Librarians -- and the library -- are often the heartbeat and hub of a school. Since extracurricular game clubs are frequently held in such learning spaces and therefore led by a librarian, it shouldn't be a surprise when such educators also use an innovative approach like tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) as part of their instructional time too. They recognize it as an engaging way to enrich student literacy (and a little numeracy as well).
When librarian Laura Mann told me about the TTRPG she had created around a book her middle school students were reading, I was eager to see it in action. Last month, I visited Laura at Bernheim Middle School (Bullitt County), a beautiful and recently renovated building.
Walking around the nooks and tables, I was impressed with the sixth graders' eagerness to play the game. I took pictures and conducted an interview with Mann to share the details (and her resources!). As an aside, I am also proud for Laura to be our first Kentucky librarian to be featured on the Kentucky Educators for Role Playing Games website!
Laura, welcome to Edtech Elixirs! Please share your educational journey.
My teaching and library careers have been a dynamic journey, to say the least.
I first stepped into the classroom in January 2011 as a substitute teacher in Bullitt County, fresh off graduating from Campbellsville University the previous month with my BS in Elementary Education. I quickly gained a host of diverse experience, moving into specialized roles such as Reading Interventionist at Vine Grove Elementary (Hardin County, 2011-2012) and Math Interventionist at Old Mill Elementary (Bullitt County, 2012-2013). This period of focused, one-on-one teaching truly helped me get my foot in the door and it was during this time that the library truly began calling to me.
While working as a Math Interventionist, I took on a part-time role as a Library Page at the Louisville Free Public Library and began work on my Master of Science in Library and Information Science. This paved the way for my first full-time role as a Library Media Specialist (LMS) at Nichols Elementary (2013-2014). After a brief return to the classroom to teach second grade in 2014-2015, I took a sabbatical to complete my MSLIS. The question was, where would I take my skills? Back to the public schools or into the public library?
I decided, at this point, I would try the public library again and took on a position at Spencer County Public Library in 2016, where I continued until 2018. I loved the job, but discovered my true love was students. I was offered a position as the LMS at Bloomfield Elementary in Nelson County Schools (2018-2019) before moving into a District LMS for the next 5 years. All of this rich experience has led me to where I am today: the Library Media Specialist (LMS) at Bernheim Middle School, back in Bullitt County. This is a role I absolutely love, and I can't wait to continue it for the foreseeable future.
What is your personal experience with playing TTRPGs?
My experience with actually playing TTRPGs is limited, but my interest is not! I've always loved playing board games, and hearing a good story. TTRPGs combine the best of both worlds into one.
I watch streams and videos of others playing on various platforms, and it always looks like such a great time. I was struggling to find friends to play with, but I'm hoping to join the TTRPG group that meets at my local Bullitt County Public Library branch—as soon as I can clear my schedule for their next play night!
Some people outside of education may be surprised that school librarians “teach classes.” Can you briefly describe your related arts schedule with your middle school students?
One of the great perks of my current role is the flexibility it offers. School librarian schedules often fall into three main categories, depending on the school's needs:
- Fixed: While not exclusive to elementary schools, this is very common in such settings, where the librarian is part of the Related Arts rotation teaching classes for most of the day.
- Responsive: This is the ideal scenario—the librarian is free to schedule their time as needed to serve students and staffulty (staff + faculty).
- Partially Responsive: This is the schedule our school uses.
I'm very lucky to only teach two classes per day, which rotate every nine weeks. This partial teaching schedule is a huge benefit because it frees me up for the rest of the day to focus on critical library operations. With the help of my fantastic library aides, we manage the constant flow of activity: fixing Chromebooks, checking out books, and making sure the library runs smoothly all day long.
What inspired you to bring TTRPGs into your learning space?
I wanted to add TTRPGs to include a little more fun to our learning, but also to deepen the learning with Kentucky Academic Standards for Library Media—especially in the Collaborate domain. I'm thinking specifically focusing on pushing past basic "group work" (like dividing up a poster project) and moving toward the high-level collaboration detailed in standards like M.CL.T3.A “Learners identify collaborative opportunities by: Deciding to solve problems informed by group interaction.”
I love how you wrapped your TTRPG adventure around a text the students are reading. Tell us about your game!
The official title is “The Bernheim Riddle”, a play on the book we are reading The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin. The game mechanics are based on a simplified version of Dungeons & Dragons.
The first step in setting up the game was making sure the students had a grasp on Character Sheets and how to use them. At the start of the term, students made Character Sheets for themselves. This was to help them understand the sheets for later game play, but also to help me get to know them better. We played a brief game using where students had to follow the Community Agreements (being respectful, responsible, safe, kind, courageous, and using excellent work ethic) while finding a lost library book.
