Congratulations! You’ve created your Legends of Learning account, and you’re ready to expand your science teaching superpowers.

How To Get Started In 10 Steps

Here’s how to get started in just ten easy steps:

Step 1: Choose A Subject

Select Earth and Space, Life, or Physical Science.

Step 2: Choose A Learning Objective

Each subject has 26-35 different lessons, or Learning Objectives, each covering a specific science standard.

Step 3: Preview The Games

Each Learning Objective has 7-10 unique games. Click on each game to view teacher reviews, vocabulary words, and discussion questions. You can also play the games yourself, and leave your own ratings!

Step 4: Create A Playlist

Click the orange button above the games to be transported to the playlist building screen.

Step 5: Drag & Drop

Pick your games and drag them into the playlist.

Step 6: Add Assessments

Open up the “Assessments” tab, choose how many questions to include, and add them before, between, or after the games.

Step 7: Customize

Shuffle the order of games and assessments, toggle the playlist’s duration, and give your playlist a name.

Step 8: Launch!

Hit the big green button! You don’t even have to add your students ahead of time; just send them to play.legendsoflearning.com and give them your teacher code, located at the top of the playlist. (Don’t panic; the “Students” tab will not appear in your account until you’ve launched a playlist and had students join.)

Step 9: Track Student Data

Watch as students progress through the playlist, and see their answers to quiz questions in real time. If you need to stop and review mid-playlist, click the pause button.

Step 10: Download Results

All student answer data gets saved within the playlist for future reference. Download it as a CSV with the click of a button!

Boom! Your science class is now certifiably legendary.

Reach Out To Legends of Learning For More Information

If you have any trouble with these steps, check out helpful hints on the Hall of Knowledge, or don’t hesitate to contact us at support@legendsoflearning.com.

Earlier this October, we spent a brainstorming lunch thinking about all the different ways Legends of Learning can improve the way today’s students engage with science in the classroom. But what about beyond the classroom?

We came up with this fun little fall project, the STEM Visions Contest, to get students looking ahead to the future. The goal is to use science games to help engage more students in science related topics at school.

It’s so important to get young students engaged in science. As you know, the United States has a workforce shortage in STEM-related fields. Why? Because many students lack enthusiasm when it comes to studying science.

Teachers like you can help them discover the links between what they learn in science class and what they could dedicate their careers to in the future. It begins with engaging students in science topics.

We want to help teachers spark discussions about where students see themselves going, and how science will factor in to their destination.

The teachers who are most successful will win grants from DonorsChoose for their classrooms. But more on that in a minute.

How does the contest work?

The contest will be open from November 6-17. To participate, teachers will deploy games from one of our 90 middle school science learning objectives as part of the science lessons they’re currently teaching. Here are the current top 10 learning objectives on the page.

After students play the games, teachers will ask them the following questions: If they were to choose a career in science, what would it be? Why?

What impact do you hope to make?

Once students have answered these questions and had a discussion about STEM possibilities, teachers will record their answers and submit the best responses via Facebook. They will also need to tag our page in the posts and submit their post’s URL to a Google form. Once the contest is closed, our team at Legends of Learning will review every submission and choose a total of 10 winners.

Ok, so what makes it a contest?

Prizes, of course! First place will receive a $1000 grant on DonorsChoose and a one-year, full-access license to use our platform. Four runners-up will receive $250 on DonorsChoose and 3000 LoL platform coins. Five distinguished teachers will receive 1000 coins.

Introducing a little fun competition can bring out the best in all of us. We can’t wait to hear what students around the country come up with when they’re asked to envision their future careers!

For full details and rules, visit the contest homepage.

We’re just about halfway through the fall term, which means one thing: test preparation. I’m sure you can already hear your students groaning.

There is good news for your students! One of the most popular ways to use Legends of Learning is to review content before a test. Building a playlist of games and assessment questions is like creating an animated study guide: you choose the content for students to review, and they see it in action. Meanwhile, realtime analytics let you evaluate how well they understand the material.

Let’s take a look at an example. Say you’re preparing for an upcoming test on photosynthesis.

Once you’ve started a new playlist draft within the Photosynthesis Learning Objective, click on a game and review its “Game Curriculum” tab before dragging it. That way you can quickly vet which ones best highlight your concepts of focus.

