Classroom Management - Gladiator Style

When faced with a particularly challenging set of behaviors in my Social Studies classroom AND we were about to study Ancient Rome, I decided to create my own interactive battle game using Gladiators to keep behavior in check and to keep homework rolling in.

Essentially the game is an incentive device whereby positive student behaviors were rewarded with 'coins'. The behaviors I focused on were:

• Turning in homework
• Being prepared
• Participating
• Doing EXTRA

Once students had collected several Roman coins, they were given the option to purchase a part of their Gladiator (arms, legs, helmet, shield, sword, attack points, defense points and health points). 

The Order Form

The objective for the students was to build the most powerful Gladiator that they could for the Gladiator Games to be held at the end of the marking period.

There was no promise, however, that the most prepared student would be the winner of the battles because the game inherently had a strategy built in. The items they purchased all had different values that applied to the attack, defense or health of their Gladiator. Students were able to select what to 'buy' and purchase it through a fulfillment station. They would then fill in their order forms and put their coin(s) in an envelope.

The Games

An Attack Sequence

Now THAT's Using your Smarticles!!