TTRPGs Teach Jam! (For Educators)

As I said on Bluesky:

And so it was only natural that I join the TTRPGs TEACH Jam from Luck of Legends! 

Wizard School Word War is, before anything else, a game about what the Common Core Standards refer to as "Vocabulary Acquisition and Use."

• "Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference materials, as appropriate.
• "Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
• "Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when encountering an unknown term important to comprehension or expression."

The game is built on finding words and applying their  creatively to the magical situation at hand. As such, students should work with a dictionary in hand for when they encounter words they're unfamiliar with, but even when they are familiar with it the structure and premise of the game asks them to be creative about how to apply it. 

For example, when I played against a recent opponent (this NYT Rock Paper Scissors application and this Random Word Generator), it went like this:

• Round 1: Draw. I got the word "Coast" and my opponent got the word "Hike," and so I imagined a torrent of sand overtaking my opponent, while they conjured hiking gear to climb to the top of that dune. Neither of us take damage. 5:5
• Round 2: I win in 2 throws, which makes it a Big Victory. My word was "separate," which I cast to part my opponent from their wand, sending it skittering across the floor. He takes 2 damage. 5:3
• Round 3: Draw. My word, "alive," raises a skeleton to go after my opponent, but they cast "halt," which stops it in its place. 5:3.
• Round 4: My opponent wins in 3 throws, resulting in a Small Victory. His spell "relieve" envelops him in a cooling blue glow that smells like Vicks Vapor Rub, and restores 1 HP. 5:4. 

Etc.

The best part is that the difficulty and grade level of the vocabulary words is determined, basically, from whichever text the students are using as a "spellbook," which can very well be a book that's been assigned to them to read in class. It's not as efficient as studying vocab lists, maybe, but it's definitely more fun. From the Common Core Handbook:

"To build a foundation for college and career readiness in language, students must gain control over many conventions of standard English grammar, usage, and mechanics as well as learn other ways to use language to convey meaning effectively. They must also be able to determine or clarify the meaning of grade-appropriate words encountered through listening, reading, and media use; come to appreciate that words have nonliteral meanings, shadings of meaning, and relationships to other words; and expand their vocabulary in the course of studying content. The inclusion of Language standards in their own strand should not be taken as an indication that skills related to conventions, effective language use, and vocabulary are unimportant to reading, writing, speaking, and listening; indeed, they are inseparable from such contexts.

Happy hexing!