Week 5: New Tool- Prodigy

 

What is Prodigy? 

Prodigy is an adaptive video game style math platform. It has been a huge motivation for my students and they love the fact that it takes place in a fantasy world. This tool is amazing because it engages all of my students and I know they are working on skills they need at the same time. The platform aligns with with common core standards for K-8 grade students making it an easy decision to implement in your classroom. 



How does it work?

After teachers set up accounts for their students implementing Prodigy requires very little work. Students can create their wizard and then they begin their placement test. The placement test helps identify where students math abilities are and then they are asked questions to best fit their needs. Students have the ability to travel to different worlds and battle either their classmates or the computer. When students go into battle in order to cast a spell to win they need to answer multiple math questions. What is great is that two students at different skills levels can battle each other but the question they are ask will be at their level of understanding. In addition Prodigy has different manipulatives that students can use to help solve the problem they are working on. Teachers can utilize the report tool to see what skills students covered and offer support in areas they are struggling with. While I have not looked into it much Prodigy also allows teachers to create their own assignments, which can help personalize this tool to meet your classes needs. Ultimately students are having fun and working on their math skills at the same time! 


How I use it in my classroom:

To say my students love prodigy is an understatement. This tool excites all my students and I typically have it available for students to work on during "Free Friday". Free Friday is when students who have completed their work for the week and have earned free choice time. Prodigy is by far the most popular choice. I allow students to grab a computer and they typically work on the floor with their classmates. Students spend time finding their classmates in Prodigy's different worlds and then battling them to a math challenge. I also have a 10 minutes prodigy pass as a reward that students can earn. They can use this pass during any independent work time. 

Tips:

  • Be prepared for some noise! In prodigy students are able to "battle" their classmates. Originally I had students do this during quite work time... that did not last long. Now when I am ready for students to play prodigy I allow them to get up and move close to the peers they want to battle. 
  • Set up your students account and then share the information with families. It is very easy for students to set up their own accounts at home, but I like creating it for my students. This way if they forget their password or their is an issue I can problem shoot the issue at school.

How could it work in your classroom:

  • Rotation at math time. 
  • An option if students have extra/ choice time. 
  • Homework for students - Complete x amount of minutes. 
  • Great for students who lack engagement in math!
  • Free choice time. 
  • Class reward.

Comments

  1. AnonymousFebruary 6, 2021 at 6:45 PM

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  2. AnonymousFebruary 6, 2021 at 6:45 PM

    Wk 5 reply post

    We too have Prodigy available to us. With limited time (4 hours) in-person with my students I have realized all the fun has been taken out of second grade. I have been so concerned with trying to teach, have my students understand the standards, and prepare them for third grade, I have forgotten what it is like to be 7 or 8 years old. I have purposely tried to put fun back in second grade. We have math technology time and usually my students are on Zearn. I think this would be a good addition to my Friday fun time. Thank you for the reminder.
    ~ Nicole Perkins

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousFebruary 7, 2021 at 4:15 PM

    Karissa, Prodigy sounds like a great math website to use with students. The game feature and being able to battle classmates, is definitely something my students would enjoy. Are students only able to battle other students in your classroom? I have a 5th grader in my resource math group, but he is the only one with resource minutes right now, so I’m not sure if the interaction piece would be possible with only one on that roster. I also am glad to hear that there is a manipulatives feature, as my students rely heavily on these visuals. – Alison Smith

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Karissa BachmanFebruary 8, 2021 at 12:44 PM

      Hi Alison,

      Students are not limited to just playing against classmates. They can play anyone as long as they know what world they are in or they can play against the computer. Your student would defiantly be able to play prodigally independently :)

      Delete

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