The discussion questions here are great for asking your students, whether for individual or group review. They challenge your students to think critically about the topic by situating games in the proper educational context, leading to a rich, engaging experience in the days before a test. Many teachers who use Legends of Learning love discussing these questions with a group of students. When students collaborate and get excited about learning through games, knowledge retention increases.

Placing assessment questions before and after gameplay give you great insight into how well your students comprehend the material. In this example, Ms. Rose and Photosynthesis! discusses the conditions necessary for photosynthesis to occur in plant cells. By comparing your students’ pre and post game answers, you immediately see how much further review students’ need on this concept.

Assessment question analytics are broken into both individual and class-wide data, so the scale of concept comprehension is apparent. If it appears from the post game questions that the entire class is struggling with the conditions surrounding photosynthesis, you have the ability to pause everyone’s games and discuss points of confusion. Class time is more efficient with your instruction becoming more targeted to the concepts that need more review.

The view below further illustrates this test prep tactic. In this example, only 30% of the students have correctly answered a question about where the energy for life on earth comes from, so you know to emphasize that concept more in future review.

After a playlist ends, all of its question data is automatically saved. Teachers use this feature to examine which topics individual students struggle with and curate upcoming review to meet their individual needs. Completed playlists can easily be cloned and adjusted to build upon past review. For optimizing individualized test preparation, teachers love to create multiple tracks within a playlist.

As an example, if one group of students has a solid grasp on the material, assign them to a track that only contains a couple of games and assessment items and leaves more time for free play of games within the learning objective. For other groups that need additional reinforcement, build tracks that include more directed games and assessments.

Playlists are a powerful, flexible tool for any stage of review. Use Legends of Learning for superpowered test preparation and watch as student performance improves by leaps and bounds.

Log in and take a fresh approach to science reviewing!

When you’re teaching students about space, Earth’s immediate surroundings are a good place to start. Cover the sun, other planets, their moons, and asteroids with the Our Solar System Learning Objective.

It includes a lesson plan created by science teachers, which you can download in PDF form or view below.

Lesson Plan: Our Solar System

NGSS Standard
ESS1.B-1: The solar system consists of the sun and a collection of objects, including planets, their moons, and asteroids that are held in orbit around the sun by its gravitational pull on them.

Objective

Students will be able to:

• Explain the role of gravity in the solar system.
• Explain the relationship between mass and gravity.
• Predict the patterns of movement of objects in our solar system.
• Accurately produce a 2D model of objects with varying masses that illustrates the relationship between gravity and mass.

Time Required:
85 minutes

Materials Needed

• Teacher computer with internet access
• Projector/Smartboard
• 1 computer/laptop/iPad/Chromebook per student with internet access or BYOD (students can Bring Your Own Device)
• Our Solar System and Gravity handout (attached)
• 15 magnets (varying sizes is acceptable and encouraged if magnets are not the same size)
• A magnetic object, such as a paperclip or the leg of a student’s chair

Teacher Preparation

• Create Playlist 1, a 30 minute playlist in Legends of Learning with the following games found in the Our Solar System learning objective (in order):
  • Around and Around (15 minute play time)
  • The Sun, Moon and Stars: Patterns of Apparent Motion (11 minutes)
• Create Playlist 2, a 10 minute playlist in Legends of Learning with 5 assessment questions from the Our Solar System learning objective.
• Make copies of Our Solar System and Gravity Worksheet (1 per student).
• Gather materials for the Engage portion of the lesson.

Engage (15 minutes)

The teacher will show a magnet to the class.

1. 1. The teacher will use the magnet and a paperclip to show that the paper clip
   is attracted to the magnet.
   • The teacher will ask, “Is the magnet attracted to the paperclip or is the paperclip attracted to the magnet?”
     • Allow students time to think before accepting any answers
     • Teacher should employ a random way of calling on students if no volunteers are available.
   • The teacher may guide/prompt students to the understanding that
     the paperclip is attracted to the magnet.
   • Using the magnets, and working in pairs or triads, the students
     should explore the classroom for other objects that are attracted to the
     magnet. Ask students to use different distances between the magnet
     and the object and to note the results.
   • Students should also use magnets of two different sizes to observe
     the results.
   • Once students are done (after 5 minutes), they should reflect
     (verbally or with written text) on the following prompts:
     • What types of objects were attracted to the magnet? Were the objects
       that were attracted to magnet larger or smaller than the magnet? Is there a
       relationship between size and the amount of attractive force?
2. 2. The teacher will say “The activity you just did was modeling gravity.
   Gravity is a force of attraction. Why do you think I used a magnet to
   model gravity?” The teacher should employ a randomized process for
   calling on students. Only a couple (1 or 2) answers should be allowed at
   this point due to time. The teacher should say, “Gravity is a force of
   attraction. Today you will learn how gravity is used to keep objects in our
   solar system in constant, predictable patterns of motion, and the
   relationship between mass and gravity.”

