Dungeons & Dragons has long been hailed as the ultimate role-playing game. If you’re a player you know exactly how it fosters creativity, collaboration and problem solving. But if you’re not, your child is eager to play, and your only exposure to it has been the show “Stranger Things”, you may be wondering “What the heck is it, really?”

Simply put, playing Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) is to participate in a living fantasy novel. Players create characters such as Wizards and Fighters to act out a collaborative story led by one player called the Dungeon Master, who narrates and guides the other players through tasks such as finding a lost treasure or defeating a villain. Players each take on a unique role, take turns, and have to work together to accomplish a common goal, and the memories of doing so can last a lifetime. D&D players never forget how they banded together to convince the goblins to be friendly or slaying the dragon that’s been stealing their food.

So what is its place in educational learning? Teachers are finding it an engaging and creative way to get kids to practice skills from reading and writing to basic math.

“I use Dungeons & Dragons both in my classroom and as an after school extracurricular with students from grades 3 to 8,” said Emilie Rayner, an Elementary School Teacher in Ontario, Canada. “In class, I asked my students to go around the table and use a few words to describe Dungeons & Dragons to peers who had not heard of it. The words they chose were: ‘telling a story together’, ‘making friends’, ‘sharing jokes’, ‘solving puzzles’, ‘battling monsters’, ‘being heroes’ and ‘creating crazy characters.’ I think this perfectly describes the fun, whimsical, collaborative, problem-solving that is Dungeons & Dragons.”

After a long stretch of pandemic learning, where kids had setbacks in their social skills, Dungeons & Dragons also can also be a creative way to get kids to interact with each other as a team, explore personality types and how to work with them, and build new relationships and friendships with their peers. “With a bit of patience and a set of polyhedral dice, a roleplaying game like Dungeons & Dragons can transform the classroom for young people,” said Antero Garcia, Associate Professor, Stanford University. “Trying on new identities, collaborating with peers to create and explore new worlds, and building unforgettable adventures: these kinds of activities blend academic skills and social development in ways that just might be nothing less than life changing.” Zac Clay, a D&D Club volunteer in the Bay Area, adds “D&D hones critical thinking and problem-solving — it’s one of the few activities that prompts students to solve high-stakes problems in a low-stakes environment. Whether a student is into art, math, science, writing, or otherwise, D&D gives them an opportunity to experiment with their favorite skills while also developing new ones.”

So how can you bring the magic and wonder of Dungeons & Dragons into your school? With the new D&D Starter Set: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle. In celebration of the release of a new starter set, Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro and makers of D&D, will provide Dungeons & Dragons-themed classroom materials for teachers across the country to add to their curriculum. The Afterschool Club Kit includes a copy of the starter set, instructions and guidelines for club organizers, a quick demo and learn-to-play guide for Dungeon Masters, easy-to-read character cards, a poster to advertise your club, and flyers all at no cost. On top of that, schools, libraries, community centers and enrichment organizations can receive the D&D Afterschool Kit, which includes everything needed to start or enhance D&D clubs and meetups. Additional resources are available online. including helpful videos introducing D&D and how to play, as well as additional educational resources including a series of webinars in partnership with the International Literacy Association on how Dungeons & Dragons can be used as a powerful learning tool to enhance your classroom curriculum.

Would you like to bring the fun and excitement of Dungeons & Dragons to your home or school? We have a copy of the starter set to send to one lucky winner! To win your copy, simply comment below or on our Facebook post and you’ll be entered.

The giveaway is not administered, sponsored, or endorsed by Wizards of the Coast

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