A copy of the Filling Out You Character Sheet (Google Slides).
Then, we began reading our book. I wanted to create a strong connection to the historical world of Bletchley Park. We started with some light research on the people who actually worked there. We would play our game as these people.
Students used the official Bletchley Park website, using its "The Roll of Honour" page to find their historical figure. Their research was focused on discovering key information such as who the person was, what their specific job was at Bletchley Park, and any other available biographical details.
A copy of the Bletchley Park Research Sheet (Canva).
Then, we completed Character Sheets for their historical figures. This was a challenge for them as strengths were not listed on the Bletchley Park website. We had to think about what specific job they had and what skills the person doing that job may have. I used a base character sheet I found from a member of the Dungeons and Dragons Aotearoa NZ Facebook Group (posted by Abigail Ea) and edited it to ensure the skills and strengths perfectly matched the historical context we were working with.
A copy of the Character Sheet (Canva).
Copy of Filling Out Your Historical Figure Character Sheet (Google Slides).
Once students had their historical figure’s sheet completed, we could begin our game!
Each student has taken on a role within their group. There is a leader, an ambassador, a dice tamer, an adventure tracker, and a writer. Each person has specific roles/jobs they are responsible for. For example, the ambassador is the only person who can come ask me questions!
The narrative centers on a mysterious person named "Enoch" who has been causing problems at the famous code-breaking facility, Bletchley Park. Throughout the game, students take on the roles of their Bletchley Park workers and must figure out Enoch's plan by breaking codes and ciphers, making decisions as a team, and dealing with the repercussions of their choices.
To make the game manageable, I split the entire story into four weekly sections, each with a clear stopping point: "Part One: The Whispering Witness," "Part Two: The Missing Machine," "Part Three: The Double Agent’s Diary," and "Part Four: The Evacuee’s Enigma."
Since I have so many groups and can't possibly be a Game Master for all of them, I built a self-guided system that requires minimal involvement from me after set-up. This allows groups to move at their own pace and collaborate without interruption.
The two main components are the Canva Slide Decks which function as the narrative and clue delivery system, and a Google Form which acts as a sort of Game Master.
For example, if students are required to interpret a Morse code message, they submit their answer into the Google Form. If they put in an incorrect answer, the Form simply tells them, "That is not the right code." If they get it right, the Form validates the answer, links them to the next section of the Form, and provides the link for the next Canva slide deck.
[Editor's note: you can learn how to create "Response Validation" rules for how a person answers on a Google Form from this help site, to replicate what you might see in a Breakout EDU game.]
If students choose to talk to a certain non-player character, the slide deck will take them on that path. They'll get information that is either helpful or sends them right back to their choices—simulating the consequences of real TTRPG interaction. While this system does limit the range of options, it allows groups to work through the game on their own, making decisions without the need for constant intervention from the teacher.
As an example, here are the "Part Three: The Double Agent’s Diary” Canva Slides which were what the students were playing on the day you visited:
How have the students reacted?
Some students are excited to play and ready to take on the challenges. Others are not sure where to begin and don’t participate as much with their groups. Students do regularly ask when we are going to play the game again, since we only play on the last day of the week.
What feedback have you gotten from the staff at Bernheim Middle about using a TTRPG for instruction?
Our band/music teacher is very much into RPGs of all kinds and was a bit jealous of my class. He mentioned skipping his classes to come play with mine! My principal Chase Goff came into the class to see my students playing. He later shared with me, “I really enjoyed talking to the students about the tabletop games. Honestly, I have never played these or engaged with them so it was really cool to see it. I also thought it was great to see the students productively struggling, having to back up and try again.”
What’s next for TTRPGs in your library?
I plan to incorporate TTRPG with my classes the rest of this year. I will, however, use different books for each grade level just so I don’t have to read the same book twice a term for the entire year! I will choose from Kentucky Bluegrass Award books in an attempt to drum up excitement for those selections. I know we will not finish our current read and I already have students clamoring to be the first on the list to check it out! It shows me that the students are in love with the book, regardless of how they feel about TTRPGs.
This has been awesome, Laura! Thank you for sharing your story. Last question: What advice would you give to a school librarian who wants to start using TTRPGs in their library?
Just try it! Even if it is with one class or coordinating with another teacher. Was there a big learning curve? Yes. Is there a lot of prep before you can even start? Absolutely. Has it been a fun adventure and a good opportunity to try something new? For sure.
Special thanks to Ms. Mann for taking the time to answer my questions, and inviting me to visit!
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