Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Course Assigner?
The Course Assigner helps you easily assign SparkPlay Content Library courses to your staff. It’s designed to make it easy to share the right learning at the right time—whether you’re onboarding new staff, supporting professional development, or reinforcing key practices.
After you submit an assignment, staff are notified and can access their assigned courses directly in SparkPlay. From there, you can use Track Progress to see who has started or completed their courses, understand where support may be needed, and follow up with reminders to keep learning moving forward.
After you submit an assignment, staff are notified and can access their assigned courses directly in SparkPlay. From there, you can use Track Progress to see who has started or completed their courses, understand where support may be needed, and follow up with reminders to keep learning moving forward.
How do I assign courses?
Go to the Assign Courses tab and use the form to choose the staff and courses you’d like to assign. As you make selections, you’ll see a summary at the bottom of the page so you can easily review everything before submitting. When you’re ready, click Submit Assignment. You can always assign additional courses later if needed.
Can I assign multiple courses at once?
Yes. You can select and assign multiple courses in a single submission.
Why can’t I assign Guided Learning courses?
Guided Learning courses are part of a structured learning pathway and aren’t assigned individually. The Course Assigner is intended for Content Library courses only.
Can I assign more courses later?
Yes. You can submit new course assignments at any time. All assigned courses will remain visible in the Tracker under the Track Progress tab.
I don’t see a staff member listed — what should I do?
The Course Assigner only shows staff with SparkPlay accounts. If you don’t see someone listed, it’s likely they haven’t set up their account yet. To help them get started, share the activation code you received by email so they can create their SparkPlay account. Once their account is set up, they'll appear in the list and can be assigned courses.
If the staff member already has a SparkPlay account and still doesn't appear, please visit SparkPlay Support at https://sparkplay.playworks.org/support.
If the staff member already has a SparkPlay account and still doesn't appear, please visit SparkPlay Support at https://sparkplay.playworks.org/support.
What happens after I submit a course assignment?
You’ll see a confirmation screen letting you know the assignment was successful, and assigned staff will receive an email with links to their courses.
My staff member didn’t receive an email — what should I do?
First, ask the staff member to check their spam or junk folder. If they still don’t see the email, check with them to confirm that they’ve set up a SparkPlay account and that they didn’t unsubscribe from Course Assigner emails. You can also use the Track Progress tab to confirm that the course was successfully assigned. If the issue continues, visit SparkPlay Support at https://sparkplay.playworks.org/support.
How do I know if my staff have made progress in their courses?
The Track Progress tab shows you the status of all assigned courses, so you can see who has started, is in progress, or has completed their courses. You can switch between Staff View and Course View to review progress by person or by course.
What do the course statuses mean?
Not Started means the course hasn’t been opened.
Started means that the course has been opened, but is still at 0% progress.
In Progress means the course has been started.
Completed means the course is 100% complete.
Started means that the course has been opened, but is still at 0% progress.
In Progress means the course has been started.
Completed means the course is 100% complete.
How do reminders work?
Reminders let you follow up with staff who have incomplete courses. In the Track Progress tab, click Send Reminder to enter Reminder Mode, where you can select one or more staff members and send reminders. Each person receives a single email listing all of their incomplete assignments. You can send reminders more than once, but only once every 24 hours per person.
What does “availability” mean?
In Reminder Mode, availability shows whether each staff member can receive a reminder email right now. Staff marked Available can be reminded immediately. If you see a message with time remaining (for example, 3 hours remaining), a reminder was sent recently and you’ll be able to send another one once that time has passed.
Staff marked as Opted out have unsubscribed from Course Assigner emails and won’t receive reminders. To re-enable reminders, ask the staff member to return to a previous course assignment email and click Manage Preferences, or share the re-subscribe link with them: https://sparkplay.playworks.org/course-assignment-email.
Staff marked as Opted out have unsubscribed from Course Assigner emails and won’t receive reminders. To re-enable reminders, ask the staff member to return to a previous course assignment email and click Manage Preferences, or share the re-subscribe link with them: https://sparkplay.playworks.org/course-assignment-email.
I don’t see my question listed here, what should I do?
If you still have questions or run into issues, SparkPlay Support can help. Visit https://sparkplay.playworks.org/support to submit a support request about the Course Assigner.
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Games Library:
Quick Tips
Looking to build skills? We've got you covered.
Find games that support skill development
Select a skill focus from the list below, then copy and paste it into the search bar to see games that develop that skill.
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Accepting Help
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Accurate Self Perception
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Active Listening
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Analyzing Solutions
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Building Community
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Communication
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Conflict Resolution
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Cooperation
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Empathy
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Ethical Responsibility
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Growth Mindset
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Identifying Characteristics
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Identifying Emotions
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Identifying Problems
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Impulse Control
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Integrity
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Offering Help
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Personal Responsibility
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Perspective Taking
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Physical Self Awareness
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Playing Fair
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Positive Language
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Problem Solving
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Relationship Skills
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Resilience
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Respect
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Responsible Decision Making
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Self Awareness
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Self Confidence
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Self Management
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Self Motivation
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Social Awareness
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Social Engagement
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Stress Management
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Teamwork
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Understanding Consequences
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Using Your Voice
Limited on equipment? No problem!
Find games that require specific equipment
Select an item from the list below, then copy and paste it into the search bar to see games that require that item.
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Ball
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Bandana
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Baseball Bat
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Base
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Basketball
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Beanbag
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Bouncy Ball
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Chair
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Chalk
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Cone
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Dodgeball
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Flag
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Football
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Frisbee
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Hula Hoop
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Jersey
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Jump Rope
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Kickball
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Soccer Ball
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Tennis Ball
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Volleyball
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Volleyball Net
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No Equipment Required
Want to find a specific type of game?
Find specific game types
Select a game type from the list below, then copy and paste it into the search bar to see games of that type.
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Autonomous/Self-Access Game
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Ball Game
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Cooperative Game
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Core Game
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Icebreaker Game
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Indoor Game
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Readiness Game
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Recess Game
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Rotational Game
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Tag Game
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Facilitator Playbook:
Tips & Resources
Need help introducing games?
Use the 4P's Framework!
Playworks uses a framework called the 4 P’s to introduce games to students. We recommend using the 4 P’s when you introduce games to your youth so they are learning both the game rules and how to teach them to others.
Pre-Game
Review the name, goal, and basic rules of the game using the ABC method:
A - Attention Getters: Focus the group’s attention using a quick attention getter. (Example: If you can hear my voice…” or “When I say _, you say _.”)
B - Basic Rules: Focus the group’s attention using a quick attention getter. (Example: If you can hear my voice…” or “When I say _, you say _.”)
C - Call and Response: Check for understanding by asking a call-and-response question such as “Point to our boundary.
A - Attention Getters: Focus the group’s attention using a quick attention getter. (Example: If you can hear my voice…” or “When I say _, you say _.”)
B - Basic Rules: Focus the group’s attention using a quick attention getter. (Example: If you can hear my voice…” or “When I say _, you say _.”)
C - Call and Response: Check for understanding by asking a call-and-response question such as “Point to our boundary.
Practice
Test out the game with low stakes with a practice round to normalize forgetting or not understanding rules, asking questions, and implementing modifications.
Play
While you’re playing, continue to check on group engagement. How is the interest level? Are there rules to reiterate? Deciding when to end a game is also an important element of play, so monitor when it appears students are getting tired and/or losing interest.
Post-Game
Debrief or highlight relevant parts of the game related to your goals for playing using the What? So What? Now What? method:
What? - Recap the game.
So What? - How did it make you feel? Why is this important?
Now What? - What can we take from this game to support _ going forward?
What? - Recap the game.
So What? - How did it make you feel? Why is this important?
Now What? - What can we take from this game to support _ going forward?
For more information on the 4 P’s, visit the Game Facilitation 101 course in SparkPlay.
Want to keep games feeling fresh?
Implement a Game of the Week.
The lesson plans provided include suggested games and often refer to a Game of the Week. The Game of the Week is a large group game that rotates regularly to keep activities fresh. SparkPlay users subscribed to curated emails will get weekly emails with a suggested Game of the Week. Depending on your capacity, you may choose to rotate less frequently and refer to it by another name (e.g. Game of the Month).
Looking for more game ideas?
Discovery a variety of games in the Games resource.
Find games for different group ages, group sizes, equipment types, and school settings in this playbook, and many others here.
Need a refresher on Group Management?
Check out these SparkPlay courses.
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Facilitator Playbook:
Blank Lesson Plan
Create your own lesson plan using our template
Click below to download.
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