Paradise Lost Jeopardy Game

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/13DMYyPOSwuAcrGdW9NtTcQO86NxYNJY5JrfCAZu8mCs/edit?usp=sharing

For my third unessay, I chose to create a Jeopardy-style review game that could be used in the classroom. The game is based on Paradise Lost, focusing on four main categories of characters, themes and symbols, history and Milton, and quotes. Each category has leveled questions, with each being worth a different amount of “money”. I created this game with the vision of it being used to review key content about the text, which would insight both discussion and thought in determining and sharing answers. With this game, students would be placed into small groups where they would work together to come up with the answer to each question they choose. 

I believe that a game being used in place of a quiz or timed writing can be more effective in the English classroom. A game requires two things: conversation and analysis, and teamwork. When given a quiz or a timed writing assignment, students are likely to become overwhelmed and stressed. These individual assignments give students the impression that reflection and thought surrounding a piece of literature can only be done through individual means and thought processes. However, a game creates a low-stakes, engaging, and interactive learning environment that students can enjoy. When working in teams, students learn that literature requires discussion and analysis. Everyone contributes to the discussion and everyones voices matter. While there are clear answers in this game, there is still space for interpretation. If a group makes a meaningful argument, the teacher can still appoint points to a group. To students, a game feels less like an assignment. Therefore, they may be less worried about their grade, what they know, what they should know, etc. They are instead focused on the questions, the discussion, and the literature. With this game, literature matters because of the conversation and collaborative investigation it can create. 

In this game, the ideas presented through the questions and answers are all valuable in understanding Milton and his work. For example, the question “describe Satan’s character at the beginning of this epic” is important to understanding the change we see in how Satan is portrayed by Milton and to understanding Milton’s own ambitions with this text. Another example includes the question “what does the Garden of Eden represent?”. With this question, students are asked to interpret what the garden represents and how it is used to express other concepts in the epic, such as the ideas of temptation and sin. Additionally, questions related to history, such as “name three events that took place during the Revolutionary Period”, give a larger context to the piece. Students are thinking about the historical context of the epic, focusing on events that occurred during Milton’s time and how these may have influenced his writing and his thoughts.