Mrs. Kate Mack, a ninth-grade English teacher, plans to have her applied students play a virtual version of a popular book they are reading, “The Hunger Games,” on Minecraft software.
“I think this is a great opportunity for the book to become alive for students.” says Mrs. Mack. “This ties the lessons of the story to the action of the plot while having fun at the same time.”
However, the person behind the process of making the games possible is her co-teacher, Mr. David Dougherty.
“The students came up with the idea of playing a Minecraft version of ‘The Hunger Games,’” Mr. Dougherty said. “The point of this was to show students that if they write down a prediction of what will happen, the written prediction cannot be changed.”
Students must ask a teacher in each subject area to “sponsor” them by signing a paper for certain powers, such as portions or weapons.
Only one teacher in each subject area can sign a student’s paper. A student has to convince teachers why they should sign his/her paper.
In English class, “I had students write a thesis on how they will survive the Hunger Games,” Mr. Dougherty said. “The outcome of the game will show if their thesis was successful or not successful.”
After the games, the winners will receive awards from administrators Mrs. Christine Siegfried and Mr. Mark Covelle, and Officer Brian McLaughlin, with their signatures on special certificates.
“I really enjoy this change of learning,” Mr. Dougherty said. “The students get to pick how they want to learn.”
