Gamify Classroom Management in Upper Grades General Music using ClassCraft

Let’s be real for a second – general music can be a tough buy in, especially at the middle school and high school level. Take it from someone who is currently teaching 8th grade general music and high school appreciation.

This year, I started using ClassCraft and it has been really awesome!

Classcraft is a free online educational role-playing game that teachers and students play together in the classroom. Acting as a gamification layer around any existing curriculum, the game transforms the way a class is experienced throughout the school year.

The Basics of ClassCraft

Experience points(XP) – rewards student behavior, XP allow students to level up and learn powers, which they can use for themselves or their team

Examples of how students can earn XP in my class:

completes the bell ringer before class officially starts (incentive for them to come to class and be ready to start on time)
asks relevant question
answers question correctly
active participation in group work

Health points(HP) – discourages negative student behavior, HP is the life force of their character – if they lose too much HP, they will fall in battle

Examples of how students can lose HP in my class:

late to class without valid excuse
did not participate in group work
off topic chatting
turning in assignments late

Gold pieces(GP) – extra reward for student behavior(part of the paid plan) or earned when leveling up(available in free plan), GP allows students to purchase gear for their character

Examples of how students can gain GP in my class:

early to class (certain number of minutes before class begins)
handing in an assignment a day early
helping another student

Other Great Features

Random Events – I like to start my class with random events. Students can gain/lose HP, GP, or XP. It’s a great way to get class started. I created a few of my own.

Boss Battles – students or teams of students can “battle” bosses by answering questions. I use this as a review in class or to reinforce what we’ve learned in class that day.

Treasures of Tavuros – converts grades on assignments or tests into XP

Quests(paid feature) – students can follow a story line and complete tasks to earn XP and GP. I’ve been using quests to reinforce what we are learning in class

Pros

Gamify your classroom without tons of work on your end
Customizable to fit your needs/classroom
Offers a free version that has most features
Engages older students
Connects to Google Classroom

Cons

There’s a bit of a learning curve (now that I’ve been using it for a few months, I’m finally feeling more comfortable but it does take some time to learn)
Lacking a community – I just wish there was an active community for teachers who are using this platform. ClassCraft has a teacher forum on their website but it is not very active and as far as I know, there isn’t a ClassCraft teacher FB group.

What I’ve Learned

I have been using ClassCraft for entire semester now and I’ve learned some important lessons that I will use next semester.

If your school is one-to-one, have kids sign in to ClassCraft as part of the bell ringer. Then, if they complete the bellringer early, they can work on a quest or change their character’s clothing.
Give kids time in class to work on ClassCraft. It’s great for a quick brain break, transitions, or those last few minutes.
Customize the random events for your school/class. There are a lot of great pre-made options but my students enjoyed the ones that were specifically related to their own school.
Don’t be afraid to ask your students for feedback and make changes throughout the semester

Have you tried ClassCraft in your classroom? How have you customized it? Is there a different way you gamify learning? Let me know in the comments below!