Pokemon Go is a culutral phenomoen that is being used by millions of children all over the world. Tap into this popularity and introduce Pokeon Go into your lessons following the advice on this presentation.

1. 10 Ways to Use
Pokemon Go as
a Teaching
Resource
From Appedia

2. Classification
– Each Pokemon has a specific classification such as fire, water or lightning which
you can group them into. In fact, the children will probably be able to tell you
which category each Pokemon falls into as soon as you begin to classify them.
– You could also classify them by their colour, which stage of evolution they're at
or by which genus they belong to i.e. Pikachu and Raichu both belong in the
same genus as one evolves into the other.
– You could even use this type of classification in other lessons such as Venn
diagrams, sorting data and branching databases.

3. Evolution
– A key feature of Pokemon is their ability to evolve into a different and more
powerful creature. Some Pokemon can evolve twice whereas some can't evolve
at all.
– Looking at the evolution of different Pokemon is a great way to demonstrate
adaptation and can lead to a lot of discussion about why different Pokemon
change form and the benefits of having a new form i.e. why does one Pokemon
evolve to have a shell or to have wings? What are the benefits of this evolution?

4. Addition/Subtraction
– It's possible to catch more than one of the same type of Pokemon when using
Pokemon Go. Once you've caught the Pokemon, you can trade them for a candy
which you can feed to other Pokemon.
– This is useful when teaching addition and subtraction to the children because you
can provide them with a context that they'll understand. All you need to do is open
the app and ask them how many more Pokemon they need to reach a specific
amount or what amount they'll have if they trade a few Pokemon in for candy.
– Within the first iteration of Pokemon (arguably the most popular) there are only 150
different species. This can generate a lot of different questions about how to reach
that total or what fraction/percentage of that total you have.

5. Distance and Measurement
– Pokemon Go requires movement in order to find and capture the Pokemon.
– I believe the first person to catch every Pokemon had walked the equivalent of
three marathons. You can use Pokemon Go as a teaching resource by linking it
to this movement.
– This is an amazing amount of distance travelled and you could easily
incorporate this into your lesson. Ask the children to work out how far they've
walked to catch X amount of Pokemon (easy instructions here) and then you can
begin to convert this into Kilometres, Metres or Centimeters etc.

6. Graphs
– Using the data from above, you can ask the children to create graphs and charts
showing how far they've walked. You could also create tally charts based around
how many people have caught certain Pokemon, which you can then put into a
graph as well.
– It's a very simple idea but it's designed to inspire children to engage with the
subject but exploiting their interest in the app.

7. Art
– You can ask the children to design their own Pokemon or to create a new stage
of evolution for a currently existing Pokemon. This is a great way to make
children think about the reason they've giving certain features to their design.

8. Directions
– Pokemon Go is a great resource to use when teaching children how to read and
write directional texts.
– As the app makes use of mapping technology, the children are literally being given a
digital map of the surrounding area. More importantly, you're giving them a map
that most of them will already be used to looking at and following. I often find a
large barrier facing children is their inability to read a map and I find that they can
often be overwhelmed by the information on offer.
– However, the Pokemon Go map will already be familiar to them and it actually
removes a lot of the extra details you'd normally find on a map, leaving the children
with just the streets and a selection of local landmarks. This allows them to focus on
writing directions from Point A to Point B without getting lost.

9. Instructional Text
– Let's be honest, children are experts when it comes to using mobile devices and
apps, so why not tap into their expertise?
– If you asked the children to write a set of instructions telling people how to play
Pokemon Go or how to catch and evolve different Pokemon, they'd be a lot
more engaged and produce better work - especially if you let them access the
app during the lesson for inspiration.
– Using Pokemon Go as a teaching resource can really improve results through
increased engagement alone.

10. Story Writing
– You can inspire children to write a story by giving them access to Pokemon Go.
Imagine allowing children to travel through a colourful world map full of strange
creatures - well that's exactly what Pokemon Go offers you!
– Even if the children simply log their journey, talking about capturing the
Pokemon and levelling them up, you have an interesting story with several
different stages. Using Pokemon Go as a teaching resource for writing is a great
way to engage reluctant readers because you're tapping into their interests and
allowing them to experience their story before they write it.

11. General Fitness
– This could really be applied in any lesson, but using Pokemon Go often involves
a lot of walking in order to capture the Pokemon. You could give children access
to the app and let them walk around the local area (with supervision) or around
the school field whilst playing. This would increase their fitness without them
even realising.

12. What Device To Use?
– I'd like to take this opportunity to address the elephant in the room. Pokemon
Go is a mobile app predominately used on mobile phones - something which
instantly sets e-safety related alarm bells ringing. Yet, you can still use apps and
the internet on a mobile phone even if it has no sim card inserted.
– What do you call a mobile phone with no sim card but plenty of apps and an
internet connection?
– An iPad.
– You can basically transform a mobile phone into a smaller iPad or android tablet
simply by removing the sim card, making it totally safe to use in school and
giving you access to Pokemon Go as a teaching resource!