Teaching character and leadership using gamification, presented by teacher and Classcraft ambassador Meagan Frazier. Resources from Meagan's presentation: Example journal prompts: https://goo.gl/udwiST SOUL skills breakdown: https://goo.gl/PexW2b Example end-of-year reflection form (self): https://goo.gl/nGYF4M Example end-of-year reflection form (peer): https://goo.gl/rsfk3j

1. Presented by Meagan C. Frazier, 7th Grade Humanities
Teaching Character and Leadership with Classcraft
Meagan C. Frazier
@mzfrazier0428
impassionededucation@gmail.com

2. About Me
● From Dallas, Texas
● 12th year in Education
● No kids, one dog (Watson)
● Public, charter, and independent schools
● Grades 6-10
● All-boys

3. Overview
This webinar is designed to help you make
the most of Classcraft. While Classcraft is a
fun way to engage students in the classroom
and manage behavior, we should be
pushing ourselves to use the program in
development of our students’ character
and leadership skills. Classcraft should be
the means of teaching students about
choices, interacting with others, and service,
rather than a vehicle for dealing with unruly
kids.

4. Character and Leadership
“Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you
must be without one, be without the strategy.”
--General Norman Schwarzkopf
Character and Leadership (via Robin Sharma):
● You DON’T NEED a TITLE to be a LEADER
● Excellence and honor are at the core of a
leader’s character
● Leadership is about giving for the benefit of the
team and inspiring others to do the same
Framework:
● Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success

6. Essential Questions
These questions should be at the root of the conversations you have about
Classcraft, student choices within the game, and reflecting on their week
1. What makes a good person? Teammate?
2. Why should I care about my team? My class?
3. What is leadership? What are the traits of a good leader?
4. Am I responsible for my own learning? The learning of others?
5. Have I done good deeds with hope for a reward?

7. What It Looks Like in
the Classroom
● Setting up Classcraft behaviors
● Daily events and content challenges
● Playing the game (losing HP/regeneration of
HP/AP/powers)
● Data tracking (leadership grade, comments, etc.)

8. Extrinsic Before Intrinsic
● Motivation: Something that energizes, directs, and
sustains behaviors.
● Extrinsic motivation: Factors external to the
individual and unrelated to the task they are
performing. Examples include money, good grades,
and other rewards.
● Intrinsic motivation: Internal desires to perform
a particular task. People do certain activities
because it gives them pleasure, develops a
particular skill, or because it’s morally right.

9. ● Intrinsically motivated students are
bound to do much better in classroom
activities because they are willing
and eager to learn new material
● Their learning experience is more
meaningful, and they go deeper into
the subject to fully understand it
● On the other hand, extrinsically
motivated students may have to be
bribed to perform the same tasks
Extrinsic Before Intrinsic

10. Behaviors and Powers
● XP and HP should be set up with Maslow’s
hierarchy in mind.
● Be specific:
○ Link XP and HP to specific character and leadership
behaviors so that students begin to internalize the
vocabulary associated with leadership
○ This also helps them visualize the specific actions
needed to be a leader
● Slowly move students from powers that
meet their extrinsic needs to powers that
help them serve others and boost
self-esteem

11. My Classroom: SOUL
Scholarship • Ownership • Urgency • Leadership

13. What It Looks Like in
the Classroom
● Setting up Classcraft behaviors
● Daily events and content challenges
● Playing the game (losing HP/regeneration of
HP/AP/powers)
● Data tracking (leadership grade, comments, etc.)

14. Random Events
Students LOVE these. Why not make them meaningful?
● Incorporate CHOICES and scenarios of leadership rather than an arbitrary
gain and loss in power
○ Instead of:
○ How about:
One random team CHOOSES one player to receive 300 XP; all others players or one player
loses 300 XP (Self-Sacrifice)

15. Random Events
● Scenario:
Your warrior is greatly wounded during a battle along the trail to the
Dragon’s keep. What do you do? Do you find a spot for them and
strike out for help? Have the Healer stay by their side while the Mage
seeks help? Attempt to heal them on your own and stay together?
○ Teacher should award points based on morality of
decisions and demonstration of character in
decision-making
○ To make this “real,” have the team’s decisions affect
classroom seating and group work for the class period

16. Goes back to extrinsic motivators
Craft challenges that have students demonstrate
character and leadership beyond your classroom
● Leading a study session or participating in a
study session (for ANY class)
● Creating study sets in Quizlet
● Completing extra practice questions
NOTE: I always have students EMAIL or TEXT me,
and THEN I verify whether or not they can claim
their rewards
Content Challenges

19. What It Looks Like in
the Classroom
● Setting up Classcraft behaviors
● Daily events and content challenges
● Playing the game (losing HP/regeneration of
HP/AP/powers)
● Data tracking (leadership grade, comments, etc.)

20. Losing HP
Rather than simply taking away HP immediately
in the game or marking it on a tracking sheet,
make sure you communicate to students
WITH the appropriate character and leadership
vocabulary WHY they are losing HP.
If a teammate comes to their aid, make sure
you narrate what is happening so that you
are constantly reinforcing the rationale.

21. Regeneration of HP/AP
When setting regeneration, think about what
message you want to send students
● In life, is it easy to come back after a bad
decision or character error?
● Is there a lesson in future planning for how we
spend AP/Gold and what powers students
decide to acquire (personal vs. collaborative)?
I personally like to lower the regeneration setting as
the game goes on

22. What It Looks Like in
the Classroom
● Setting up Classcraft behaviors
● Daily events and content challenges
● Playing the game (losing HP/regeneration of
HP/AP/powers)
● Data tracking (leadership grade,
comments, etc.)

23. Use the Data Analysis
Function of Classcraft
Pull student weekly data
● What are you awarding most? Least?
● What behaviors seem to be most difficult for students to master?
● Where do their weakness lie? Where are they losing the most HP
aside from random events?
Use this information when writing student comments or communicating with
students about classroom progress

24. Weekly Reflection
Students need a chance to reflect each week
or after a tough project
● Journal or form provided by teacher
Give prompts at first
○ Have them reflect on their HP and XP
○ Make goals for the next week
○ If they are saving/spending AP/Gold, what are they
saving for? What have they spent and why?

25. Treasures for You!
Example journal prompts:
https://goo.gl/udwiST
SOUL skills breakdown:
https://goo.gl/PexW2b
Example end-of-year reflection
form (self):
https://goo.gl/nGYF4M
Example end-of-year reflection
form (peer):
https://goo.gl/rsfk3j

26. Q & A

27. Meagan C. Frazier
7th Grade Humanities
impassionededucation@gmail.com
https://impassionededucation.com/
@mzfrazier0428
classcraft.com
facebook.com/classcraftgame
@classcraftgame
Stay in Touch