Hello there,
I'm a teacher at an elementary school in a small northern town in Ontario, Canada and I'm thinking about running a D&D club as an extracurricular activity. There are no local hobby shops that deal with D&D and most kids have only played RPGs in a virtual environment. I see a great potential for introducing D&D to my students as an imaginative alternative to 'plugging in'. I was wondering if anyone else has had experience working with kids and teaching them D&D in a school setting. I teach grade six and have a few students who just about flipped when I told them I play and then again when I brought my PHB to class to let them browse it. I vaguely recall either a Paizo or WotC initiative for playing D&D in a school setting...I can't remember where I saw it or anything else. Just wondering if anyone else remembers this or if anyone has any suggestions for beginning a club like this with such a young group (11-12 year olds).
Thanks,
WtMD
I didn't set up the club at our school, an English teacher did. He actually set up a Sci-Fi club. The group meets every Thursday and they play Magic, Video Games, and other Fantasy games. They also have a small D&D group. Last year, I was asked by the students if I would DM and so the kids that wanted to learn I slowly taught them (I was also learning 2.5 as I had only played 2.0 until then). Anyways, to start the club, I have a couple of questions.
1. Does the school have sanctioned clubs? I know at my school, if a group of kids want to start a club and can get a teacher to sponsor it then it usually is a go. Certain restrictions do apply to clubs formed at our school.
2. Does you school have club days? If so this would be a good time to meet. I know the sci-fi club meets every Thursday after school for two hours to play.
I would also think about making it a gaming or sci-fi fantasy club as that would boarden the number of students that may be interested and then teach them to play.
Let meknow if you need other information and good luck. BTW I teach at a high school so after school is ok cause many students have transportation home.
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Howdy there! I teach English and sponsor a gaming club at a middle school (grades 6-8) in Sugar Land, TX. We meet once a week, and it's great fun! In the beginning, I had to DM everything, but after a couple of years I have some excellent student DMs. We mostly run published adventures from Dungeon or the Dungeon Crawl Classic series. Some thoughts on setting up a new club:
1. Check it out with your administrators first. Ultimately, they decide what does and doesn't happen on their campus. Make no assumptions about tolerances for the game.
2. At the first meeting, I sent them home with a note to their parents... sort of a persmission slip. I wanted the parents to know what their kids were up to, and to dispel a few common misunderstandings about the game. As a parent myself, I'd want to know what my kids were up to. I'd definitely approve of MY kids playing D&D, but some parents might not. Again, make no assumptions. You'll save yourself some issues later on if all the moms and dads know what's going on.
3. Also at the first meeting, explain to the kids what it's all about, and maybe walk them through a silly, quick encounter (I used "The Orc and the Pie" for this).
4. For teaching the game to new, young players, the box sets are awesome. It's a very basic adventure from an experienced players point of view, but it's great for teaching the game.
5. As soon as you're set up and running, get some student officers to help you run the club. It will make it easier and more enjoyable for you and them.
I have a ton of handouts, letters to parents, officer responsibilities, etc. If you'll reply (and we can figure out how to exchange emails without the whole world seeing them), I'll be happy to share everything I have, and pass along anything else I can think of!
Good luck!
My father taught 5th and 6th grade and ran a D&D club at lunches. It was very informal to start, but it worked its way into an official option for the Friday afternoon "hobbyish time". (I don't remember what it was called, save that it was basically organized interests. Each of the 4-6th grade teachers ran a class devoted to some hobby/music/etc. The kids could select which class they wanted to go to.)
He established the group in the early 80s, in Fresno, CA.
I'd say more, but it sounds like you've got a good source of useful stuff in the response above.
Good luck!
I'm sorry I'm not a teacher, but I really wanted to chime in with some words of encouragement.
My first real D&D group was started at just that age (10 yrs old - 6th grade) We played after school for around 2-3 hours and had parents alternate picking up the group to take all the kids home. This experience was a blast for me and stands out as a highlight memory of those years. I truly hope you can get this project off the ground and if you do I know it will your kids as much joy as I had. Cheers! And Good Luck!
-Roth
Hi Brett,
I just finished typing a huge, detailed response to your post and the posts of everyone else here...then the Paizo messageboard gremlins ate it. (Apparently the 'Submit Post' button is also the 'Feed the Gremlins' button!) Arg! Needless to say, I've tried again...and this time I'm copying what I type.
I've already checked with the administration and it's not a problem. I would love to take a look at the forms, handouts, etc. that you have already made to give me some inspiration and ideas. My e-mail is listed below (Just replace the AT with the @ symbol.)
I think the 'Orc and the Pie' will be hilarious to run at the first meet. I'll probably keep my numbers really low to get it started and then have the first group train new members. About the box sets, is there a big transition between the basic game and the full 3.5 rules? Will I have to teach them twice or will they be able to figure out the main rules of the core rules based on what they learn from the basic game?
Thanks in advance,
(And thanks to the other posters on this thread for your ideas and inspiration!)
WtMD (Tyler)
tyler.ludgate-brandATdsb1.edu.on.ca
I have a ton of handouts, letters to parents, officer responsibilities, etc. If you'll reply (and we can figure out how to exchange emails without the whole world seeing them), I'll be happy to share everything I have, and pass along anything else I can think of!Good luck!
