Pokemon School Ideas for a 7-yr old?

[manaphy910]

This may seem kind of strange, but my younger brother (age 7, first grade) wanted me to set up "PokéSchool" for him. So, he wants me to teach him about Pokémon in a mock-classroom setting.

He has Pokémon Black, HeartGold, and Pearl while I have White, SoulSilver, Platinum, and Diamond. We also both have Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs. I also have Pokémon Battle Revolution and My Pokémon Ranch.

I also have some fake dollar bills and coins (the play money stuff) because I set up a "PokéMart" for him. I sold Pokémon Cards to him because he really loves them. (He bought a starter deck from Target with his birthday money.) I loved the PokeMart because it helped him learn more about using money to buy things (dollars, quarters, dimes, pennies, etc.)

In the past, I tried to do a short "lesson" on Eevee. I explained how it has multiple evolutions, etc. and I had him do a coloring page for Eevee and put it in his "Pokémon Field Guide Book" (i.e. black binder with a Pokémon cover page). Then we played

This time, he actually wants me to teach him about the game mechanics, such as types, natures, and other basic things he should know.

I need some fun ideas that would keep my brother entertained (i.e. some games or interactive stuff, like the PokeMart) and teach him about the game. I also like to slip in some Handwriting or Math activities that are Pokemon themed, so he'll learn actual useful things in the process.

Recap: Need ideas for basic "lesson plans" and interactive games/activities.


Thanks for your help to this strange question!

 

[xanderthevampire]

Can I just say that I think its very admirable you taking the time out to help him with his studies and using pokemon to make his learning experience fun is a great idea. Maths is easy to put into context of pokemon- if W pokemon has X hitpoints and is hit by Y attack doing Z damage, how many hitpoints are left? Ok, but if W has a resistance to Y how many hitpoints would be left? Go from there with stab, hp replenishing moves/ potions, eventually maybe defence/ sp. Defence and attack/ sp. Attack etc. You could even do this while battling if he gets proficient enough and demonstrate if he was right or not by one of you using the move after he figures it out.

 

[winstein]

The experience formula is an interesting idea, although I am afraid it might be too complicated for a 7 year old (Pokemon Black and White are the main things, and each Pokemon even has their own base experience). However, the PokeMart thing is a very good way to teach math.

One thing about Pokemon that is interesting to teach are their origins. Each Pokemon has their own origin, so it's a nice way to impart this because it's a nice way to educate someone about the real world. For example, Shiftry is a tengu, and Vileplume is based on a raffelsia. If you are able to point out parallels from the real thing and the Pokemon, that would be great.

Anyway, these are my ideas, so I hope it's enough. I decided to leave this thread open for a while (24 hours maybe), as this is actually more of a blog thing, so that you have more people contributing ideas. The other reason is that the query won't go on forever, so at some point of time, it will become obsolete.

Thanks for reading.

 

[GengarEatBanana]

Maybe an activity could be him writing about what he did when he was playing the game. It'll promote his ability to write and might even help improve his grammar with time. Or he could draw his Pokemon, which is fun for him and also teaches him to draw better, which can be a useful life skill.

 

[yourlilemogirl]

Dear god that's sweet of you to do!

My idea would be to perhaps teach him about the EV berries (or berries in general). What berries do what, how many berries does it take to get rid of so-and-so amount of EVs, how happy will a Pokemon become if you feed it so-and-so berry, etc.
I think it would be quite easy to incorporate math with it, as well as perhaps coloring berries, or him making up his own and seeing what they would do

Good luck!

 

[Pashalik]

This sounds awesome!

I'd recommend a cirricculum where you two battle sometimes. Once weekly, if you can. Play with him as much as you can. Even if you aren't battling or trading actively, being in the same room lets him ask you questions. Family members that love pokemon rock!(my older brother plays w/me, I love it, and we're in our 20's). My Advice is to enjoy your shared hobby as much as you can. He'll enjoy the game, and he'll love having his older bro play with him.

 

[manaphy910]

First, I'd like to thank everyone for their suggestions and kind words!

Maths is easy to put into context of pokemon- if W pokemon has X hitpoints and is hit by Y attack doing Z damage, how many hitpoints are left? Ok, but if W has a resistance to Y how many hitpoints would be left? Go from there with stab, hp replenishing moves/ potions, eventually maybe defence/ sp. Defence and attack/ sp. Attack etc. You could even do this while battling if he gets proficient enough and demonstrate if he was right or not by one of you using the move after he figures it out.

I like that idea! It never donned on me to try it with HP and base damage. We also have the TCG, so I can use that for that kind of stuff mainly because the damage done in the TCG doesn't have as many factors (such as stats, etc).