Explore (20 minutes)

1. Have your students sign in to Legends of Learning and enter your teacher code.
2. Launch Playlist 1 to your students.
3. As students complete Around and Around, students should fill out the Our Solar Sys>em and Gravity Handout; question #5 will be done during the Elaborate section of the 5E.
4. Assist students as needed during game play, pause playlist if you need to address content or questions to entire class.
   • The teacher may need to sit with struggling students in a group of no more than 4 to facilitate learning.

Explain (25 minutes)

1. 1. The teacher will review the answers from the Our Solar System and Gravity handout.
2. 2. The teacher will relate student knowledge to the demonstration at the beginning of class.
3. 3. It is important to remind students: The force of magnetism and gravity are not the same. However, in order to model the process on a small, observable scale, magnets were used to model gravity.
   • Why was a magnet used? A magnet was used to simulate an semi attractive force between objects.
   • What objects in our solar system were being represented by the magnet? Any object in the solar system that has mass can be represented by the magnet.
   • Why was the paperclip attracted to the magnet? The magnet is bigger than the paperclip.
   • How does the relationship of size affect gravity? The bigger an object is, and the more mass it has, the more gravity it will exert on other objects.
   • Why does the larger magnet attract the smaller magnet? The larger magnet has a larger “force”.
   • Students should be able to answer the following:
     • Why are the planets kept in constant, predictable motion? The Sun’s gravity.
     • Why do all the planets orbit the Sun? The Sun is the most massive object in our solar system. Larger objects with more mass will attract more objects.

Elaborate (10 – 15 minutes)

• Have students watch the video on gravity.
• The teacher can clear up any misconceptions about gravity and mass at this point in the lesson.
• Students complete question #5 on the Our Solar System and Gravity handout.

Evaluate (10 minutes)

1. 1. Launch Playlist 2 to your students. When they finish the assessment questions, any time left is free play.
2. 2. Analyze student results to determine what concepts need to be a focus for reteaching.

Our Solar System & Gravity

Name: _________________________

Directions:
While playing the second game in Legends of Learning called Around and Around, use what you learn to answer the questions below.

1. Label the planets in the correct order. Please note: Image is not to scale.

2. What are some of the components of our solar system that astronomers have studied? List some in the space provided.

1. A.
2. B.
3. C.
4. D.

3. What is the relationship between gravity and mass?

1. A. The more mass an object has, the more gravity it will exert on another object.
2. B. The more mass an object has, the less gravity it will exert on another object.
3. C. The less gravity an object has, the more gravity it will exert on another object.
4. D. The less gravity an object has, the less gravity it will exert on another object.

4. If two objects in space are close together, which of the following is true?

1. A. Distance has no effect on gravity.
2. B. The farther apart objects are will cause them to have greater gravity.
3. C. The closer together objects are will cause them to have greater gravity.
4. D. Gravity in space depends on how much light is being emitted from the objects.

This portion should be completed during the Elaborate portion of the 5E lesson.

5. Imagine that the solar system consisted ONLY of Jupiter, Mars, and Earth. How would Jupiter’s gravity affect the orbits of Mars and Earth? Draw and label your answer in the space below.

Game-based learning produces strong performance results and engagement. Playlists help teachers manage and deploy games for their classrooms to achieve those results. They are an incredibly versatile tool that provide strategic lesson plan architecture, real-time data and control, and performance analytics.

To help teachers we’ve compiled a list of the top seven (and a half) ways teachers can use playlists with their students:

1. Introduce science content – LoL playlists can provide a great introduction to new concepts. Each game contains a significant amount of content, so students can visualize new science concepts in a fun, interactive environment before listening to a lecture or opening a textbook.