Hi Brett,
Just replying to let you know that I really am interested in receiving your materials. My e-mail in posted in the post above this. Thanks,
Tyler
I have a ton of handouts, letters to parents, officer responsibilities, etc. If you'll reply (and we can figure out how to exchange emails without the whole world seeing them), I'll be happy to share everything I have, and pass along anything else I can think of!Good luck!
Hi Brett,
Just replying to let you know that I really am interested in receiving your materials. My e-mail in posted in the post above this. Thanks,
Tyler
Just sent an email from home! Look for some goodies on Monday!
B
It's great to see teachers getting involved like this. When I was in high school (early 90s) I was the one starting and running the group. I had to beg our Debate teacher to stay after so we could be 'official' and play at the school. Looking back I'm amazed at how quickly the group grew. We had 15-20 students almost immediately. And remember, back then the stigma was much worse for the game. It was very fun and was probably the first time I learned that non-geeks played too. *eyes glaze over* I can see Monica now... *shakes head*. Oh, umm..nevermind.
In any case it is great to see you guys doing this.
My $.02: Go straight for the 3.5 game. Kind of like small children, they will rise or fall to the expectations you set for them. Treat them like they are smart and quick enough and they will be.
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Howdy there! I teach English and sponsor a gaming club at a middle school (grades 6-8) in Sugar Land, TX. We meet once a week, and it's great fun! In the beginning, I had to DM everything, but after a couple of years I have some excellent student DMs. We mostly run published adventures from Dungeon or the Dungeon Crawl Classic series. Some thoughts on setting up a new club:
1. Check it out with your administrators first. Ultimately, they decide what does and doesn't happen on their campus. Make no assumptions about tolerances for the game.
2. At the first meeting, I sent them home with a note to their parents... sort of a persmission slip. I wanted the parents to know what their kids were up to, and to dispel a few common misunderstandings about the game. As a parent myself, I'd want to know what my kids were up to. I'd definitely approve of MY kids playing D&D, but some parents might not. Again, make no assumptions. You'll save yourself some issues later on if all the moms and dads know what's going on.
3. Also at the first meeting, explain to the kids what it's all about, and maybe walk them through a silly, quick encounter (I used "The Orc and the Pie" for this).
4. For teaching the game to new, young players, the box sets are awesome. It's a very basic adventure from an experienced players point of view, but it's great for teaching the game.
5. As soon as you're set up and running, get some student officers to help you run the club. It will make it easier and more enjoyable for you and them.
I have a ton of handouts, letters to parents, officer responsibilities, etc. If you'll reply (and we can figure out how to exchange emails without the whole world seeing them), I'll be happy to share everything I have, and pass along anything else I can think of!
Good luck!
I'm thinking about doing this with my kids next year. Any chance you may be able to pass on a few of the forms/info you have? When you talked with your administrators did you put together a proposal of some kind?
I teach Elementary Art up here in Arlington TX. I was thinking about keeping it to 6th graders but I may consider a few 5th graders as well. Not sure yet. I need to make a plan.
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Sure thing! Give me an email, and I'll be happy to send what I have.
One additional note - I don't let the kids play evil alignments. This avoids a lot of unpleasantness. It's the kind of thing a parent could easily get upset about, so I kind of "head 'em off at the pass" on this issue. I tell it to the kids that they're playing the heroes, and I get to be the villians. It may sound like I'm limiting options, but D&D in the school system walks a fine line, and you have to be careful.
Best policy - total transparency. Let everyone know exactly what you're doing, how it works, what it involves. Invite people to come and watch. If given a positive experience, even parents and administrators can become advocates of the game!
One thing to consider, that might save you some grief further down the line: call it a "Games Club", and play games other than D&D. In fact, strictly keep D&D rulebooks out of the classroom.
Play Star Wars d20, or Castles & Crusades. Or, for the most compatible option, run Arcana Evolved with the monsters and magic items from the SRD (not the DMG).
This prevents an over-zealous parent from latching on to D&D, falling into hysteria, and trying to get you shut down. It also means that if you're asked if your running D&D, or asked what you are doing, you can truthfully say you're not running D&D, but rather "a similar game with some of the more questionable aspects removed." (This is true, because two of the major sticking points are gods, and the classes that follow them, and the Evil alignments... neither of which are factors in AE.)
In an ideal world, this sort of thing wouldn't ever be required. However, I prefer to be realistic, and the reality is that some parent might latch onto the D&D name and cause trouble.
While it may not be a popular one, thats an excellent piece of advise, Delericho.
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Sure thing! Give me an email, and I'll be happy to send what I have.
One additional note - I don't let the kids play evil alignments. This avoids a lot of unpleasantness. It's the kind of thing a parent could easily get upset about, so I kind of "head 'em off at the pass" on this issue. I tell it to the kids that they're playing the heroes, and I get to be the villians. It may sound like I'm limiting options, but D&D in the school system walks a fine line, and you have to be careful.
Best policy - total transparency. Let everyone know exactly what you're doing, how it works, what it involves. Invite people to come and watch. If given a positive experience, even parents and administrators can become advocates of the game!
[Redacted]@yahoo.com
THanx!
