A New Way of Teaching

by Madeline A., Friendswood Junior High student

While visiting the National Middle School Association (NMSA) convention I discovered a booth that struck me as odd. It was the 'Unnecessary Entertainment Corporation.' "If it's unnecessary entertainment, then why is it here?" I thought to myself. After pondering this for a few moments, I was inspired to figure it out.

As I approached the booth, a man introduced himself and began to explain the 'Unnecessary Entertainment Corporation'. He told me that this organization was created to help students understand learning material with board games and card games. This is when I became interested. The man began to explain a board game that this corporation designed.

The game helped students better understand the different houses of congress. It was colorful, and appeals to learners. This board game would have been helpful in fourth grade. History was a dull subject when I was younger, and this game would have helped me with my studies.

After a brief explanation of the game, I asked the man for an interview. He directed me to Jodine Hubbard. Hubbard is the founder of the Unnecessary Entertainment Corporation. Unsure what to ask the founding member of a corporation, I asked, "What inspired you to create these games?"

Hubbard told me that with her passion for learning, she had a natural urge to help children better understand their schoolwork. Then she told me that one night she suddenly awoke with the idea to create "Run On Sentences," a game that helps students better learn the sentence structure. The objective of the game is to create sentences from the word cards. Hubbard has created several other games and has had great success with her company.

Suddenly, it occurred to me that reading the chapter and answering the questions or doing a packet of grammar worksheets sounds so uninspiring when compared to these innovative games. I hardly deem these learning tools "unnecessary"!