Classcraft and Music

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Hey everyone!

With the fancy new forums, I wanted to start a place where we can help each other out, share ideas, and help implement Classcraft in a music classroom.

I've been using Classcraft for several years with my music elective classes, but I have helped implement it in both a general music and band setting. I'd be happy to assist anyone who has questions or hit a roadblock with how to build it into their classrooms/rehearsals!

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Hello, I have been interested the last couple years in trying to implement this with my beginning band to help establish classroom behavior norms from the start in a more positive way, since I can't really be as tough as non-elective teachers if I want to keep kids.  My struggle with trying it last year was it just took up so much of our time during class some days, and I couldn't really think of fun ways to design some of the things for the game, like sentences and powers.  I came up with some, but I just felt ineffective.  I want to try again, because the kids did have fun with it before we stopped.  Any thoughts?

I am teaching orchestra grades 5-12 and I launched it today on a whim with my 7th grade class (we have been struggling behaviorally for 2 years now) after being out for a day of unrelated PD, and the kids are super excited about it.  I was surprised at how many of them were able to pick it up so quickly and start playing right away.  Hoping that this helps as Class Dojo was a bit of a flop for me.

I am starting this with my 5th grade students on Monday.  They are a notoriously mean class to each other and teachers.  I am hoping that their excitement from when I introduced it last week to them keeps up.  I see the classes 2 times a week for 30 minutes.  My plan is that they will need to tell me if they are using a power when they walk in the door so I can take care of it.  The classroom teachers are interested in how it works with the students.  Some of them use Class Dojo and find that the students don't care.

Hey Terry and Lynn!

Glad to hear you're kicking things off. Roy is right that the webinars are a great way to get the ball rolling, but here are a couple of things I do to keep things moving in my class that can easily be applied to a band or chorus rehearsal.

Using Powers - When I first started out and I wasn't expecting 1-to-1 tech with students, I began designing cards for students to use powers. It doesn't need to be fancy, but run off a couple sheets on a card stock paper, maybe laminate them, and they can use their powers by handing you their card (or placing it in a bin). If they need to write whose card it is or who they're protecting, wet-erase markers (for overheads) work great on laminated paper. Return it to them when you've found the time to input it into the computer.

Dealing Punishments - Poker chips. Or in my case, plastic pirate coins (thanks Oriental Trading Co.). All I do is I hand them a chip to get their attention. The more they collect, the more damage they get. Poker chips you can assign different meaning/value to the different color chips.

Then, of course, you can customize powers and preset HP/XP values to what you need. Forgot your instrument? Damage. Left a folder out? Damage. Passed a random pencil check? XP. Went to see a concert and brought you proof? XP. Make the game your own. If you want more ideas or have more questions, let me know!

Hi Terry,

For the moment, boss battles are only accessible via the teacher's account. They are meant as a way to review for formative assessments during class. Students will need to answer questions out loud in the classroom.

In the Free version, only one battle is available.

Soon, however, we'll be adding self-correcting quizzes, which are quizzes that students can do from their own accounts.

Sign up for a free webinar ... was extremely helpful in understanding everything and getting set up and you can use it for PD.  Originally I was only going to set up one class with it and then wait and see the impact.  We just started our 3rd week with it and it has transformed their behavior drastically.  I'm going to launch it with my 6th graders next week.

My students have loved using it.  I begin class with the Random Event...those have really gotten the students into it.  This week I also just got my Smartboard installed, so that has been a game changer for me!  Because I see so many classes in a day, I have a clipboard with my class list on it and I can write down the points, plus or minus.  I really like the idea of the poker chips too.  The students have brought up to me ideas for behaviors (XP and HP ones) and sentences.  One that they came up with was to have the team sing the National Anthem in front of the class.  I have noticed a change in how the students are in the hallway also.  They see me with my iPad and automatically think I am watching to give or take points.  The classroom teachers are interested in doing a multi - class option for their rooms!  Thanks for the advice!