2. Mid-unit refresh – After a few days of teaching the same topic, it can start to get stale for students. Reinforce and invigorate your lessons by deploying a playlist in the middle of the unit. Keep it fresh with a little fun!

3. Homework – Looking for take-home exercises that don’t involve a worksheet? Now you can build a playlist and set it to launch at a future date, for a set period of time. Your students might even want to do their homework!

4. Monday warm-up – It’s amazing how much students can forget content over the weekend. Use games and quiz questions in Legends of Learning playlists to ease them back into the swing of learning science for the week.

5. Assess progress – One of the best features playlists offer are assessment questions. This item lets you gage student knowledge and progress anywhere in a playlist; before, after, or in between games. You will know whether students are getting the larger lesson or not in real-time.

6. Stations – If your students are rotating through stations, between labs and other activities, playlists are a perfect addition; you can build them to last as little as ten minutes. This is a good option for classrooms that do not have one-to-one device access.

7. Test Review – Study guides, jeopardy, and practice tests help students prepare for tests from many different angles. Playlists add another element, mixing engaging gameplay with strong subject matter review.

7.5. Past unit recall – In that same vein (thus, the 7.5), if your students need to review foundational concepts you taught them months ago, launch a playlist for their blast from the past! This can be particularly useful for highlighting NGSS Crosscutting Concepts (CCC), which you can read about on our blog.

You can learn more about playlists on our help site. Log in today, and create a playlist for your next lesson!

This year, wow your class with game based learning by creating the perfect Legends of Learning playlist. Much like a DJ, teachers have the ability to deploy their “set list” of games and assessment questions to students. But playlists can do much more than that.

5 Most FAQs About Legends of Learning Playlists

To illustrate the power of this feature, we decided to answer teachers’ five most frequently asked questions.

1. How Can I Make Sure I’m Selecting The Right Games For My Student Playlists?

Selecting the right games based on student interest or academic level is easy with the detailed game modal window. Simply click on any game from within the learning objective screen and the game modal window displays a game overview, teacher ratings, curriculum suggestions, and the option to play the game yourself. When you’ve determined which games are the right fit, click the “Create a Playlist” button and drag the games into your new playlist.

Game Modal Window

Create A Playlist

2. How Do I Customize My Playlists?

There are several ways to customize playlists for your students. First, name each playlist and add it to your saved playlists section for future use. Next, try dragging games into your playlist and then moving the games around by clicking and dragging. Finally, use the time slider to shorten or lengthen the amount of time students can play.

Customizable Playlist: Name It, Rearrange It, Time It

3. How Do I Launch My Playlists To Students?

When you launch playlists to your students, you give them an engaging gameplay experience while following their progress in real time on your live teacher dashboard. You can even launch different games to different student groups and create a personalized gaming experience while ensuring they all master the same content.

Launch to Everyone

To get started, locate the dropdown menu under each playlist, which gives you the option to launch to everyone or to a specific group. To create a class or group, navigate to the students page and click the “+” button next to the word “class”. Type in the name of your class or group and press save. You can then click the dropdown next to each student and add them to their group.

Create Your Class

Click the back button on your browser to return to your playlist. The names of your classes and groups will appear in the dropdown menu at the bottom of the playlist. When you launch your playlist to a specific group, only the students in that group will have access to the playlist.

Launch to a Class/Group

4. How Do I Know Students Will Be Asked Questions During Game Play?

Assessment packs are valuable if you are playing games that are activity based and contain few questions. Click on the assessment icon next to the game list to add assessment packs to your playlist.

Assessment Pack Icon

You can control the number of questions in each assessment—from 1 to 99—by clicking the arrows. Then, click and drag to place the assessment pack before, between, or after the games. Use multiple assessment packs and create a pre-test/post-test to gauge student mastery.

Assessment Pack as Pre-Test/Post-Test

5. How Do My Students Sign In & Start Playing?

Students sign in to your playlist by navigating to login.legendsoflearning.com and clicking the students icon. Students are then prompted to enter your teacher launch code, located in the upper right hand corner of your playlist.

Teacher Launch Code

Students sign up using their first name and last initial, or sign in with their previously created username.

Student Login Page

Once you launch your playlist, each student’s dot appears in your live teacher dashboard. Individual student answers to game and assessment pack questions are recorded inside student dots.

