My students need strategic and classic board games like Forbidden Desert, Puerto Rico, Carcassonne, Chess, and Qwirkle for an after school and lunch time board game club.
When the bell rings for lunch, students flock to my classroom to grab an open seat in the board gamers club. This club began as a student driven club to play strategic board games at school. My classroom has become the official site of the gamer club. Open at lunch and after school for students.
My junior high consists of a student body of over 1200 students in both 7th and 8th grades.
Students here are driven and goal oriented. They face an incredible amount of pressure and are overly concerned with their performance in their classes.
As a teacher, I aim to actively engage students and push them to become self-learners. My students become confined to their own style of thinking and lose sight of potential creativity. I want my students to become self-starters and dive into their learning eagerly. My students and club members have access to content through hands-on learning, simulations, games, and fun. While our school is located in a somewhat affluent area, we still lack funds for many extra curricular classroom items. Our campus is one of the older junior highs in the district and the population has grown this past year to require a 20% increase in staffing.
My Project
This Strategic Board Game Club will allow my students to stay after school and bond with their peers while playing strategic board games. My students will grow as independent learners. They will develop their critical thinking skills in a fun and friendly competitive environment. This club and the additional games will provide students with an outlet to express their creative side and de-stress. Students in the gamer club will increase their collaboration skills as well as their aptitude for overcoming failure.
Strategic board games promote learning, unlock thinking skills, and stimulate brain development in children. The games I have requested are not the old board games that are based on luck but are instead games that promote critical thinking skills and strategy like Saboteur, Carcassonne, and Puerto Rico. I have also picked some cooperative games like Forbidden Desert. These games promote team building and communication.
The board game club has been a success so far and the continued success is dependent on the acquisition of new games.
As we stand now, the limited strategic games are being maxed out. As a result, many students are forced to watch while others play. The added resources of this club will allow my students to develop bonds with each other while increasing their critical thinking and communication skills.
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