One thing about Pokemon that is interesting to teach are their origins. Each Pokemon has their own origin, so it's a nice way to impart this because it's a nice way to educate someone about the real world. For example, Shiftry is a tengu, and Vileplume is based on a raffelsia. If you are able to point out parallels from the real thing and the Pokemon, that would be great.

I like the origins idea. It would definitely show him how Pokemon does in fact get its ideas from the world around us. (I can just imagine him pointing to a random bird and screaming "Pidove! Pidove!")

Maybe an activity could be him writing about what he did when he was playing the game. It'll promote his ability to write and might even help improve his grammar with time. Or he could draw his Pokemon, which is fun for him and also teaches him to draw better, which can be a useful life skill.

That sounds pretty cool! I was thinking of having him journal about his day with his Pokémon or write stories about them. He loves to write, and I've just been looking for an excuse to teach him proper grammar.

My idea would be to perhaps teach him about the EV berries (or berries in general). What berries do what, how many berries does it take to get rid of so-and-so amount of EVs, how happy will a Pokemon become if you feed it so-and-so berry, etc.
I think it would be quite easy to incorporate math with it, as well as perhaps coloring berries, or him making up his own and seeing what they would do

Teaching him about berries in general would probably be a good idea. EVs might be a little complicated for him, but I like the make-up-your-own-berry idea!

I'd recommend a cirricculum where you two battle sometimes. Once weekly, if you can. Play with him as much as you can. Even if you aren't battling or trading actively, being in the same room lets him ask you questions. ... My Advice is to enjoy your shared hobby as much as you can. He'll enjoy the game, and he'll love having his older bro play with him.

I definitely would love to do battles with him on a regular basis! Since we have Pokemon Battle Revolution, it would definitely be easy for us to battle on the big screen! (I'm waiting for a similar game that would work with Black & White now...) I can also use it as a time to teach him team-building!

I decided to leave this thread open for a while (24 hours maybe), as this is actually more of a blog thing, so that you have more people contributing ideas. The other reason is that the query won't go on forever, so at some point of time, it will become obsolete.

Okay, thank you! I got some good responses here so I probably won't make a blog entry (then again, maybe I will, I change my mind a lot), but thanks for your help!

 

[LULZ 26023]

I would go through each game with him chronologically.


Pick up a copy of Red or Blue and teach him the roots. That can be his history course.

 

[raychuu]

On the same vein of the origin idea, you might want to teach him Pokémon name's origins and what the most complicated words mean. Bonus points if you teach him the meaning of some moves' names as well. Words are the limit for his world, so knowing many will only help expand his life's borders!

 

[Almonds]

That's a pretty good idea! But there are somethings that would be probably too hard for a seven-year-old to understand.

How about using pokemon themselves as study material? Like, a Caterpie becomes a Metapod and then a Butterfree? It's exactly the same how a caterpillar becomes a butterfly...though your brother may already know them.

Then how about names? Some of the pokemon names are mixed puns of english or latin. Language could be okay.

 

[manaphy910]

I would go through each game with him chronologically.
Pick up a copy of Red or Blue and teach him the roots. That can be his history course.

That would be a great idea, except for the fact that I'm lazy and I don't want to search for them. The closest I could come would be FireRed and LeafGreen! Then again, I could do Colosseum, FRLG, RSE, XD, then move on to the 4th generation games but that would probably take too long. I've actually been playing Colosseum with him (we split up the Pokemon then control our own Pokemon since they're all double battles) so I have some time to think about it.

On the same vein of the origin idea, you might want to teach him Pokémon name's origins and what the most complicated words mean. Bonus points if you teach him the meaning of some moves' names as well. Words are the limit for his world, so knowing many will only help expand his life's borders!

That's a good point! I was considering highlighting a certain Pokemon each week and then we could work towards using the Pokemon on a team.

That's a pretty good idea! But there are somethings that would be probably too hard for a seven-year-old to understand.

You'd be surprised, he's very smart for his age! He made it through all of Pokemon Black by himself (although not understanding every little mechanic of the game), but I guess he just wanted to understand more. He's a very proficient reader (I believe a 4th or 5th grade reading level) -- both him and me are better in the English department over the math! (Of course, that was probably bad grammar right there. :kawaii

How about using pokemon themselves as study material? Like, a Caterpie becomes a Metapod and then a Butterfree? It's exactly the same how a caterpillar becomes a butterfly...though your brother may already know them.

I'm honestly not sure if he knows! He never talks about butterflies much. I'll probably explain that to him in his "science" course.