Contemporary Social Studies

Lesson Plan: Civilization III

Game play of Civilization III is not intended to be a one or two period lesson. It is an ongoing and evolving activity designed to reinforce contextual concepts introduced in class. Game play will be conducted at least once a week at the conclusion of a daily lesson. Time devoted to game play will vary from 15 minutes to possibly 30 minutes or longer depending on time available for any given class period.

Game play will be used to reinforce or introduce specific objectives of the Standard Course of Study for United States History. These objectives include, but are not limited to 1) Objective 1.03 - Assess commercial and diplomatic relationships with Great Britain, France, and other nations (conflict, trade, and diplomacy); Objective 2.01 - Analyze the effects of territorial expansion (Manifest Destiny); 3) Objective 6.01 - Examine factors that led to the United Sstates taking an increasingly active role in world affairs (imperialism); Objective 6.03 - Describe how the policies and actions of the United States Government impacted the affairs of other nations (intervention, conflict, imperialism); Objective 8.01 - Examine the reasons why the United States remained neutral at the beginning of World War I, but later became involved (neutrality, trade, conflict, militarism); and Objective 10.01 - Elaborate on the causes of World War II and reasons for United States entry into the war (aggression, dictatorship, authoritarianism, conflict, diplomacy, democracy. Other concepts which will be addressed through game play include Civics Objective 1.02 - Trace and analyze the development of ideas about self-government in British North America (types of governments) as well as geography's influence upon city development, trade and defense.

Numerous 21st Century skills will be utilized throughout the extended game play. Students will be forced to make complex choices, analyze and solve problems, be responsive to different ideas, work collaboratively, transfer learning from one domain to another, and increase core knowledge in the Social Studies.

Procedures: Students will be taught how to play the game during an introductory session led by the teacher. Students will also be introduced to the Data/Game Log Sheets they will use to record and analyze the game play of each game play session. The Civilization III Log Sheet has four main parts:

Starting and ending years; Events (things that occurred today); Big Ideas for the Day ( Built aCity, Improved a city, Acquired a skill, Trade, Built something in a city, Change in government,Change in city management, Acquired knowledge; Explored, Conflict, Discovery, and Concepts); Things you learned today (What was the most important thing that happened? What was fun or not fun about playing the game? Would you have done anything differently? What plans do you have for your civilization? How did the game play relate to concepts discussed in class? What do you not understand or want to know more about?

The game will be played as a whole class activity with students taking turns at the computer. The game will be projected on an interactive whiteboard with a data projector. As the game plays, tudents will discuss and provide suggestions to the individual game controller on decisions to be made or which actions to take. At the conclusion of game play for the class period, students will complete their Civilization III log sheets and turn them into the teacher. A teacher led discussion will follow each game play session as the students complete the log sheets. A teacher led discussion will review previous game play prior to the start of a new session of game play.

Evaluation of student learning will consist of four parts: 1) the individual student log sheets which are maintained by the teacher in a binder for each student; 2) teacher led discussion of game play to determine if knowledge transfer has occurred; 3) a teacher observation journal containing entries for each session of game play, and 4) video recording of student interaction during game play. All segments will be evaluated by the teacher to determine what, if any, knowledge transfer has occurredbetween game play and classroom instruction.

Posted by japrober ( Nov 12 2007, 01:11:50 PM EST ) Permalink Comments [1]

Game Playing LP

Darfur Is Dying Lesson Plan

Darfur is Dying is game that provides a window into the experience of the refugees in the Darfur region of Sudan. Players must keep their refugee camp functioning in the face of possible attack by militias. The game is simulation where the user, from the perspective of a displaced refugee, negotiates forces threatening the survival of a refugee camp.

LESSON PLAN

NCSCOS Goal 6: The learner will investigate social and economic organization in various societies throughout time in order to understand the shifts in power and status that have occurred.

Objectives:

Trace the development of internal conflicts due to differences in religion, race, culture, and group loyalties in various areas of the world.

Materials:

BBC article on Darfur Crisis

Current event form

Computer with internet access (optional)

Reflection sheet (optional)

Review/Focus: Review the general geography of Africa, including where the Darfur region of Sudan is. Briefly explain the ongoing issues in Africa?unstable governments, poverty, illiteracy and disease.

Procedure:

Distribute the article on Darfur to each student.

Have each student read the article and then complete the current event assignment:

Summarize the article (1-2 paragraphs)

Answer the following questions:

1. How does this story relate to social studies? (Be specific)

2. Is this story important for people to know about? Explain your answer in detail.

3. Explain what information in this article you feel is the most important. Why is it important?

4. Explain what information in this article you feel is the least important. Why isn?t it important?

5. What reaction do you have to this story? Explain in detail.

6. What is genocide?

7. Does what is happening in Darfur fit your definition of genocide? Explain.

8. What other examples of genocide can you think of (past or present)?

9. What responsibility does the world have to respond to the crisis in Darfur? Explain in detail.

Assessment: Students will submit the current event assignment as a classwork grade. An optional extra credit homework grade is available.

Game Play: The game Darfur is Dying is unreliably accessed due to the WCPSS internet filter system. Due to this, students will have the opportunity to play the game at home to earn extra credit points. The students will complete a reflection sheet that answers the following questions:

Describe the avatar (character) you played as. (Male, female, age, etc.)

Explain why you chose to play as this avatar.

What were the benefits of playing as this avatar?

What were the drawbacks of this avatar?

Describe the types of decisions you had to make during the course of the game.

Which of these decisions seemed to you to be the most difficult? Why?

What obstacles did you face in the game that you do not have to face in your own life?

What do you think would be the most challenging thing for you to deal with if you were living in an actual refugee camp?

How have your views of the crisis in Darfur changed since you read the article? Explain in detail.

How have your views of the crisis changed since you played the game? Explain in detail.

21^st Century Skills

1. Critical thinking

2. Systems thinking

3. Problem identification

4. Social responsibility

Posted by emartin2 ( Nov 11 2007, 05:29:30 PM EST ) Permalink Comments [0]

Google Earth Lesson

My contemporary teaching in social studies lesson will be used with my third grade students. We will use Google Earth to research environmental issues located in different regions in the world. Students will locate different places and observe how different communities around the world are making a difference to help the environment.

Objectives: Students will be able to identify environmental issues globally.

Students will be able to use an online program to enhance their knowledge of both computers and environmental issues.

Students will be able to compare and contrast different communities around the world.

Students will research environmental issues.

Students will be able to brainstorm solutions to resolve environmental issues

21^st century skills that will be addressed include: understanding the role of media in society, exercising sound reasoning in understanding and making complex choices, understanding the interconnections among systems, ability to frame and solve problems, staying open to new ideas and perspectives, transforming learning from one domain to the other, exercising personal responsibility, acting responsible with the interests of the larger community in mind, demonstrating ethical behavior

Materials Required: Google Earth, Laptop, LCD projector

Day 1: I will introduce the different environmental issues that are occurring globally by showing students pictures from www.timemagazine.com. I will than introduce the key vocabulary that is needed in order to understand the content of the lesson. We will discuss the consequences and resolutions to these issues. Students will identify possible concerns in North Carolina and brainstorm a list of solutions. We will use this list to compare and contrast the results after we collect data using Google Earth.

Day 2: Using the LCD projector, I will show students how to navigate Google Earth. We will explore earth.google.com/scholastic to access places around the world that are involved in committing themselves to environmental issues. As a whole class, we will explore different places around the world and observe how they are making a difference to help the environment. As we navigate, students will take notes on what the different areas are experiencing and their plans to create solutions. Students will organize their notes in an orderly fashion and compare notes with a partner.

Day 3: Students will reflect on what they learned from the previous day. They will share their reflections in their research groups. We will discuss the differences in communities we looked at and what they are doing to help change the world. We will then brainstorm a new list of solutions to help the environmental issues in North Carolina. Students will develop a plan and create a brochure that raises awareness of environmental issues. The brochure will include a description of an environmental issue in North Carolina and a potential solution to the problem.

Closing/Assessment:

I will close the lesson my having students share their brochures. Their final product will be an assessment of what they learned about developing solutions. During the lesson, students will compare and contrast the different geographical regions and the different environmental issues/solutions that e is characteristic to each region. I will use this to assess their knowledge in distinguishing the differences.

Extension Activity:

Google Earth will be at the computer center for students to explore during center rotations. They will be able to locate different areas independently and research their own topics such as climate change, historical monuments and landmarks, etc.

Posted by crcantel ( Nov 06 2007, 11:14:51 PM EST ) Permalink Comments [0]

Thanksgiving Day Holiday Webquest

Kelly Maxwell
ECI 525 Contemporary Social Studies Project

Location ? Smith Elementary School, Raleigh, NC
                  Mrs. Stallings 1^st grade class (1 - 40 minute Social Studies lesson)
                  November 19 ? 20, 2007 *tentative dates

Objectives - NC Standard Course of Study ? 1^st grade Social Studies
Competency Goal 4 - The learner will explain different celebrated holidays and special days in communities.
            4.01 Recognize and describe religious and secular symbols/celebrations associated with
                   special days of diverse cultures.
            4.03 Recognize and describe the historical events associated with national holidays.
Competency Goal 5 - The learner will express geographic concepts in real life situations
            5.02 - Investigate key features of maps

Goals ? The students will be able to:
            1. The journey the Pilgrims took on the Mayflower as they came to America
            2. Understand the reasons why the Pilgrims came to America
            3. Why we celebrate Thanksgiving Day
            4. Culture and daily life on Plymouth Rock

Materials -
1. Computer with internet access
2. Projector
3. Evaluation handout for each student

Process -
The teacher will create a Webquest site to present a multimedia presentation to help 1^st grade students learn about the Mayflower Pilgrims coming to America and the reasons why we celebrate the Thanksgiving Day holiday. The teacher will begin by discussing with the class their ideas on believes about Thanksgiving and why we celebrate the holiday. Then the teacher will introduce the concept of the Pilgrims and there adventure to America on the Mayflower to the students. Then give the students the opportunity to share in what they believe the Pilgrims did and any information they may know about the Pilgrims.

Once these concepts have been introduced the teacher will then use the webquest to show the students a couple of website that can give them a visual of the journey the Pilgrims took on their way to Plymouth Rock. The teacher will explain how many days the journey took, and then explain to them the rationale of the time it takes in modern time. Once the students understand how and why they came to America the teacher will then continue presenting the webquest and show them the concepts of directions that the pilgrams would have taken on their voyage.

The last part of the webquest will be to introduce the students to life on Plymouth Rock as the pilgrims lived. This would help the students understand life and culture of the area in the 1600?s. By presenting them with jobs and dress that were a part of everyday life on Plymouth Rock, it would allow them the opportunity to understand the differences in life between the Pilgrims and modern day.

The lesson will then wind down by having the teacher lead a discussion about what the students learned from the presentation. The teacher will encourage the students to play a role play situation of them taking the identity of a pilgrim, and write down three different things that they would do if they were Pilgrims.

Evaluation
The students will be evaluated by their participation during the presentation. They will also be presented with a worksheet for the students to fill in the answers to given questions to determine how much they learned. The teacher will also use the students role playing answers to determine how successfully the students were able to comprehend the reasons we celebrate Thanksgiving and the role the pilgrims played in the creation of the holiday.

Websites:
Introduction
http://www.scholastic.com/scholastic_thanksgiving
Voyage
http://www.scholastic.com/scholastic_thanksgiving/voyage/journey.htm
Daily Life
http://www.scholastic.com/scholastic_thanksgiving/daily_life/index.htm

21st Century Skills
Thinking/Problem Solving
Critical Thinking
Communication

Posted by klmaxwe2 ( Nov 06 2007, 09:37:33 PM EST ) Permalink Comments [0]

Google Maps Lesson Plan

Google Maps Scavenger Hunt Lesson
By Alice Hager

NCSCOS
Grade 3 Social Studies Objectives
Competency Goal 4: The learner will explain geographic concepts and the relationship between people and geography in real life situations.
4.01 Distinguish between various types of maps and globes.
4.02 Use appropriate source maps to locate communities.
4.03 Use geographic terminology to describe and explain variations in the   physical environment as communities.
Competency Goal 6: The learner will recognize how technology is used at home, school, and in the community.

Student Objectives
1)    To define direction words.
2)    To use direction words (north, northeast, east, southeast, south, southwest, west, and northwest) and approximate distance to locate places in the treasure hunt.
3)    To use Google Maps to locate local landmarks using clues.

Materials
1)    A computer for each student or each pair of students.
2)    Recording sheet.
3)    Pre-made URL (http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=112424020441186136389.00043e1ff7957adba7c7a&z=4&om=1) It may be necessary to log on to computers before the lesson and put this in the bookmarks.

Statement of Objectives
TWS (the teacher will say): Today we are going to use our knowledge of direction words to locate areas on a map using Google Maps. Google Maps are maps of real places that can be written on on the Internet. You could even make one. For our activity today I have made a map of our local area. You may see places on the map that you have been to before, such as Pullen Park, the Science Museum, and Crabtree Valley Mall). You could be told which direction to go or you may be asked to tell me the direction you will have to travel.

Procedure
1) TWS: Before we begin, what are our direction words? (Ask for student volunteers or call on students. North, northeast, east, southeast, south, southwest, west, and northwest).
2) TWS: Who can write the direction on the compass rose on the board? (draw a rose on the board and ask students to fill it in).
3) TWS: Now we are going to use Google Maps to practice using these direction words. You may look at the board if you need to for help.   Using the Internet Browser type in http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=112424020441186136389.00043e1ff7957adba7c7a&z=4&om=1 (or go to bookmarks). Before you begin the scavenger hung click on ?Hybrid? in the top right corner of your map. This will allow you to see the road names as well as a satellite image of the area.
4) TWS: We will start our scavenger hunt here at school. Find Barwell Road Elementary school on the map. It is the one furthest to the southeast. Click on the blue marker. It looks like an upside down raindrop. When you click on it a dialogue box will pop up with the title of the location, a description, and a clue for your next stop. (If you have a projection screen available show this to the students. Otherwise, walk them through the process once they all have their own computers).
5) Read the first clue aloud to the students: ?Travel northwest along Rock Quarry Road, And you will find a rockin? place. You?ll need a ticket to get in, But you?ll see singers face to face.? Discuss using the compass rose and think about places in the area that could be described by the clue. Maybe go to another place that is in the same direction and discuss why that location may not be a good answer (for instance, going to the capitol building is also northwest but it is not off of Rocky Quarry Road and you would not likely see singers there).
6) Locate the first stop, Walnut Creek Ampitheater, and read the next clue. Demonstrate how to record your first stop on the recording sheet. Instruct students to use the directions and the clues to locate all the places on the scavenger hunt and to record their answers.
7) Students will navigate the remainder of the scavenger hunt independently or with partners. TTW (the teacher will) circulate the room and monitor student understanding.

Closing
TWS:
?    Now that you have completed the scavenger hunt, tell me some of the things you had to know in order to find the locations. (direction words, facts about Raleigh, knowledge of communities and public places).
?    Were there places you recognized?
?    Were there places you did not recognize?
?    How is the Google Map different from a paper map?

Assessment
1)    Informal assessment: Teacher monitoring
2)    Formal assessment: Completed recording sheets

Recording Sheet Sample:                                                    answers:

Start: Barwell Road Elementary School
Stop 1: _________________                                            Walnut Creek Ampitheater
Stop 2: _________________                                        RDU International Airport
Stop 3: _________________                                        Crabtree Valley Mall
Stop 4: _________________, _________________        RBC Center, travel southwest
Stop 5: _________________, _________________        Pullen Park, travel southwest
Stop 6: _________________                                        Cameron Village
Stop 7: _________________                                        Legislature Building
Stop 8: _________________                                        Capitol Building
Stop 9: _________________                                            Museums
Stop 10: ________________, _________________        Barwell Road Elementary,
                                                                                                travel southwest

Posted by akhager ( Nov 06 2007, 04:12:22 PM EST ) Permalink Comments [0]

Project Lesson Plan

The Political Machine Lesson Plan

Grade Levels: 9, 10,
11, 12

Subject(s):

Civics and Economics

Duration: 43-minute class period

Description: This class simulation spotlights the Electoral College
Process and the power of money and special-interest groups in Presidential
Campaigns. The activity is designed to add technology to the classroom, in
order to reinforce what has already been taught. This is designed to serve as a review before
a test and/or quiz.

Students will learn

Goals:

To enhance students'
knowledge of the Presidential Election Process.

To engage students in an
interactive simulation analyzing the Electoral Process.

To inform students about
Special-Interest Groups and Campaign Fundraising.

NCSCOS- Civics and Economics:

4.01 Examine the structure and organization of political
parties.
4.02 Describe the election process and the qualifications
and procedures for voting.
4.03 Analyze information on political issues and
candidates seeking political office.
4.04 Demonstrate active methods of promoting and
inhibiting change through political action.

Objectives: Students will be able to:

Locate states within the United
States.

Recall political demographics
of the states, during the simulation.

Use Electoral College map to
identify key ?battleground? states, during the simulation.

Formulate creative strategies
for obtaining at least 270 Electoral votes.

Relate other students? political
strategy, and compare how much money was spent in the campaign.

Materials:

LCD Projector

Laptop Computer

Copies of the Electoral
College Map (Each Student)

Procedure:

As the simulation begins, students will serve as the political strategists for
their presidential candidate. Therefore,
they will decide which states to visit, where to build campaign headquarters,
how much money to spend and fundraise, and which talk show invitations to
accept. In addition to these duties,
they will also decide where to purchase campaign advertisements.

Assessment: I plan to examine
students' contribution throughout the simulation. Students write a reflection about
the election results of the simulation. In addition to this paper, students
will be asked to complete a 10 question quiz on the U.S. Presidential Election
Process.

Posted by ltwhites ( Nov 05 2007, 11:44:16 PM EST ) Permalink Comments [0]

Project Plan

Project Plan: ECI 525

South America: A Farming Economy

Lesson Goal(s): To introduce students to the farming and agriculture economy of South America, providing students with a firm understanding of the hardships that many countries in South America must endure.

Instructional Objectives:

Students will play the game 3^rd World Farmer to illustrate the life a farmer might have in South America

Students will engage in a class discussion comparing and contrasting the game to what they already know about the farming economy in South America. Students will complete a Venn diagram comparing the game with prior knowledge.

Students will be able to explain how the allocation of specific resources requires economic systems to make important decisions regarding the production and distribution of goods and services.

NCSCoS Standards (6^th grade):

Competency Goal 5: The learner will evaluate the ways people of South America and Europe make decisions about the allocation and use of economic resources

Objective 5.03 Explain how the allocation of scarce resources requires economic systems to make basic decisions regarding the production and distribution of goods and services, and evaluate the impact on the standard of living in selected societies and regions of South America and Europe.

Competency Goal 6: The learner will recognize the relationship between economic activity and the quality of life in South America and Europe.

Objective 6.01 Describe different levels of economic development and assess their connections to standard of living indicators such as purchasing power, literacy rate, and life expectancy.

Materials:

Class set of laptops/access to computer lab with internet capabilities

30 copies of Venn Diagram activity

Overhead projector

Transparency of Venn Diagram

Focus/Review (10-15 minutes): Review what students already know about the economy of South America. Ask questions about the different crops that South America yields and the importance of farming with regards to South America?s economy. Shortly debrief 3^rd World Farmer. Ensure all students know computer lab rules. Walk students to computer lab and go over more specific instructions for the game 3^rd World Farmer. Pass out Venn diagram activity.

Student Activity (25-30 minutes): Students will play the game 3^rd World Farmer. Explain to students that some may not be able to finish the game due to time constraints. The longer you play, the better your farming community is doing. As students are playing the game, they should be filling out the appropriate circles in the Venn diagram activity. How is 3^rd World Farmer different from the economy in South America? How is it similar? After 20-25 minutes of pure playing, students are to pack up and return to the room.

Summary/Closure (10-15 minutes): Discuss the experience of 3^rd World farmer. Was it what students expected? What were some of the hardships they had to overcome? How did they survive? Put the transparency of the Venn diagram up on the overhead. Have students state what they thought were comparisons between the game and the actually economy of South America and what they thought was different between the two.

Assessment: Have students complete Venn diagram for homework if not already done so in class. Use Venn diagram as a participation grade.

Posted by slcarte2 ( Nov 05 2007, 06:55:37 PM EST ) Permalink Comments [0]

Instructional Plan

I plan to present to my class the Stagville informational website. My class will be Amanda Long?s ninth grade social studies class. For the introduction, I would ask the class to discuss the word ?slavery? and the definition of the word ?slave?. The purpose of this discussion is for the students to understand that the enslaved peoples at Stagville were in fact highly skilled artisans and builders. I would highlight the differences between the slave quarters at Stagville with that of the typical slave quarters of the American South. My goal is to present Stagville as a unique plantation of the Southern states.

I would walk the class through each section of the website discussing its implications of southern enslaved life. I would have a sheet with questions that would be answered during the presentation. By navigating through each link I could tell the story and historical significance of Stagville. Although I would highlight each link, I would focus on the history of the enslaved peoples and their architectural skills. This is shown through the links to the buildings of Horton Grove and the Great Barn. There would be a short discussion of the implications of these buildings in reference to enslaved life at Stagville. We would discuss our ECI 525 theories and insights on Stagville but would allow for the students to formulate some of their own opinions on enslaved life at Stagville.

To conclude, I would go over the questions sheet as a follow up to the presentation. These would consist of questions linking to enslaved life on the plantation. I would then hand out a survey sheet asking the students to ?grade? our class website. The purpose of this is for the students to give us feedback on how well the information was presented. In addition this would highlight whether the information was clear and concise and easy enough for middle and high school students to understand the content. We would discuss what was missing on the website. Perhaps this would include topics they wanted to know more about. I would also ask if they would use this site in a research project or as a source for background knowledge before visiting Stagville.

Instructional Materials:

-Computer and demonstration screen to present our ECI 525 Stagville Digital History Project

-Survey Sheets

-Question Sheets to answer during the presentation

Posted by rsbumgar ( Nov 05 2007, 12:29:30 PM EST ) Permalink Comments [0]

Contemporary Teaching in Social Studies Project

Ayiti: The Cost of Life Lesson Plan

Description:
Ayiti: The Cost of Life is a role-playing video game in which the player assumes the roles of family members living in rural Haiti. At the start of the game, the player chooses a primary goal for his/her family: achieve education, make money, stay healthy, or maintain happiness. During the course of the game, the player encounters unexpected events and must make decisions that contribute to or detract from achieving the chosen goal. The game takes about 25 minutes to play, so students will be encouraged to play multiple times. At the end of the game, students will take an online quiz to help them reflect upon what they learned during game play. After students have played the game they will discuss their experiences with the class.

Lesson Outline:

Day 1: I will provide some background information about Haiti. I will also show the students the basics of game play using an LCD projector.

Day 2: Students will play Ayiti in the computer lab.

Day 3: Classroom discussion about their experiences playing Ayiti.

Objectives:

Students will be able to:
? Use an online game to understand conditions in developing nations (specifically in contemporary Haiti) and how poverty is an obstacle to education. (NC Competency Goal 5).
? Develop problem-solving, critical thinking and life skills such as resource management, budgeting, and planning for the future. (NC Competency Goal 6).

Tools & Materials:
? Computers with Internet access

? Ayiti: The Cost of Life. URL www.costoflife.org

? Map of Haiti (I will also use Google Map to show the topographical difference between Haiti and the Dominican Republic)

21st Century Skills:

? Critical Thinking & Systems Thinking (Exercising sound reasoning in understanding and making complex choices, understanding the interconnections among systems.)
? Global awareness
? Problem identification, formulation and solution (Ability to frame, analyze and solve problems.)
? Social Responsibility (Acting responsibly with the interests of the larger community in mind; demonstrating ethical behavior in personal, workplace and community contexts.)

Discussion Questions:

1. What was it like playing the game?

2. What was the game about and how would you describe it to a friend?

3. Which primary objective did you select, and why?

4. What types of decisions did you have to make about the family members while

playing the game and trying to achieve your objective?

5. What strategies did you use? For example, did you combine work and school, or

did you send everyone to work? Which worked? Which did not?

6. Why would parents choose to devote so much effort to sending their children

to school?

7. How many of you were able to keep the children in school?

8. What obstacles did you face in trying to keep them in school?

9. How do the situations and options in the game compare with those in your own

community?

10. Why might access to education be a challenge in another country?

11. What factors would make it easier for the children in the game to gain access to

education? What conditions could be changed and how?

Posted by tsrhue ( Nov 04 2007, 11:38:23 AM EST ) Permalink Comments [0]

Project Plan

I am planning to introduce and play a game in an 8th grade classroom. The game will be based on the "Women in Stagville" project I have be working on with Amanda. The game is a simple PowerPoint. The students will earn points based on their answers to certain questions. The questions will ask the students to imagine themselves as wealthy, young women living on the Stagville plantation.

Posted by rkpalmer ( Oct 31 2007, 03:05:46 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Contemporary Teaching in Social Studies Project

Posted by crcantel ( Oct 30 2007, 10:18:21 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Contemporary social studies plan

My contemporary teaching in social studies lesson will be designed for students in second through fourth grade at a Title I school. I plan on implementing the lesson during the first or second week of November with a 3rd grade class. I will turn an annotated Google Map of Raleigh into a treasure hunt that will help students practice the cardinal directions as well as the concepts of longitude and latitude.

Posted by akhager ( Oct 30 2007, 07:51:50 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

My Project Plan for Contemporary Teaching Project

My plan for the contemporary teaching project is to an activity on Ancient Rome. It would involve the students to use Google Earth and get a visual on modern day Rome and its physical features. The students would then choose one or two physical land features and use their knowledge of social studies and apply this to how such land features would have influenced Ancient Rome. Their presenation should be no more than two pages and the format is to be left open. This way the students have the flexibilty to present as they see most fit and creative. I would they use outlines, charts, etc. I will be presenting this idea with a sample outline and make some friendly suggestions. This will give the students a spring board to jump off of. The students will be 8th graders and I will be making initial contact with the school on Nov 7.

Posted by mjcrotea ( Oct 30 2007, 07:18:51 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Plan for Contemporary Teaching Project

For my project I plan to teach my 6th grade students about poverty in third world countries by using the video game Ayiti: The Cost of Life. I plan on introducing the lesson to them on Friday, November 16. The students will play the game in our computer lab on Monday the 19th and I will wrap up the lesson on Tuesday the 20th.

Posted by tsrhue ( Oct 30 2007, 05:30:08 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Project Plan

I plan on using the Political Maching Simulation game. This game will be used in a 9th grade Civics and Economics course. I will be using a laptop and an LCD projector. On November 28th or November 30th, students will obtain a review of the Electoral College and the Presidential Election process.

Posted by ltwhites ( Oct 29 2007, 07:57:46 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Project Plan

For social studies subject matter, I plan to implement a lesson plan on Stagville. As for the grade level, the eighth grade course of study is North Carolina history. A study of Stagville will most likely influence their knowledge on North Carolina's antebellum history. I plan to present Stagville by showing the Stagville website, presenting our ECI 525 digital history website with an addition powerpoint presentation, and then encouraging students and the teacher to take field trip to the actual plantation.

Posted by rsbumgar ( Oct 29 2007, 02:43:43 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Plan for Project: Initial Information

An upcoming subject of study for my North Carolina history class will be slavery. I plan to augment my lectures and assigned readings with an on-line hunt for information and materials regarding slavery in North Carolina.

I will create a Blackboard web page with links to various sites, pages and material that the students will browse and respond to. I will link to our ECI525 class? site on Stagville (even if it is still under construction). In addition, I will send them to the Historic Stagville site, the Stagville Society site, Somerset Place, as well as the digital history site American Memory services as found on the http://memory.loc.gov site. I will also link to the slave narratives that are from North Carolina residents. I may also have the kids tour the NC Cultural Resources and the State Archives for information about slavery. I will have fact-based, reflection and discussion questions that they will respond to on the Blackboard?s discussion boards.

Posted by rejones ( Oct 28 2007, 05:06:42 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

A. Long Project Information

I plan to study Google Earth.

Grade Level- 9th Grade (could be altered for higher grades)
Subject- World History, Social Studies
Activity- 30-45Min, Investigation & Exploration using Google Earth Map &
Tools.

Posted by amlong3 ( Oct 27 2007, 05:36:22 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Plan for Project: Initial Information

I have incorporated Civilization III game play into my 3rd block "Introduction to US. History" class. The class consists of 12 students: two sophomores, eight juniors, and two seniors. The course is new this year and is designed to prepare students for the regular 90 day US History course (one semester). The students in the class are low performers and have a history of failing other classes, including US History, primarily due to poor reading skills.

We began playing on October 11th. Game play is conducted during the last 15 - 20 minutes of class. My plan is to play at least once a week as a large group. I am using a data projector and an interactive whiteboard so the entire class can observe and participate in the game play. Since I intoduced the game, we have played five times, including the introduction session. All the sessions have lasted less than 20 minutes, except the last session on October 26th. This session ran for almost an hour.

Students take turns as the game controller, receiving input from their classmates on how to procede. At the conclusion of each session of game play, students complete a data sheet (which I provide). Debriefings are conducted and I maintain a journal of student activities and comments from the game play. Reviews are conducted of the previous game play session before beginning a new session.

The purpose of the game play is to reinforce factual classroom concepts with events or experiences associated with playing Civilization III. Can the students make the connection between expansion and conflict in the game to expansion and conflict in US History? An example is Manifest Destiny with its wars against Native Americans and Mexico. Why did these conflicts occur?

The project will continue throughout the semester. At the conclusion of the project, data from student log sheets, my journal, student interviews and video recordings will be analyzed to determine if students were able to retain concepts and make connections between game play and factual information.

Posted by japrober ( Oct 27 2007, 03:36:51 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Initial information Contemporary Teaching in Social Studies Project - request for initial information

For this project you will work with contemporary web-based resources and related approaches to teaching social studies subject matter that reflect 21st century learning goals. These approaches might include resources such as these

Social studies gaming (e.g. Civilization or Cyber Nations - http://www.cybernations.net)
Digital History (e.g. American Memory ? http://memory.loc.gov)
Web-based geo-spatial presentations of information (e.g. Google Earth)

Your work on this project will take form as action research. I will expect you to study one of these resources, plan for instruction using the resources, implement the activities in your class or a classroom setting, and report/reflect on the teaching and learning experience Your work will be due in stages and will be posted to this blog More information about the project is available in the Wednesday Oct 24 post under the Contemporary Teaching in Social Studies Topic area of this blog.

Please reply with a comment to this post indicating the plan for your teaching including the grade level, date(s), and topic by October 30

( Oct 25 2007, 05:44:51 PM EDT )

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Contemporary Teaching Project Description Contemporary Teaching in Social Studies Project - ECI 525 Signature Activity

For this project you will work with contemporary technology resources and related approaches to teaching social studies subject matter that reflect 21st century learning goals. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills (http://www.21stcenturyskills.org) describes these goals as resting in three skills categories 1) Learning and Innovation Skills; 2) Information, Media and Technology Skills; and 3) Life and Career Skills. This project will involve the investigation of particular instruction materials and their adaptation for use in an authentic 21st century teaching context. This activity includes three parts which are described below.

Part 1 The identification and description of innovative resources Given recent advance in technology, a number of innovative teaching and learning resources for use in social studies have emerged. Identify one resource that is meaningful to you and describe the potential uses of this resources in a specific classroom setting (either your class or the classroom of someone through whom you can gain access). The following are examples of resources you might find as innovative.

Social studies gaming (e.g. Civilization IV or Cyber Nations - http://www.cybernations.net)
Digital History (e.g. American Memory http://memory.loc.gov)
Web-based geo-spatial presentations of information (e.g. Google Earth)

For this activity, you should take into consideration the following

information about the design of the resource,
the technology requirements for using the resource,
the levels at which the resource can be engaged,
the subject matter focus of the resource
the larger context or genre of this resource (e.g. part of a larger set of documents or one of many strategy-based military games, etc.)
the potential uses of this resource in the classroom include the appropriate grade level and adaptations that would have to be made for use in the classroom
the limitations of this resource in the classroom including cost, time to use, play or engage, et

Your work will be completed in two parts

Part 1 The development of instructional materials for using the innovative resource After you have developed a deep understanding of your innovative resource, plan an instructional activity for a specific class that either you teach or a class for which you have access. Your instructional plan should include the following elements.

An overview of the social studies subject matter for your lesson
A sample of specific objectives you hope to achieve through the lesson
21st century skills your lesson will address
A description of the procedures you will use in your lesson
A description of the means by which you will determine if your students have meet the specific objectives and developed the stated 21st century skills.

This section should run 2-3 typed double-spaced pages in length (500 miniumu words)
Due November 6

Part 2 An examination of teaching and learning with the innovative resource Your work on this part of the project will take form as action research and reflection. I will expect you to implement the activities for which you planned in Part 2 of this project. You should collect assessment information on your students' progress as measured given your lesson plan. Report the student grades (if you are grading the activity) or summarize students' work given the objectives and related 21st century skills development. In addition, write a reflection on the anticipated and unanticipated successes and pitfalls of teaching your lesson. What did you learn and what would you do differently? Focus on the subject matter and the methods you implemented in the lesson.

This section should run 3-4 typed double-spaced pages in length (750 minimum words)
Due December 3

Criteria

The identification and description of innovative resources.
The development of instructional materials for using the innovative resource including information about subject matter, objectives, 21st Century Skills, procedures, and assessment
An examination of teaching and learning with the innovative resource in terms of student learning and the teacher?s reflections on their success and limitations

Posted by jklee ( Oct 24 2007, 05:37:38 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Social Studies games - your experiences
Gaming has long been a part of social studies with simulations, role-playing, board games, and other turn-based games playing a central part in many social studies classrooms. Countless teachers have used off the shelf games or even invented games for their students. With the rise of personal computing in the 1980s, games took on a new life in social studies classrooms. Games such as Oregon Trail and Where in the World is Carmen San Diego became staples of many social studies classrooms.

Given our first two readings on gaming (below) how do you think games can be incorporated into social studies. Think broadly and take into account you personal experiences as a learner and a teacher. How do you think games can be used effectively in social studies? What are some limitations? What are some games you have played (as a student or teacher) in school social studies and what are some game you have not played but would like to?

The readings for this response are,

1. Paper, S. (1998). "Does easy do it? Children, games and learning." Game developer magazine, June, 1998. Retrieved July 10, 2007, http://www.papert.org/articles/Doeseasydoit.html

2. Gee, J. P. (2005). The Classroom of Popular Culture: What video games can teach us about making students want to learn. Retrieved July 10, 2007, http://www.edletter.org/current/gee.shtml

For more info see

Marsh, C. J. (1981). Simulation Games and the Social Studies Teacher. Theory Into Practice, 20(3), 187-193.

Posted by jklee ( Oct 03 2007, 11:09:38 AM EDT ) Permalink Comments [14]

Disaffected! Game Information The game I chose to review is called ?Disaffected?. Persuasive Games LLC created the game and suggests that it may be used to discuss labor issues and management. It is free to play and suggests no target age. It is a game that you can download from this website http://www.persuasivegames.com/games/game.aspx?game=disaffected Game Structure and Teaching The purpose of this game is to show issues related to labor and management issues within businesses. It also has an underlying context of suggesting that monotonous work could lead to ignorance and inefficiency. Curricular based goals and objectives could be derived from U.S. History in Goal 5 and Goal 11. Both of these goals deal with industry, labor unions, movements, and other issues relating to the impact industry and manufacturing has had on social, economic, and political relationships. An indirect educational aim that this game entails is the empathy that is gained for the employees of these stores. It shows how difficult it might be to run a business with low staff and impatient people. It might encourage students to be more patient and understanding at consumer stores. Instructional uses of this game could include using it to analyze relationships between employees and bosses, and talk about the impact this has on business success. You might also be able to talk about the importance of customer satisfaction in business success. This game seems to be geared more toward high school and post-secondary education. This game does achieve some of the 21st learning skills such as communication and problem solving. Both of these skills are needed to keep the customer happy and make the simulated business successful. I think also that this game aims to suggest a new way to look at business operations and take a critical eye at the problems that employees face in big business. It also suggests that some problems are not addressed by companies and employees are forced to work in those conditions. Game Play The game starts off with choosing a level of difficulty. Next, you are given instructions on how to use the keyboard to move your ?employee?. You see a simulated store front (FedEx/Kinkos) and my game started out with two employees. The computer automatically issues problems that employees often encounter, such as too many customers at one time, boredom, and fatigue. This makes it difficult to make the customer happy. The game can be played with one or two players at one time. The objective of the game is to service the customer and get them their product as soon as possible. The computer automatically makes the customer leave if they are unsatisfied, so there is a time constraint. The game proceeds in levels, you must master the first level to proceed to the next. The game ends on the last level of game play, when you have satisfied all customers appropriately. Game Critique The limitations of the game include only focusing on the relationship aspect of the business situation. I think it could be better served if they talked more about the economic side of how the business runs. They did a fairly good job in indicating what things might help or hinder a business?s success. The non-monetary costs are low, depending on how well you play the game. If you are not that good, it might take you much longer to succeed. The cultural context of this game is very contemporary and includes only white employees, but several ethnic customers. It is obviously presented in an industrialized town/city with younger employees and older customers, perhaps sending a message about what kind of people work where. Finally, the downsides of this game could be that it doesn?t do well enough to address the economic side, and also it seems to ?put-down? service workers in retail by suggesting that they sometimes cannot do their job appropriately. Posted by amlong3 ( Oct 01 2007, 07:03:13 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Sim City Classic Game Review #3 Sim City Classic ? Ron Jones No one has done it yet, so what the heck! Game Information: Name: Sim City Classic Company: EA Games Educational use: simplified civil engineering, development of cities Target Age: seems to be young adolescents Platform: PC Address: http://simcity.ea.com/play/simcity_classic.php This game is an oldie. It looks very DOS, but it contains the basics for play. Later versions, which must be purchased and updated, are state of the art. SimCityscape is 3-D and looks really modern. Game Structure and teaching: The purpose of this game is to teach about the growth of cities from villages to towns, concentrating on economic management, rather than political development. The direct curricular aim is not easy to see. This game could align with US History or with Civics & Economics, although the age range seems to be middle school. Perhaps a magnet elective like Odyssey of the Mind would be a good fit. An indirect aim could be to have the learner make decisions concerning development, and allocation of resources. Instructional uses could be the development of cities during the late Industrial revolution, growth of cities in response to industrialization of the late 1800 to late 1900?s. I think that this game could fort the 21st Century initiative in that it familiarizes the learner with the development of societies in a technological format Game play: The object is to design a city from a bare landscape. There are forests, lakes and rivers, and the city must fit within the confines of the land. (Geography still rules!). The first step is to build a power plant, lay out residential, commercial, and industrial districts, connect them with power transmission lines and roads. The game proceeds through time increasing month by month, from the year 1900. At various times neighborhoods are built, commercial and industrial zones are developed and then abandoned. There are even natural disasters, floods, fires, tornadoes and earthquakes, programmed in that effect the developed areas. All the while the infrastructure must be adjusted, adding newer zones, building roads and power lines. The game tracks population, satisfaction levels with the city and revenues from the tax base. There are budget adjustments that can be made with spending on infrastructure and with the tax rates. Game Critique: In playing this game I found that it was possible to set up the town and watch it grow, adding development zones and spending the budget as needed, all while doing something else. This lack of rapid change is a drawback, as it could be boring to some students. On a libertarian vein, I found that adjusting the tax rate downward did not have the effect of stimulating growth nor, because of growth, stimulate revenue. This leads me to suppose that the game was designed by people who disregard the Laffer Curve?s proven benefits. Posted by rejones ( Oct 01 2007, 03:23:13 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Climate Change Game Name- Climate Challenge Company- BBC Stated educational use- Global Climate Change Target age for use- Middle and High School Cost- Free Platform- web-based Game structure and teaching- The goal of this game is to provide students with the knowledge to make a decision on the issue of global climate change. This is a subject that is currently being debated in the political arena. Some direct curricular-related educational aims could include- understanding the subject of climate change, learn how to examine the research and science of global climate change, and evaluate possible solutions for this issue. I think that this game should be used in a civics and economics course or a geography course. Students would learn how human activity not only has an impact on the environment of their country, but it could impact the entire global community. Some informal learning activities could be presented by allowing students to have the opportunity to debate each other, after this activity. In my opinion, this would allow students to voice their opinions and support them with evidence from their research. The 21st century teaching and learning aims that would be covered by this game would include- information and communication skills, thinking and problem-solving skills, and creativity and intellectual curiosity. Game Play- This game is easy to assess, you can go to the BBC website and play the game. First, you will select a player. Your goal is to lower carbon dioxide emissions, since you are president of a European nation. There are five areas which are; national, trade, industry, local, and household. Under the national section, the player can introduce a new fuel tax, privatize electricity, and plant small forests. Next, you can examine the trade section. According to this area, you can send foreign aid. The industry area has the following options- subsidize aviation, switch from coal to gas, and promote industrial energy efficiency. The local section allows the player to improve building regulations, build more roads, invest in water infrastructure, promote cooperative wind farms, and build affordable housing. And the household section allows the player to promote recycling. Each of the subsections provides the player with the positive and negative public opinion on these issues. So, this game challenges the players? decision making skills as well. Game Critique- This game really does not teach students about the subject of global climate change. Instead, it should be used as a tool that would reinforce a lecture of a video on the subject. I think that this game is perfect for a geography course, due to the global impact of climate change. The game is free, so you would not have to worry about purchasing the software. Also, you could implement this game in a computer lab, since students could access this via the Internet. Posted by ltwhites ( Oct 01 2007, 02:32:55 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

The Sims by Rachel Palmer Game Information: I observed a male playing The Online Sims game. Electronic Arts is the creator of this program. The company is one of the largest developers with over $3 billion in sales in 2007. I was able to download a trial version of this game. To purchase the game there is a $9.95 monthly charge. Game structure and teaching: The objective of the game is to create a virtual identity and survive in a virtual world. There were not any clear educational uses stated. Upper middle school and high school students could play this game fairly easily. The player does learn to make economic choices in this game. I could see this game used in a high school accounting class. Game Play: In The Sims players don?t die. You could play the game forever. The objective of the game is to create and sustain a ?Sim?, or virtual person. The player had a week to use the trail version of the game. During that week the player was able to create one Sim, purchase a property, find a job, and create two friendships. The player had to maintain levels of certain functions for the Sim such as fun and hunger. Critique: The reason I chose to observe a man playing this game, is because this is considered a female game. This particular player seemed more interested in set up a home and getting a job than in meeting other players. When the player was approached by another player, he was not interested in creating a relationship. Instead the player wanted to gain information from the other player. Posted by rkpalmer ( Oct 01 2007, 10:05:01 AM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Stop Disasters Game Review Stop Disasters is a simulation based game created by the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) and the Playerthree Company. This game is available online for free, but requires the use of the most to date version of Flash Player 7 or higher. It is a single player game where the goal is to try to prevent many natural disasters include earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, hurricanes and wildfires that effect different areas around the world. Each of these five scenarios take approximately 20 minutes to play, and the games can be played on easy, medium, and hard difficulty levels. The game was designed for the interest of children between the ages of 9-16, but it is suitable for all ages because of the educational content. There is no distinct end of the game so it can be played indefinitely, but the end could be considered when each of the five scenarios has been successfully completed on each of the three difficulty levels. One of the unique characteristics of Stop Disasters is since it is on online based game the web site will save your best scores, and it allows you to play against people all over the world. Stop Disasters has a lot of educational value that it can offer to anyone who plays the game. The basic goal of the game is to protect the area from the natural disaster. This can be done by providing the locals with evacuation instructions, education, shelter, hospitals, and certain defenses against the storm. This has to be done while operating within the $35,000 budget. In the game you not only have to protect the area from the storm, but to also develop the area to meet the basic needs of the locals. In the online game I played I had to protect South East Asia from a tsunami. The objectives were to build 2 schools, 3 hotels and a hospital while still providing defense mechanisms. When you make a good move the computer prompts you with key facts which give you tips as you progress within the 15 minutes before the storm began. During the game you are in charge of providing the area with as much protection as you can provide. This includes developing the area with houses made of sticks, concrete, wood, and bricks while still reaching the games objectives. Therefore, the ability to learn how to budget is the key point of the game. I believe that this game would be very beneficial for an economics, science, or a social studies lesson that deals with natural disasters. It really provides a lot of insight on to the natural disaster that are prone to certain areas, and the defenses that can be used in order to help prevent as much damage as possible. These defenses include upgrading the existing facilities such as the community center, placing seismic sensors in the ocean, filling the water with mangrove bushes and breakwaters. Then on land you can build sand dunes and palm trees on the beach while putting trees inland. It is really geographically correct because you can only put certain types of vegetation in certain areas. Both developing and defenses options are allotted a dollar amount, and come out of that $35,000 beginning budget. Therefore, this game really provides a lot of importance on budgeting by determining which action is most appropriate for your budget. This game is great to meet the 21st century skills of critical thinking and problem solving in order to help students become more interested in the business community. As I played the game I realized that this would be an appropriate game to play with a class of economics, science, or social studies students. Since it was developed by the ISDR the game is educationally based, but I believe that it would be appropriate for the classroom. The game is not too difficult to play, but it is rather difficult to learn how to successful play each level. At the end of each of the scenarios it provides you with a detail about the amount the damages of the storm. These facts are presented as if the media is reporting on the storm because it looks like it is the cover of the news paper. It provides the amount of the storms damages, the total number of deaths, the amount injured, and then how successful you were based on a monetary amount. Then it determines if you failed or passes your mission in order to move to the next scenario. This was a very fun and challenging game to play especially because you can determine which difficulty level you would like to play. I don?t believe that students would have a lot of difficulty learning how to play the game, but it can become very frustrating putting that much time into the game to only realize you failed your mission. Therefore, I believe that I would recommend this game for any middle or high school economics, science or social studies classroom. It really does a good job providing information on geography, natural disasters, budgeting, and many other facts that can be used for educational purposes. This is a real user friendly game because it gives a lot of key facts and is very simple format that makes the game easy to understand. Therefore, I believe that Stop Disasters is a game that can provide a lot of educational value to many different classrooms. Posted by klmaxwe2 ( Oct 01 2007, 07:46:15 AM EDT ) Permalink Comments [1]

Discover Babylon General Information: Discover Babylon was developed as a joint effort by the Federation of American Scientists, Cuniform Digital Libratry Initiative, Walters Art Museum and Escape Hatch Entertainment for the Learning Technologies Project. It is available as a free download at www.supersmartgames.org or the Discover Babylon website at www.discoverbabylon.org/index.asp. The game's stated purpose is to expose players to "Mesopotamia's diverse contributions in writing, mathematics, literature, and law...". Discover Babylon is targeted at 8 -14 year olds and is only available for Windows operating systems. Game Structure: The game operates in a scavanger hunt format in which the player must navigate through time, accomplish tasks along the way and find a missing archaeologist. Throughout the journey, players accumulate points for information uncovered while on their quest to visit Mesopotamia's key cities - Ur, Uruk, Babylon, Nippur, and Nimrud. The game does address several of the objectives of the NC Standard Course of Study for World History. Discover Babylon is appropriate for middle school through high school students and even adults who desire to learn more about Mesopotamia. The game does meet the requirements for 21st Century Skills by requiring players to solve problems such as bartering for food and understanding of geography. Game Play: The game begins with the broadcast of an earthquake in Baltimore which was created by a time shift attributed to an archeaologist who has time traveled to the past. The player begins his quest in a museum. He must navigate his way through the museum to find hidden items that make time travel possible. Once these items have been found, the player time travels to Babylon and assumes the identity of a 12 year old boy. There he learns what life was like from schooling to aquiring food in the city market. After each phase of the time travel is complete, the player leaps through time again to a different city, assumes another identity(such as a 13 year old fisherman) and continues his quest to find Professor Dax in order to bring him back to the present. On each leg of the journey, the player can choose to explore his envirionment further or continue his search for Professor Dax. The game concludes when the Professor has been found. Additionaly, the amount of points the player earns is dependent upon how much information he gathers/learns during the various phases of time jumping from city to city. Game Critique: Discover Babylon is a resource that all social studies teachers can implement in their classrooms. Cost is not a concern since it is free. The game can be downloaded by students for play on their home computers as well. Discover Babylon is fantastic way to introduce students to ancient civilizations. Students will learn and understand more about Mesopotamia from this game then they ever could from reading a texbook or watching videos. The one drawback of the game is the amount of time required to download (approximately an hour). If a teacher is planning to utilize the game in her classroom, the download needs to be completed prior to the day of intended use. The next time I am scheduled to teach a World History Course, I will definately include this game in my unit/lesson plans. Posted by japrober ( Oct 01 2007, 12:44:18 AM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Peace Doves Game Name: Peace Doves Company: nobelprize.org; sponsored by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (largest financiers of research in Sweden) Stated Educational Uses: The game teaches children about the Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1970 and the countries who possess nuclear weapons. Target age for use: 15+ Cost: Free online game Platform: web based The purpose of Peace Doves is both educational and political. The game is educational in that students will learn more about the countries that possess nuclear weapons. Peace Doves gives the player key information about each country like how many nuclear weapons they have, rankings in comparison to other countries in number of weapons possessed, historical conflicts, and whether or not they are legally allowed to own nuclear weapons by the Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1970. The game is political in the sense that the dialogue between the doves makes the policy suggestion of halting and disarming the growth of nuclear weapons in the world. In regards to the NC Standard Course of Study, 9th graders are learning about world history and this game could be supplemented to fit into this curriculum. Ninth graders must understand and know the current state of world affairs and through this game; a student would know where each country stands in regards to nuclear weapons possession. I found the game was helpful in highlighting each country that owned a nuclear weapon and where that state was geographically located. Possible instructional value of the game would be to either test a student?s knowledge of geography and history in regards to nuclear weapons or an evaluation of what students learned during a lesson on world nuclear proliferation. This game is a test of base knowledge on current world affairs. This game allows for students to think about nuclear disarmament as an important political issue for world actors. Peace Doves, taking fifteen minutes to play is an easy and interesting game. Remembering which countries possess nuclear weapons and how many they have in comparison to one another could be hard for students to recall. This game highlights geography and further information for all the countries that possess the weapons. Peace Doves starts by calling into action eight doves to disarm countries that own nuclear weapons. A player is given at the bottom of the screen three boxes in which to pay attention to information. The first box is labeled Message on the Ring which dispatches information about the mystery nuclear armed country. A player then must make the judgment on which country the message is pertaining to. The second box is called Pick a Destination where a map of the world is displayed. When the cursor is moved over the countries of the world the countries that have nuclear weapons are highlighted. It is then up to the player to select the country that corresponds with the information given in the message. The last box labeled Activate a Peace Dove sends one out of the eight doves to the country chosen. The mission will be complete if the information is correct and failed if the information is incorrect. With a one player option, the game ends with a summary of the countries that were disarmed or still armed. I only failed to disarm France?s 500 nuclear weapons. At first I believed the game to be too simple for fifteen year olds but by playing I learned about the number of weapons, rankings, history, and geography of each nuclear armed country. The content of the game is definitely important given the current state of world affairs. Teachers could then introduce the potential emergence of Iran into this mix of nuclear weapon owning countries. I believe that this game would be a great way to supplement this discussion. The interactive map was a useful tool during the game. Content that might be surprising for students is that Turkey, Cuba, South Africa, Israel, and Pakistan all possess nuclear weapons and that Russia owns more weapons than the United States. Although teachers could just tell students this information, the facts presented by the game were much more engaging and visually stimulating. A student could potentially recall the information easier if they remember playing Peace Doves by visualizing the map or failing to disarm a certain country. Posted by rsbumgar ( Sep 30 2007, 10:42:07 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Jamestown Online Adventure Game Review Game Information: Jamestown Online Adventure is a free web-based game. The game takes place in the year 1606 and you are the captain of the Jamestown Colony. Your job is to set up the first permanent English colony in the New World. Jamestown Online Adventure is ideal for a U.S. History lesson, taught in fourth, or eighth grades. Bob Dunn is both the creator and flash programmer of Jamestown Online Adventure. Historyglobe.com brings you the game free of charge. Jamestown Online Adventure does require a Flash 7 or higher. Game Play: Jamestown Online Adventure makes you the captain of a new English colony. You are given a copy of the London Company?s instructions to help guide you. Your job is to maintain a successful colony based on four things: food, health, morale and wealth. Fellow colonists as well as Native Americans are there to help you. The format is question-based. You are asked a series of questions about where you want the ship to land, how to interact with the Native Americans, what type of town to build, who will work, what crops to plant, and what activities should gentlemen participate in. At the end of the game, you are given a report on the state of your colony based on how well you are producing food, how healthy your colonists are (ie. Are disease and starvation present), how much money you are making for the London Company, and how good of a leader you are to your colony. You even get to compare your colony to the actual Jamestown colony at the end. Only one person can play this game at a time. The game ends when you have answered all the questions. There are a total of six questions. In a recent game, I chose my colony to be set up in a marshy area. I built a village, instead of a wooden fort or castle. I had my men fishing and hunting, instead of searching for gold. All men worked. I planted tobacco, wheat, and corn. In the end, my score report stated that I had good food sources, poor health, good wealth, and a fair morale. My colonists were not too happy with my decision to trade with the Indians, and to make all men work. Game Structure and Teaching: Jamestown Online Adventure is an educational U.S. history game. This game would be ideal for a fourth or eighth grade social studies classroom. While it does not deal directly to North Carolina, it does describe the settlement of an English colony. The game is very short, perfect for an introductory lesson into the colonies. Specifically, the eighth grade NCSCoS refers to the roles and contributions of Native Americans on colonies. Jamestown Online Adventure directly refers to Native Americans in some questions. You also have the opportunity to ask for a Native American?s advice with what type of structures to build and what crops to plant. Indirectly, this game gives students the opportunity to see what it was like to live back then when there was little settlement. The game illustrates the notion that the luxuries we have today were not available. The colonists truly had to live off the land. Jamestown Online Adventure does incorporate some of the 21st learning skills. However, the critical thinking one must utilize in this game is far less than in other games I have reviewed. The player must answer questions about his colony. However, the possible answers are already given. You do not get to see the direct impact your answer has on the colony until the very end of the game. Thus, the player is not forced to react to a positive or negative decision. Critique: Jamestown Online Adventure is truly an educational game. It takes only five to ten minutes to complete. It would serve as a perfect introduction to the English colonies. I think the game would really engage students and get them to thinking about what life was like when the English were settling in the U.S. This game could only be used efficiently in a North Carolina or U.S. History course when students are studying Native Americans and the New World. Honestly, I was a little disappointed with this game. I thought there would be more action, and I would actually get to see the impact my decisions had on my colony. There is no room for creativity as you are already given a choice of answers to the questions. On the upside, Jamestown Online Adventure does an excellent job of imitating life in the early 1600s. The sound effects and graphics are well done. The game also illustrates that life in the early 1600s was extremely hard. A colonist had to work very hard just to stay alive. Posted by slcarte2 ( Sep 30 2007, 08:07:33 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [11]