Teaching Settlers of Catan - 2007-05-25 11:43
It was third grade. My teacher’s name was Mr. Condon. With an “n”. I’m pretty sure third grade was as high a level as he was able to teach with a name like that (at least when I was in elementary school – now he may not be able to teach anything above first grade). He asked us to go home and count how many board games our families owned. I’m not sure if he was trying to understand our demographics, if we were finding data for a graph, or if he was just curious. I don’t remember the reason for the activity, just that I had to do it.
I sped home and opened the game closet. Most of the games I had played, but there were some that I was too young for (according to the age recommendations). I counted them all. We had 49. There were the more common ones: Monopoly, Stratego, Hungry Hungry Hippo, Uno, Chutes and Ladders, Candy Land, Risk. Then there were the uncommon ones: like… umm… Okay, if it was a board game, it was common. There were hardly any uncommon board games that I was aware of back then. Now there are tons (at least if you aren’t a regular board game player): Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride, Puerto Rico, Bohnanza, Carcassone (just to name a few).
So with school getting close to the end, I wanted to find something that my students (8th graders) would enjoy while still doing something that would be beneficial. What is better in this day and age than taking the time to learn a game, learn how to interact in a socially acceptable way, throw a little math into the mix, as well as have a little fun. So I will be teaching them Settlers of Catan in a few weeks. I’ll write up some reactions to this activity. I’ve asked for permission from Mayfield to share the game board and pieces I have produced to be able to be downloaded by teachers for the sole purpose of teaching. I’m hoping to hear from them soon. If you are a teacher and want to know what I did, just shoot me an email. If they tell me I can distribute it, I’ll send along my files.
More to come…
I’m a little concerned that you are teaching your kids Settlers – since I’ve only played once that means they will be better than me.
Do you remember “Star Reporter?” It’s a family favorite, but not well known.
No, I have no idea what Star Reporter is. I looked it up and couldn’t find it. Can you give me a quick rundown?