Electoral College

 Ever try to make sense of the Electoral College? I was working with some 4th graders on that very topic trying to explain that popular vote doesn't always cut it in a presidential election. This site from Scholastic got them interested! We talked about considering the amount of people that live in a state, not just the size of the state as well as Representatives vs. Senators and how they are allotted. They were still confused until we played the game on the smartboard. There is not a direct link to the game, but look for the Electoral Challenge here. It could work on a computer for single students or pairs, but was also great as a group in two teams on the smartboard so we could talk about it as we went. The directions for the game explain how the electoral votes are assigned to each state and that the goal is 270 votes. They really loved this and wanted to play again but we were out of time. I think I will definitely use it with other groups. (One of the best parts might just have been that one of the teams named themselves Awesomeness -  you gotta love that!) Here is a screen shot so you can see what the game looks like.

 What are you doing for the election coverage? I think next we might try this site from Disney to let students see who they would really be a supporter of from ideas alone. It could be interesting to see if they are most in line with who they think they are or not.

Games for School

I posted about this site last year, but I thought it deserved a new mention for any new readers out there that may not be reading previous blog posts. Dr. Ertzberger at UNC-W has created a site with FREE downloadable game templates used in PowerPoint, Excel, and Word. All the games, according to him at a workshop I attended a few years back, have been checked by lawyers to make sure there are no copyright infringements with things like his Jeopardy-like games while some of the other templates on the web do have copyright issues that teachers are often not aware of. There are games that you can prepare ahead of time with questions, but also things like timers, printable games, and games where you just move pieces ahead so you could use those with on the spot oral questions as a quick review. I used the Big Board game, which is like Jeopardy, as a review of procedures to make it a little more interesting. The kids seem to really like it. They are easy to use and he includes directions of how to use them. Check it out if you are looking for something new to add to your lessons!

Blast Off into Good Nutrition

With the changes the USDA recently made from the food pyramid to the healthy plate model, nutrition lessons also needed a facelift! I used this as a way to talk to kids about getting information from a website and also using a website to practice new information with the Blast Off game from the USDA. It is a great way for kids to practice getting a balanced diet of good foods without leaving out the need for exercise! I have to admit, the first couple of times I played it though, I did not make it to Planet Power. You have to be pretty close to the target amount of calories and not over at all, but there is a green progress bar at the bottom to track it for you. I have been using it with Kindergarten as a review at the end of the lesson and they LOVE it! They beg to play it again. It is a good exercise for them because they are still learning what fits into each food group and it gives them a visual of things that fit in more than one group also. Try it out!

Power Up!

As we move toward the Common Core and Essential Standards, some of the topics we usually teach are changing or being tweaked. We need new sources and there are lots of fun ones out there! Power Up is a game I found at a recent Thinkfinity training. This is a higher level thinking game for students as they learn more about human impact on the environment and different types of energy, both of which seem to be elements in the new standards for several grade levels. To play the game, students begin with a certain amount of funds, and 3 choices of energy to power their city. Each type has different impacts on the environment, cost, and power amounts it produces. The 3 choices change with each turn. The goal is to power the city fully without destroying the environment or running out of money, so critical thinking comes into play as well as a greater knowledge of which types of energy harm the environment the most.

http://sciencenetlinks.com/lessons/power-up/

Games Win Kids Over

http://www.freeclipartnow.com

Kids love games, especially in our age of video games. the key in school in making those games relevant to your curriculum. Dr. Ertzberger at UNC-Wilmington has developed several games that are easy to edit and use with your class. While these games are not as fancy as video games, they are easy to use! Most are in PowerPoint, a few are in Excel or Word. (There are also resources such as downloadable countdown timers that are great for the SMARTboard.) You simply download the templates, edit as needed and play! There is a YouTube video you can see as a tutorial if you need help editing, but most of them are simple to do. Games that mimic shows such as Jeopardy can be found here, but he has changed the name and there is no music so you do not have to worry about copyright infringements that some templates on the web have. I attended a workshop by Dr. Ertzberger a few years ago, and at the time he stated that he has all his templates checked by a copyright expert to be sure there are no infringement issues. Some of the games you edit to add your own questions, but some of the templates are meant to be used with oral questions and teams just move their race car or uncover boxes looking for a treasure with each correct answer. This way you can use them with students for a quick review without having edited it for the current topic you are teaching. Check out the site! Oh, and did I mention - most of it is FREE! He does have some templates on a premium site and a book you can buy, but there are a lot of free templates available too.

iCivics

I attended a workshop on Thinkfinity recently and found a resource that teachers only dream of! I hope to be able to conduct some workshops on it for teachers and other media coordinators soon, but in the meantime I can post some great sources here! One I have found and love is iCivics. This site has a lot of games that look a lot like regular video games, but each teaches things like how to run for president, working with a national budget, our rights according to the constitution, creating bills and laws, and so much more. It takes kids through the processes in a fun way and is not boring. I have to say I HAD to try out all the games to see what they are like. (Of course it was not because they are just fun to play!) So, check it out! It is a great way to teach 5th grade government.