5 ready-to-teach gamified lessons - Part 1
Thomas Courtley
Education Specialist
Engage your students with something different from a quiz or a poll. In this article we show you how engagement, learning efficiency, knowledge retention, and gamification can go hand in hand.
Ready for the ultimate challenge with Trivial pursuit
This game uses a spinner and other components. Students have to answer questions about specific (in this case historical) topics. The spinner determines which questions and colours students must answer and which coloured circle they have to move. Each question answered correctly results in moving a coloured circle to the home box. The first one to move all three coloured circles into their box is the winner!!
Since the spinner randomly determines the colour, a student can land on the same colour more than once and still has to answer the question, or miss a turn. As students skilfully navigate the game board, their goal is clear: be the first to get all three circles into the box and claim the title of champion!
Delve into history with Historical checkers
Travel back in time on an 8x8 board, where each square represents a pivotal historical period. Choose your side—blue or lilac—and match famous historical figures to their rightful eras. But it's not just about making moves; it's about mastering history. When you capture an opponent's checker, seize the opportunity to showcase your knowledge. Explain who the historical figure is and the period they had na influence on.
Get ready for an immersive blend of history and strategy that will deepen your understanding of the past. Play Historical checkers and discover a new dimension of learning and fun!
Connecting the dots—Creating links towards victory
In this short game, students are asked to drag and drop two hotspots to different images. To earn one point each time (two points in total), they try to describe what they see in the two images. The real excitement comes when they have to explain the link between the images to gain two more points! The game is over when they run out of possible connections.
What links the images? Is it a shared theme, contrasting element, or something unexpected? Players put on their detective hats, thinking outside the box & connecting the dots!
A brain teasing twist on the classic game: Memory+
We all know a version of the Memory game, but we decided to create a more challenging version. Students click on two 'cards' (hotspots). They are challenged to find as many correct combinations as possible, first by connecting dates to images, and then by matching them to the correct event (indicated in one of the yellow circles). The winner is the student with the most correct combinations.
'Memory+' is more than just a game—it's a thrilling exercise in cognitive agility, encouraging students to sharpen their memory and critical thinking, and have fun in the process!
Embark on the ultimate quest with Quiz word search
It looks like a classic word search, but of course... with LessonUp it’s not just about crossing out words. First of all students are challenged to search for the correct word based a description. The number indicated at the end of the description reveals the number of letters in the word. Once the word has been guessed, students can move the targets one by one, and place them on the hidden answer. The word search itself is an image created with an online word search maker.
As students navigate through the grid, methodically placing targets and finding hidden words, they sharpen their cognitive skills, work on their vocabulary, and enjoy the thrill of discovery!
The demo games shown in this article are tailored for a history lesson, but you can easily change the subject to whatever topic you prefer. Most games can be played in groups of two or three.
Students keep the score and note the winners. This creates some healthy competition between them. However, the focus is for them to assess what they know, and reflect on their learning.
Interested in more? Check out Gamification in LessonUp - Part 2
