Sixth Graders Design Games Based on Greek Epic
December 23, 2016 by
Sixth Grade students hosted an Odyssey-inspired game fair yesterday. Each Sixth Grader made their own board game or card game based on The Wanderings of Odysseus, the shortened version of The Odyssey that we studied.
Once we finished reading the book, we started working on our games. We first needed to decide whether to develop card games or board games. Then we mapped out our games. We went through multiple drafts, got ideas and feedback from each other, and tested the games by playing them with each other.
Many students focused on the characters and events in The Wanderings of Odysseus as they developed a variety of games that engaged players to use strategy, learn more about the Greek epic, and have fun. For many students, it was important to base games on characters and the journey – and to have fun and be creative. Noah Grabel said, “It really helped me learn about the story of Odysseus because I got to make my own game that explains what happened and it was a great hands-on experience.”
Sixth Graders were excited to set up the game fair so that kids from different grades could play all the games. Dora Shulman noted, “It made me happy to see younger kids get excited to interact with my game.” The fair was a memorable experience and a great way to share students’ knowledge on The Wanderings of Odysseus.