 

Hey Can you all send me things that you have used for this?   Thanks   Is paying the $8 a month worth it?   

@Terry - Share what kind of class are you running it with and I'll start brainstorming for you.

If it is a performing ensemble, you can always force the teams to be by section (Trumpets, Clarinets, Flutes or Sopranos, Altos, Tenors). That way there's some implied section responsibility and it might encourage the people on the top end to help out the stragglers.

In any music situation, you can always make "listening assignments" as a punishment for when a player falls. Make them go listen to their piece or find another piece by the same composer/artist to report back on. Or if you need them to show off their skills, you can just assign them to play one or two scales before their player comes back to life.

In a similar idea, you can make a random event a pop quiz on a scale. Random team needs to perform it and then they get XP or take damage (if they fail).

Whether or not it will be worth the $8 also depends on what you're hoping to get from the program. If you're using it like ClassDojo, you can get by with the free option. If you want students to be far more interactive, then you may want to consider shelling out for the paid version.

Hey Brian!  I use Classcraft with my 1-to-1 middle school music technology class, but I have helped others with situations similar to yours.

How often does your class meet? And do students ever have a chance to interact with the software or is it just you? I only ask because YES... Powers can take a bit of time out of teaching (particularly if you're the only one on a computer). What I do to alleviate some of the pressure is whenever I need to deal with HP, instead of breaking stride in teaching to deal with powers, I always put it as delayed damage (by choosing the "Deal with Damage Later" option). This sets it aside to be resolved when either I have the time or the students access their accounts.

To resolve the delayed damage, you can either deal with it and powers as you wrap up your lesson or I usually set a time limit on how long students have to say they want to use their powers before I implement the damage. For example, if Jimmy was interrupting my lesson and took -5 HP, I personally let it sit in the delayed damage queue for 10 days during which a teammate can offer to protect Jimmy. If someone protects, then it resolves itself. After 10 days, if no one protects Jimmy, he takes -5 HP. You might choose to resolve it at the end of the day, the end of the week, etc.

As for teams, I let my students pick, but I have small classes. You could randomize the teams by just drawing a bunch of student names and splitting them up evenly. Or if you're doing instruments or singing, you can group them up based on their parts.

Hi,  Starting this right now.  Teach Middle School Band Any help will be great.   Already put names in and with teams.  Now what?   

Thanks Roy and Sam

Sam,   Yes,   any ideas are great.  I put him the suggestions in your last paragraph and then students added some as well.  Anyone else as well with things that you are doing would be helpful.     Thanks 

Thanks Sam,    It's a performing ensemble with about 39 students in it.        Also can students see the boss on their phones- students are telling me they can not get the boss on their phones.    or do we need to pay the $8 to boss fight?  

Thanks  

Hello all!

I've been using Classcraft with my 8th Grade Band class for a couple months now and we love it! I'm thinking about trying out Premium. Right now, I do my practice charts through Google Forms and Google Classroom. Does anyone use the Class Content for practice charts? Does it work well? Does it connect with Google Classroom smoothly enough that I might transition easily?

Thanks for the input!

How would use do the practice charts in the Class Content? Are you planning to create individual assignments for them to check in with? Or are they uploading their recordings?

Not to chase you away from Premium (because there are a lot of great perks from that), but if you've got a good system with Google Forms and Google Classroom, then just import their grades as assignments to give out credit.

So, what we do is each week they have a chart they fill out with Google Forms about what they practiced during the week. If I understand the Class Content right, you can connect it to assignments in Google Classroom so when they turn it in, Classcraft automatically gives XP and GP. Is that correct? Or am I missing how the Class content works?

I'll be the first to admit that I might not have the fullest understanding, but from what I can tell it is not entirely automatic. In the Content section, students can claim rewards for viewing posts on their own and submit assignments, but you still have to "Attribute Rewards" by clicking a button. It functions very similar to giving out credit in the Gradebook section of Classcraft.