Live Dashboard with Student Signed In

Create Your Perfect Playlist Today!

Legends of Learning strongly values the feedback of teachers and welcomes any questions you have on our playlist feature. Login today to create your perfect playlist. Have a great summer and happy gaming!

The new playlist feature from Legends of Learning gives teachers the ability to deliver engaging middle school science games while closely monitoring student achievement and growth. Here are five reasons to use playlists in your class this coming year:

1) Real Time Data Dashboard – The live teacher dashboard displays student progress in real time. Each student has a dot that moves along the playlist and shows their answers to the questions from the games.

Once the playlist is over, the data is automatically stored in your account. Since every playlist is saved, you can see how student and class performance improves over time.

2) Differentiated Playlists – Creating multiple playlists allows your classroom to divide into cohorts based on academic performance and play the games most appropriate for their academic level. For example, you can create three different playlists for your advanced, proficient, and basic students, or even create a unique playlist for every student in the class. Unlimited playlist creation makes personalizing content easy.

3) Total Teacher Control – Three features give you control of the gaming experience:

• Playlist length – You can set the timer for 3-60 minutes of game play. If you want to shorten the playlist in live mode, click the stop button and every student’s game will end.
• Dot Color – Dots turn red if your students stop playing and wander into a different tab. This makes it easy for you to know who is actively engaged in game play.
• Pause Button – In live mode you can pause all students simultaneously. This ensures you have every student’s attention while you teach.

4) Student Voice – If you offer students Free Play, they can choose which games to play within the current lesson’s learning objective. There are two ways to deploy Free Play:

1) Launch a playlist with extra time built in after the games are completed. When the students finish their assigned games, they can pick which games to play with any remaining class time.

2) Free Play occurs when you launch an “empty” playlist with no games in it. In that case, students can choose whichever games they want throughout the time period.

Free Play Option 1

Free Play Option 2

5) Scheduling Playlists – This soon-to-be deployed feature will allow you to schedule a playlist to deploy automatically at any time. For example, on Monday you could set a playlist to launch on Tuesday at 2:00 p.m., or on Friday you could set a playlist to launch at 2:00 p.m. and end Sunday night at 7:00 p.m.

This feature lets teachers deploy playlists for homework, or provide substitute teachers playlists as an assignment.

As you think about ways to introduce game based learning in your classroom this coming year, consider using playlists from Legends of Learning. With all the features playlists offer, you can be confident that fun will translate into real academic growth. Sign up and start creating your playlists today!

Adults love games. Kids love games. Both groups of people work in classrooms. So why aren’t classrooms filled with game-based learning? Keep reading and discover the five key reasons to teach with games!

Some teachers have resisted gaming because they see it as a chance for students to goof off rather than focus. In their minds, games do not truly teach content and thus do not provide educational value.

Over the past few years, learning games have evolved to include content of real value. Meaningful learning games are now easily accessible for teachers. Legends of Learning offers 900 science curriculum games for middle school.

Take it from this teacher. Game-based learning is not only fun for students it makes teaching easier.

Five Reasons to Use Games in Your Classroom

1. Students Love Games – Most students already spend free time playing games online with friends, watching other gamers play on YouTube, and bragging to each other about who’s the best gamer.

Introducing games into your class is a natural extension of what your students already like. With so many games available that teach content, it’s the perfect fit for your classroom.

2. One-on-One Time with Students – Imagine getting to walk around a room of 30 students and having meaningful one-on-one conversations with each of them. Because students are so engaged, off-task behavior with gameplay is minimal, in turn giving you time to work with the students who need your help most.

3. Curricula Games Mean Learning – Games are effective because students have so much fun playing the games they don’t even think about whether learning is taking place. When students are engaged, they learn significantly more content and remember more of what they learned. This leads to higher test scores and more confidence in taking on complex tasks in the classroom.

4. Struggling Students Feel Included – When students struggle, they often stay quiet or act out. Because games are fun and teach content without shame, struggling students engage and learn at their own pace.

It’s common to see organic conversations about content crop up during class. Students who never raise their hands show eagerness to participate. Games remind you that all students want to learn, they just need the right vehicle.

5. Personalized Learning – Games let students take control of what they learn. Students teach themselves new material or review existing knowledge via engaging gameplay. Teachers facilitate learning, gently guiding students through game play, and helping them think critically about decision points. This is the 21st-century classroom.

