a little gamification to your reading routine. Hook'em The first step to successful gamification is hooking your students. How will you approach the reading in a way that is new, entertaining, and interactive? Students need to see the fun in the activity from the very start, or they won't be invested in the game or engaged in the reading.  For example, instead of telling them they'll be researching background information and filling out a quiz on the topic, I tell them they'll be competing in teams to complete the background scavenger hunt first. Adding teams and competition is a great way to amp up the fun and get more students to buy in. Once the rea...

 ...and How to Fix Them! Teachers across the nation are confused as to why students have such bad grammar these days. There's a lot of talk about texting, social media, and now, even AI, but what if it all actually came down to something you were doing wrong? Don't freak out! This is actually good news because while we can't control the influence of tech on our students, we can control what and how we teach them. So take a deep breath, be honest with yourself, and get some strategies that work! You Think Reading Will Improve Writing OK, before you hunt me down and feed me to the literary wolves, hear me out. I admit that reading is a great way to improve spelling, vocabulary, and sentence fluency, which certainly do impact a conventions score. However, think about how often students are taught about sentence errors like run-ons, fragments, missing commas, unnecessary commas, etc. Then, think about the many classic texts we ask them to read that are riddled with errors like ...

Let's admit it. Getting students to engage in learning since COVID has been a bit of a struggle. It just seems like some of those tried and true methods aren't working for as many of our students as usual. There's no need to get discouraged though. We simply need to do what teachers do best - use our creativity to adapt.   I've found that incorporating more game-style interactions into my lessons and assignments has not only increased engagement, but also learning. As a result, I've developed a lot of ELA games that my students love to play. If you'd like to do the same, check out these 10 tips on ELA gamification. Make it a Competition The easiest way to gamify anything is to simply make it a competition. Who will find the literary device first? Which group can find the most evidence? Which pair can find and fix the most errors? You get the idea.   This strategy may seem overused, but it truly works! In fact, when I proposed a competition between my classes to ...