Making math fun at the DeMello School
The kids gathered to watch a Zoom call with Veronica Johnson, a designer for ST Math. Photos by Kat Sheridan
A Jiji keychain the designers won.
Jayden, one of the designers who won.
The "Melt Jiji" team.
The "Lego" game team.
The kids gathered to watch a Zoom call with Veronica Johnson, a designer for ST Math. Photos by Kat Sheridan
A Jiji keychain the designers won.
Jayden, one of the designers who won.
The "Melt Jiji" team.
The "Lego" game team.
For many kids, math is not a popular subject. When asked what their favorite class is, many would think “lunch” or “recess.” This is not the case at the Joseph DeMello Elementary School, where teachers are making math fun.
The kids at the DeMello school had fun with math by designing their own math video games, which Liz Voci, the instructional technology teacher, coded for the entire school to play.
The DeMello school has been working with a puzzle game development company, ST Math. On Friday, March 13, the DeMello school held an assembly to announce the top three games picked by ST Math puzzle designer Veronica Johnson.
“The idea of being able to make their own character was exciting to them, and then also the idea of being able to talk to someone who designed it was really cool,” said Voci.
Every Friday, the kids get together in mixed-grade STEM Teams to design competitive math games and practice social skills. Making a design for a math-based game was part of this program, focusing on problem solving and critical thinking.
Every day, the kids have 10 minutes where they play an ST Math game. Their favorite character is Jiji, a penguin. In their own games, the kids have “Generic Jiji” use math to get out of a variety of situations.
One game Johnson chose was “Melt Jiji,” where Jiji was frozen in an ice block and players had to get him out. They earn money by solving math problems, and use that money to buy objects like hair dryers and Dubai chocolate.
“My favorite part is how you melt him out and get him out of there,” said Reed Sousa, one of the student game designers for “Melt Jiji.”
Another was “Flat Birdy,” which required students to have quick thinking and work on their memorization skills.
The third game chosen was “Jiji Hoops,” where players are given a math problem and must choose the basketball with the correct answer on it to make the shot.
One of the teams who wasn't called out by Johnson, but got recognition from the school was a lego game, where you answer math problems to build a lego structure.
“We made this game because both of us love Legos,” said Benjamin Boski, one of the game designers.
Voci coded 15 of the games so students all around the school could play their friends' games.
“I think it’s a cool opportunity for kids any time to have their work showcased and for them to feel special,” said Voci.
