A Whale of a Tale: Theme and Story Telling

It's finally time to "Set Sail" and get into the good stuff in this book study! I have to admit that ever since I read this chapter my teacher brain has been going NON STOP. I'm sure I'll adjust my plans as I read and learn more about gamification, but this chapter provided a great place to start!

Matera has used the term "playful planning" in previous chapters, and this is where that really comes into play. He describes 4 parts to get started, which are: theme, setting, characters, and actions. He breaks down what happens in which part, and also includes guiding questions that you can use to get started with gamification.

Now that we've covered the basics of each, let's look into guiding questions to set the course for gamification in your classroom! 

Once you answer those questions, it's time to explore how this will apply to your course and your content. I've decided to do an under the sea theme, so you will find my answers to the following guiding questions. This is what I mean by my teacher brain just won't stop!

Exploring

Theme: Based on your theme, what are the realities that could exist?

Some realities that I'm going to use could include talking animals, mermaids, underwater currents (to bring in guest characters), or migration patterns (also to bring in guest characters)

Setting: What are more specific terrains, locations, and buildings within your theme?

Terrains that came to mind are kelp forests, coral reefs, tide pools, trenches, underwater volcanoes, beaches, boats, submarines, and the open ocean. I have no idea if I'll end up using all of these, but it's a place to start!

What are the benefits or challenges of these settings for your story, your content, and/or your students?
What activities can your students do in these settings and how does it tie into content?
How can we make this a more immense experience? Think props and decorations..

I haven't answered these questions yet. I'm getting a little stuck, so if you have any suggestions let me know in the comments!



Characters: What types of characters did you develop when "setting the course"? Think individual, group, community, and establishment.

Individual- Students will be different kinds of fish, which will tie into their groups.

Some characters belong to the game and can be main, recurring, or guest. My main characters I've thought of using are Seymour the friendly shark, Sergio the seal, Daphne the dolphin, and Cora the crab. This may change, but we'll see!

Recurring characters are as follows:

• Toby the turtle - good characters because he brings "rewards" when students have mastered certain concepts or met certain criteria. 
• Oscar the otter - could be good or bad because he may bring rewards, steal things from students, or give them challenges or obstacles to overcome
• Eva the electric eel - villain who the students will fear because of challenges she presents

Actions: What "problems" could arise in your classroom that could be integrated into the story?

Examples could be: talking out of turn, incomplete work, poor conduct, unprepared

Matera also suggests retheming routine tasks that your students complete. The example he used was calling "Vocabulary" code breaking, and I'm stuck on some of these ideas. It'll come to me eventually!

My goodness that was a long post! So much good stuff in the chapter. Make sure you stop by next Tuesday for Chapter 7! Check out the other posts in the linky by clicking the image below. Thanks to Rachael and Sweet Sweet Primary for hosting!

P.S. I'm giving away a $10 TpT gift card to celebrate my 1 year blogging anniversary! Enter below, and check back on July 24th to see if you're the lucky winner!

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