Thanks for the help Sam! I just purchased the premium and now I see how things work. I think what I'll do is use the Gradebook to import the scores from Google Classroom and that will be the closest to what I want to do.

I teach MS choir, MS class piano, HS Choir & HS dance.   I have just spent several hours watching their webinars, playing with the free version & reading blogs.  I am trying to decide if I should try this for the coming school year.  Anyone tried this with HS students?

Anne-Marie you mention that there is only one battle in the free version.  Not sure what you mean or how to access it.  I just see the "Random Events, wheel of Destiny & Book of Laments"  Are those the battles or is there another way to access the "Boss Battle" in the free version?

Is the premium version the only way to create the course content within the game?  I was interested in that feature as a fun way to review content.

Sam like the idea of "pirate coins"  as a quick, visual way to deal damage.  How does that work with other members of their team being able to help them by using their powers?

Does any of this record keeping get easier with the teacher having an iPad at their fingertips?  My students at the MS won't have access to Chromebooks or anything other than their personal devices (and many don't have those)

If anyone is interested in listing ideas for damage, sentences or XP I would be interested in brainstorming that here.  Sam listed some and that helped get my newbie brain moving.  Others??

 

Hi, Pat!

Features that enable teachers to create content, like Boss Battles and the Interactive Class Content, are Premium features.

Since the implementation of the one-month free trial for new users, teachers no longer have access to one battle in the free version. The free trial, which unlocks all Premium features — Boss Battles, Class Content, the Volume Meter, etc. — is a great way to explore Premium and everything it has to offer.

Also, feel free to check out behavior presets and sentences teachers have shared on our forums!

@Pat - I use the coins as just a reminder that I need to deal damage later on. The team members would be able to protect once I got around to resolving the coins. Since I started the coin idea though, Classcraft has added delayed damage. If you have access to a tablet on hand, it is a 2 click process typically to deal the damage. 

Hi everyone,

I teach music to elementary students.  I did it in the past, but it's the first time I'm premium. 

Is that page still active?  The initial comment in dated 2016...

But if any of you have quests, I'd be happy to see them!  I plan on sharing mine too; as soon as they're done... :-)

 

Thanks,

Gabriel

Hey Gabriel I'm teaching Elementary music too, I'd love to hear how you or anyone else is setting up Classcraft in detail.

 

*Edit: I currently have a loot chest and two d20's on it that students can roll for "loot" depending on behavior or answering questions correctly. I've already ben working on ways to bring the physical roll into Classcraft- as an example, they can gain back HP based on a d20 roll.

I'm so sad I didn't get any notifications of new posts! I feel like I abandoned this page and those of you that commented after me!

@Gabriel - If  you're still there, I've got a few quests in the store about music. The broadest one is "Clouds on the Horizon" which I use for my 8th graders to dust off their note reading skills. It's got a lot of content that I created using EdPuzzle, musictheory.net and more, but I can share those links if you need it.

@Dan - I created basically power up cards that I let students purchase (in place of your loot chest) and they randomly affect things like AP and HP. I also modified some powers to make them more of chance-based in terms of their effectiveness. For instance, I changed my higher-tier powers in each class to let mage summon bosses (often my bosses are pop culture or class content related), the warrior can send the boss off to another team, and the healer can select specific boss battles (as opposed to random). All of their effectiveness depends on the outcome of a D20 dice roll.

Hello Everyone, 

     I have been trying out Classcraft with my Elementary student (3rd through 5). I have a few questions.

 

What grades do you have using Classcraft?

I tried the HP and Powers for about a week and it seemed to take way too much time. Do you use it?

I only use the GP and XP portion. 

How do you select teams?

 

Thanks

Brian Nance

@Sam, thanks for sharing!  Where can I find those quests?

 

Thanks.

I personally use CC (Classcraft) all the way; but the students doesn’t have access to a computer or iPad...  So they change their avatar at home, train and equip little pet (I don’t know the english name for that).  

In class, I give xp and retrieve hp...  

Gabriel

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