Reflection of the First Month of Game-Based Learning

After implementing Starfall.com, shown above, into the curriculum, my team and I started to see results in our students writing abilities. Since we decided to use this first month as a trial period, we only let the students stay on reading and writing games (Note: the website does have math-based games as well). To add this website to our classrooms, we looked through the games the site had to offer and chose which ones would work best in our current area of study. I gave my students a list of games they could play on the website and outlined how the class would go with the games, then let them work on their own. At first,  the students were skipping between the options, but after about ten minutes they were able to settle into a game they liked and work.  Our main concern was keeping the students on track. It was key to maintain a watchful eye, but be careful not to interfere with the students' focus. I only had one incident where a student was off-task, but a quick talk focused the student. Overall, it seemed like student self-motivation and curiosity really kept them engaged.