As a teacher, you’re always thinking of new ways to motivate students in the classroom. After all, when students are engaged and excited about what they’re learning, that’s when the magic happens! Prodigy makes math learning fun by turning it into an adventure, filled with exciting pets, epic quests and amazing in-game rewards. We’ve put together a list of next-level tips and tricks to show you how Prodigy can engage students and reward them for good behavior or classroom achievement.
How to use Prodigy to engage and reward students
Students love to practice math with Prodigy! There are many ways you can use it to engage and reward students -- and who better to ask than teachers from around the world who use Prodigy in their classrooms daily!
1. Prodigy competitions
There’s nothing like some healthy competition to encourage students to answer even more math questions. Using the leaderboard on your teacher dashboard, reward players who answer the most questions per week with a special classroom privilege or small treat.Encourage students to play at home and at school, and use your Weekly Activity report to see how many questions students answered and what skills they practiced. To find the Weekly Activity report:
Click Reports on the left-hand side of your teacher dashboard
Select the Weekly Activity report
You’ll be able to see what students worked on in a given week and understand individual student achievement on each skill. You can keep the competition in the classroom, or invite the whole school to join and reward the class that answers the most questions! Either way, you’re sure to get all your students excited about using Prodigy to practice math skills.
2. Battle your students
Students shouldn’t get to have all the Prodigy fun! Sign up for your own student account, make an avatar and challenge your students to a wizard battle.Just tell your students which world to select when they log in, then hide yourself somewhere on the map. When your students find you, they can challenge you to a battle! Plus, they’ll battle monsters they meet along the way and answer even more math questions.While students are competing, make sure the questions they answer are aligned to your classroom. Use the Assessments tool in your teacher dashboard to set a Plan. Students will work through selected skills as they compete, dropping down to pre-requisites when necessary.
3. Prodigy club
Got students who really, really love Prodigy? Set up a Prodigy club where students can get together before school, during recess or after school to play Prodigy, swap tips and battle each other. It’s good for math skills, but it’s also a great opportunity for students to demonstrate leadership and organization skills. Encourage students to organize it themselves and stick along for the ride!Use your Assessments tool and create a:
Test Prep to prepare students for state testing
Plan to prepares your students for new math concepts
Assignment to assess student understanding of what they’ve already learned
4. Reward good behavior
When your students get fidgety, it can be tricky to keep the classroom running smoothly. Just remember -- if all your best classroom management strategies fail you, there’s always bribery. Reward your students with Prodigy time when they:
Behave well for a substitute teacher
Demonstrate kindness to their classmates
Line up quietly and quickly for the whole day
Quickly transition from one subject to another
Or anything else you can think of -- Prodigy can be a reward for any reason!It’s a win-win. Your students get to enjoy more Prodigy time and answer more questions, and you can use the data to make important decisions about your lesson plan. After students have finished up their reward, use the Topic Coverage report to see student progress and trouble spots on a per-topic basis. Did a handful of students struggle with fractions? Send an Assignment to individual students for extra practice and discover exactly where their trouble spots are.
5. Student achievement
Did your students ace their last test? Was every single scrap of homework completed for a whole week? Reward them with Prodigy time to keep them excited to learn. While they’re enjoying their reward, use your Assessments tool to set an Assignment and measure their progress on key skills. It’s the best of both worlds: while they’re being rewarded for their hard work, you’re seeing how much they’ve mastered essential skills.
6. Free time
The results are in, and it’s official: Prodigy is the number one most requested free time activity in grade school classrooms across the country!Just kidding. We haven’t done that study — yet. But with over 50 million students, Prodigy is certainly a popular choice for rainy days, Friday afternoons and students who finish work early.Prodigy is the ideal free time activity: students think they’re playing a super fun online game, and you can set a Plan, Assignment or Test Prep that helps them master key skills or prepare for upcoming state tests.
7. Show off student progress
Celebrate your students’ achievements in Prodigy! Reward students for leveling up, answering a record-breaking number of questions, or winning the most battles with an epic Prodigy display.
Final thoughts
Prodigy is great for all levels of learners — whether advanced, pacing or struggling. Make sure you’re keeping every student engaged by giving rewards equitably, and not just to students that zoom through their work or understand new math concepts the fastest. Ready to get started? Use your Assessment tool to create a Plan, Assignment or Test Prep now, so you can align Prodigy with what they’re learning in the classroom.How do you use Prodigy in your classroom to engage students and reward them? Let us know in the comments below! Prodigy is a no-cost, game-based learning platform for students in 1st to 8th grade. Loved by more than 50 million teachers, parents and students, Prodigy transforms math learning into an epic adventure. Ready to find out how Prodigy can level up math learning in your classroom? Sign up for your free teacher account today!