Let the Games Begin!

Games! Games! Games!

Students love to play educational games, but which ones have real value that are worth the time that it takes to learn them, because there is a learning curve for all of them. I am going to highlight two and why I think they do or don’t have value.

Law Craft

Screen Shot Law Craft Game

Law Craft is one of the best educational games I have found. It is not just a fast fact check game. The depth and reality that it puts out there is fantastic. To give you an idea of the game purpose here is a snippet from the instructions. “In Law Craft, you play a member of Congress from the state of your choice. You’ll pick an issue that is important to your constituents and take it all the way through the legislative process.”

There are six values that the game highlights in set of three double sided areas: Liberty vs. Equality, Competition vs. Cooperation, and Cost Savings vs. Generosity. While I think that everyone can agree that all six of these areas are important, they are not equally represented in government on both sides of the aisle. This game shows, rather than explains, which side of these issues Republicans and Democrats have chosen. Students first need to identify what they want their member of Congress to value. Then they get to choose and issue that they feel is important by choosing a letter from a constituent. They will then craft a bill and rally a majority vote by balancing amendments. They can visually see who in each branch and value is moved to their cause. The little Congressmen literally run to the Yea or Nay side as the amendments are added and taken away. Some amendments give a positive in one area, but take away from another value, so support is list, or can never be gained.

Screen Shot Law Craft Game

After they get an overall more than 50% support, including more than 50% of their own chosen party, the bill can move on. The lessons in compromise and what the parties stand for cannot be felt in a more real way than the way it is portrayed here. I have had student find that they cannot balance a bill with their values, they then need to go back and choose another issue, or even rethink what it is that they stand for and rechoose their person. In fifth grade many of them do not have a more than a soft view of what the parties are and where they stand.

Screen Shot Law Craft Game- The people crack me up.

After the bill can go through Congress and it moves on to the President’s desk. The President will then approve the bill, or veto it. The game sets up certain amendments that guarantee a 2/3 majority. In the end the students can print out the bill with the amendments.

The game can be replayed and the student has many ways to alter the play. They can start off as someone with different values. They can choose a different problem put forth from a constituent. Student can also make similar set up choices and look to see if they could arrange the bill in a different way and still get it passed.

The game doesn't rush the student; it will patiently wait for them to figure it out. Ideal instruction would be set up around the game. The teacher would teach the concept of a three branch government and how a bill moves through the government. After this the students would play more than one game. There would then be a follow up conversation where the bills could be discussed. Are they really good ideas? Do they match what the students believe? Did they need to give up something that they believed in to make it work? What decisions were hard? How do the amendments line up with the six values? All of these are great real world questions that dig deeper into government than a flow chart of the three branches.

What exactly does this game teach or support? I went through the standards on Civics and Government for PA quickly and here are all of the standards that this game relates to.

5.1. Principles and Documents of Government

5.1.5.C. Describe the principles and ideals shaping local state, and national government.

• Liberty / Freedom

• Democracy

• Justice

• Equality

5.2. Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship

5.2.5.A Identify individual rights and needs and the rights and needs of others in the classroom, school, community, state, and nation.

5.3. How Government Works

5.3.5.A. Describe the responsibilities and powers of the three branches of government.

5.3.5.B. Describe how the elected representative bodies function in making local, state, and national laws.

5.3.5.D. Describe the primary duties of elected local, state, and national positions.

5.3.5.F. Examine different ways conflicts can be resolved.

5.3.5.G. Describe how groups try to influence others.

WHOA! That is a boatload on standards all in one game right? I will say that of these 5.3.5.B is the strongest. You can talk until you are blue in the face about how Congress needs to work together and then go to the President, but until a student tries to get an idea to work the way they want it to, it is just fluff with little meaning. The game doesn't get into the interaction with the judges, but I am OK with that. At a certain point it would get just as sloppy as our government interactions truly are.

This game is great in the computer lab in my school, but it would make a good station in a classroom with iPads or 1:1 laptops.

Now we go onto game 2.

Review Game Zone

Review Game Zone   allows for  teachers to create and search online games for their students. I wanted to look for a new game that worked on skills. I have used Super Teacher Tools before to create vocab games like speed match. 

Screen Shot Review Game

I made a decimal review  game for our upcoming test on Tuesday. Making the game wasn't that bad, but I was disappointed that the minimum number of questions had to be 10. I just wanted to make a 5 question good opener for the Test review that we have tomorrow. What I did like was that it gave me enough characters so that I could put in word problems and not just be limited to number problems. Another super plus is that for creating one set of questions, there are many different games that can be played. I started off with Alien Invasion, then played Leap Frog and followed up with Heroic Ants.

My intention is to use the review on my Smart board during class, but I will put a link up on my math website so the kids can play it again at home and it will be there for me in future years already done. Bonus to that is that I could add more questions to it, or change them as I see fit in upcoming years.

When you have an error in answering it asks you another question. From what I can tell, you can only have one correct answer per question. The games themselves are quick, but you can have as much time as you need to answer the questions themselves. The question are then randomly recycled, even if you answer it correctly. Eventually you would learn the correct answers for a little ten question quiz like the one I put in.

These games could get a little exciting. I have found games similar to these on various sites that are not teacher programmed, but work toward certain skills. There needs to be a certain expectation of noise level, but if you make the kids be silent, it kinda wrecks the fun. For this reason, they would not be good center work. 

-Update: I got to school. Went to load up the game so that we were ready to go, and it was denied. The school network filter said I couldn't use it. I put in to get it unblocked, but the moment was lost. - 

Final Thoughts:

I find that there are a number of games like the Review Game Zone out there, not all of them as programmable to meet your needs, but the click and go fun not so directly related to the learning. The games stop so that you can learn, or require you to be a quick typist to show what you know. The Law Craft game is rare, and quite a find. It teaches rather than tests. 

References:

GAMEUP | Law Craft. (n.d.). Retrieved November 24, 2014, from https://www.brainpop.com/games/lawcraft/

Lopez, C. Edit This Game:. Retrieved November 24, 2014, from https://www.superteachertools.net/speedmatch/speedmatch.php?gamefile=1414084635#.VHJ5H4ujOM5

Review Game Zone. (n.d.). Retrieved November 24, 2014, from http://reviewgamezone.com/