‘CLASSROOM JEOPARDY!’ GETTING A CLUE Struthers Middle School received the game from a member of the ‘Jeopardy!’ Clue Crew.

By WILLIAM K. ALCORN

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

THE HEADLESS CHIX had the fastest thumbs and enough correct answers to defeat the Ninjas and The Who? in a game of “Classroom Jeopardy!” at Struthers Middle School.

About 25 pupils, mostly seventh- and eighth-graders in the gifted program, formed three teams and it quickly got loud and competitive. The signaling device was passed around among team members to give everybody a chance to participate and feel the pressure.

Jimmy McGuire from the “Jeopardy!” Clue Crew visited the school Tuesday to demonstrate the game/educational tool, an electronic, almost identical version of the TV “Jeopardy!,” featuring the same music and announcer and category board.

The game is connected to a television and is set up for three players or three teams. The teacher runs the game with a remote control.

McGuire is part of the “Jeopardy!” Clue Crew, which travels around the nation and the world to tape visual clues that are incorporated into the TV “Jeopardy!” show. After the demonstration, McGuire donated the “Classroom Jeopardy!,” worth $500, to the school.

“We’re very grateful to ‘Jeopardy!’ for donating this to our school,” said Jennifer Colosimo, who teaches many of the seventh- and eighth-graders who participated in the demonstration.

Colosimo said the “Classroom Jeopardy!” game is an educational tool, the contents of which can be tailored to help pupils prepare for the Ohio Achievement Test. She said the difficulty of the content can be adjusted from easy to advanced.

She also likes the team aspect of the game, which involves working together, and that it is visual and auditory and kinesthetic.

Associate Building Principal Matthew Bowen said the “Classroom Jeopardy!” game and TV monitor will be placed on a cart so it can be wheeled from room to room and shared by everyone in the school.

Bowen said a feature of the game he particularly likes is that teachers can tailor questions to match the Ohio Achievement Test.

The pupils were also impressed with “Classroom Jeopardy!,” calling it fun and challenging.

“I really like it because everyone can get involved, and it’s challenging,” said Emily Shipley.

“It was really nervous. It makes you think fast and off the top of your head,” said Kristen Fechtel.

Shipley and Fechtel, eighth-graders, are co-editors of the Wildcat Tales, the school’s newspaper. Colosimo is the adviser.

Ryan Pollifrone, an eighth-grade basketball player whom McGuire congratulated for catching a couple of mistakes in the answers, said the game was really fun and competitive.

alcorn@vindy.com