What happens when a teacher turns storytelling into a live, collaborative classroom experience?
In this episode of Imagine This, Dylan sits down with Grade 7 teacher Patricia Berlanga to talk about a creative project that brought the spirit of Dungeons & Dragons into her classroom. What started as an idea inspired by tabletop role-playing became a full-day, Scooby-Doo-themed storytelling experience where students built characters, rolled dice, solved a mystery, and discovered that every decision has consequences.
Patricia shares how she adapted the mechanics of D&D into something manageable for a classroom setting, why she chose to focus on character creation and choice rather than full game rules, and what surprised her most as students began thinking more deeply about collaboration, perspective, and story structure.
This conversation is full of practical ideas for teachers who want to make learning more immersive, playful, and memorable (without needing to be a hardcore D&D expert!)
About Patricia Berlanga
Patricia Berlanga is a dedicated educator with experience teaching Gr.6-8 and a passion for helping students grow both academically and personally. She has been teaching for 6 years and has taught in Prince Rupert and New West. She is focusing on building strong foundational skills while encouraging curiosity, creativity, and confidence in learners.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
- [00:00:37] Dylan and Jen introduce the episode and Patricia’s classroom project
- [00:03:10] Patricia shares her teaching background and relationship-first teaching style
- [00:05:22] How a Dungeons & Dragons session inspired a classroom storytelling project
- [00:10:16] Why Patricia decided to adapt D&D for a short story unit
- [00:12:36] Simplifying the game: focusing on character creation and choice instead of full D&D rules
- [00:16:12] Why Scooby-Doo became the perfect framework for the project
- [00:18:03] How students created character archetypes, strengths, and weaknesses
- [00:23:29] Building the mystery story and planning for student decision-making
- [00:27:32] Using props, sound effects, and role-play to immerse students in the experience
- [00:30:22] How students tracked clues, motives, and suspects like real investigators
- [00:31:28] The moment students began using their character sheets to guide decisions
- [00:35:04] The unforgettable “punch them in the face” moment and what it taught about consequences
- [00:41:19] Student reflections on collaboration, group decision-making, and missed opportunities
- [00:45:04] How the project led into students writing their own short stories with branching endings
- [00:47:47] What Patricia would change next time and how she wants to expand this idea into other subjects
- [00:50:29] Patricia’s advice for teachers who want to try something similar in their own classrooms
- [00:55:28] Invitation to Dylan’s Deeper Learning Canada Conference deep dive on role-playing games as storytelling
Get Your Tickets to the 2026 Deeper Learning Canada Conference: July 2–4 in Chilliwack, BC
Resources from Patricia’s Class:
- Classroom Chronicles - Vol. 102 🎭 Role-Playing Games as Storytelling
- Classroom Chronicles - Vol. 103 🎭 Role-Playing Game Reflections
- Character Poster Template - Teachers Pay Teachers
- Patricia’s DM Guide
Resources discussed in this episode:
- Critical Role
- Dimension 20
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- Classroom Chronicles Newsletter
Contact Patricia Berlanga:
