There are so many possibilities...![]() I am very interested in giving access to the reading of experience to students with reading and writing difficulties. Combined with physical restrictions during the pandemic and inspired by Classcraft, I created a simple virtual treasure hunt. It's a quest, a serious of multimedia questions, tasks, and answers, with progression. Instead of using Docs, Slides or Forms as hyper docs, I created it in Google Sites: it doesn't require sign in, Gmail accounts, password, a code or special account access. There is no learning curve, and the best part - because it's a site – is that it adjusts the user interface to the device. Most of my students use mobile phones, so this is a great reason to choose Google sites for this purpose. This particular treasure hunt is based on Gulliver's travels in Lilliput. The objective is to pre teach vocabulary and prepare the students for reading the story, which I have in print at school. The material here is based on the workbook related to this Macmillan easy reader edition. All the images have been pulled from the free image search from within the site. The YouTube videos are also public. I created the progression map in Google drawings. So it involves branching, sometimes one sometimes two steps forward or back. All the pages, except the landing page, are invisible. I included a resource page so that other teachers could use these if they want to change some elements. This particular treasure hunt keeps the student always on the site. The older students would get a chance to explore in external links, or get access to a folder to upload file or image, or to an editable Jamboard. The most difficult part of creating a virtual treasure hunt in Google Sites is the planning. Once you know what you want to test or achieve with it, and you create the paths between the objectives and connections, it is easy to materialize this by embedding a variety of elements on each page, and linking the answers to other pages. You can create a mind map on paper or a digital one, which can be easily shared with other teachers to understand the connection among objectives. It is probably a good idea to include that map to the resource page, too. Another advantage of having a Site as a treasure hunt is that when you duplicate it, there is only ONE thing to duplicate. With Hyperdocs, you would need to duplicate all docs or slide decks that are a part of the map, and then change the links according to new adjustments. In the end, when the hunt is over, my students will just show me the final token. They can take a screen shot of it if they are at home, or download the drawing of the uncovered map. When we are in the classroom, I am happy with just ‘Look, teacher, I did it!’.
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Students as avatarsThey can 'play' in teams, encouraging teamwork and collaboration. They choose one of the three types of characters. Each type has different characteristics and powers. Teacher is a game masterDecide which behaviour is going to be rewarded and which punished. Involve students in the decision-making process. Organize Tasks into QuestsThis is where the fun starts! The Quests are placed on a map, giving the students a sense of space and orientation. The locations are as magical as the characters and the ready-made stories. A Quest is a logical unit of tasks you would do in a week or two. They can be a discussion, assignment - writing, quiz (link to Google Forms); or something they need to do offline. You can create multimedia tasks, embed videos and other content, format text, use colors, attach documents,... The great part is that you can create branching, so that the students who need more or less support do not have to 'walk the same path'. Just having a spatial representation of progress is beneficial enough for students with learning difficulties. And guess what - there are also quizzes they can do in class! Boss Battle![]() It can be a team or student, random or chosen. However, the free version only gives you one monster to fight. It's all too overwhelming?Don't worry, the Classcraft team have excellent Teacher Support, and they even provide free training. You will be able to do a quest to get certified. They guide you through each task and step, and if you just invest some time and imagination, you can become a game master!
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AuthorMartina Matejaš is a teacher of English and Yoga. She is keen on understanding the mind-body connection as well as cracking the 'code' of thoughts-emotions-behaviour matrix. Archives
April 2022
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