As you consider your lesson plans for the school year, imagine the possibilities games offer as an everyday part of your instruction. Simply put, game-based learning can transform your classroom. Want proof? Try Legends of Learning science games for three weeks and watch student achievement take off in your classroom.

Aryah Fradkin is Manager of Teacher Outreach and Engagement for Legends of Learning. Before joining the Legends, he taught middle school for six years in Baltimore City Public Schools.

National Summer Learning Day is just a month away! What are you doing to celebrate? Legends of Learning is extending its $300 trial offer until July 13 to help teachers and students better enjoy summer learning.

Students enrolled in summer class need a break from the daily routine, and Legends of Learning middle school science games are a great tool. Games offer kids an opportunity to enjoy summer school a little more, while simultaneously improving subject mastery. Original research backs up the impact of games!

Summer is a critical time for students to stay on track and close achievement gaps. Strengthening learning programs can give districts, teachers, parents, and students a much-needed boost. For more information, check out our summer learning white paper.

The National Summer Learning Association reports most families not participating in a summer program say they would if one was available, but the average cost of these programs is $288 per student per week.

As part of its launch, Legends of Learning provided teachers who signed up on its platform $300 worth of edgames for free. After July 13th, initial trial coins will be reduced to $100 for free.

Sign up for free games today!

Excerpted from How to Prevent Summer Learning Loss and Close Achievement Gaps. Download it today.

By the end of May, everyone is ready for a break from the school routine. Students stop responding to the usual content delivery methods, and as a result, summer learning loss sets in.

So change up your methods.

Develop summer courses that meet learning needs and curriculum standards while providing fun and engagement. Fun and engagement can take many forms, from project based learning to field trips to digital gaming. For example, Legends of Learning science games provide an interactive learning experience for students with questions aligned to curriculum standards. The teaching methods vary but should be aligned with your district’s overarching academic goals.

To help you get started, here are six quick tips to add a little variety to your summer learning programs.

Six Tips For Your Summer Learning Experience

1) Focus on Individualized, Personalized Instruction. Limiting summer class size allows teachers and students to interact one-on-one more often. As a result, relationships develop; students are encouraged to learn and grow; and teachers guide students toward classroom lessons and activities that fit the individual student’s learning level and style.

2) Take Kids on Field Trips. Teachers demonstrate learning is fun through field trips. Such trips can occur within the community and range from the zoo to a local bottling company. If funds are tight, supplement off-campus field trips with digital ones. Google and Discovery, for example, offer digital field trips that take place in the Sahara, Antarctica, and other locations.

3) Invite Speakers to the School Campus. Students see how curriculum lessons translate to life skills when people talk about their day-to-day work. Teachers could invite civic leaders, parents, and other people into the classroom to talk about their work experiences and background. Microsoft also provides experts for the classroom via Skype. Kids can hear from environmentalists, coastal engineers, and other pioneers in the arts and sciences.

4) Turn Facts into Skills with Hands-On Projects. Students learn what they live, so teachers should find ways to turn basic concepts into practical skills. Some schools facilitate this idea with community projects, such as a garden or recycling center. Some schools, though, involve students in activities like building a greenhouse or small-scale wind farm. Others take their students to community partners where they participate in activities and projects.

5) Keep Kids Engaged Inside and Outside the Classroom with Digital Games. Kids like games. Teachers often do, too. Edgames offer chances to connect with students on their level. Kids play online games all the time, so giving them games that facilitate learning and subject mastery is a no-brainer. Plus, edgames typically allow teachers and district administrators to monitor student progress and, depending on the implementation, keep budget costs low.

6) Test New Teaching Models and Classroom Layouts. Summer provides a perfect time to pilot new teaching models, methods, and classroom layouts, says Gary Huggins, CEO of the National Summer Learning Association. Explore blended learning models, edgames platforms, and other ways to engage students and build digital literacy skills. Assess impact at the end of the summer and expand what works into an official instructional approach.

No matter which method(s) you employ, remember that students are drawn in by new experiences. If you surprise them each day with even a small tweak to your instructional methods you will see a huge increase in student engagement. Try Legends of Learning science games and you will see some very excited looks on students faces. Have a great summer and shake it up!