GAME Planning in the Classroom

There are a couple different ways that GAME planning can be incorporated into my classroom, in my opinion. I think it can be done explicitly and also done by the teacher in way where students undertake GAME planning somewhat "subconsciously" (not sure if that's the right word?).

I think at the beginning of the year, it would be ideal to introduce students to NETS-S standards because they have most likely never heard of them. At the same time, I think it would be beneficial to go into a little detail about them and explain their relevance and their place in our classes curriculum (which they might wonder about because it is 'social studies' class). The next step I would take is pairing up assignments, projects, activities, and other classroom actions with the particular NETS-S that they go along with. Then, from time to time, I would require that students complete a brief GAME plan outline where they take the specific NETS-S and the particular assignment and go through the steps of GAME planning. It might require a little extra effort on my part, and the students, to incorporate this into a social studies curriculum, however it does have quite a few benefits.

First of all, it ensures that I am doing my part reaching NETS-S and preparing my students for the 21st Century. Secondly, it gives students the opportunity to work on identifying goals and looking at how they can actually go about succeeding in reaching their goals. I think this is a tool that students these days sometimes lack and it could be a very important tool for them to have in long run. I think a lot of people can make or identify goals, however, sometimes we lack the ability to create or identify a plan of action to actually reach the goal.