Please read TSSFFAP Chapter 5 (Gluing Students to Their Seats and Other Fun Social Science Games and Activities) and do the on-line quiz. Also, look through the games on the “Gluing Students to Their Seats” blog:
http://socialstudiesgames.blogspot.com/
Prepare a learning game/activity and play the game with any group of students you choose. If you are doing your junior field experience, it would be great if you could try your game with the students in one of your classes. If you are having trouble finding a group to play your game, let me know. I can arrange for my IDL students (or perhaps my History 424 students) to play the game.
After you have presented your "learning game," post it here and add a description of how the game went.
After you have presented your "learning game," post it here and add a description of how the game went.
A game that I have always wanted to do is recreate an American Civil War battle with students. The students will get divided into two sides, and every student will draft a battle plan; the top planner on each side becomes the general. (I choose) Then they will each take a hospitality test. The most hospitable on each side becomes a nurse. Everyone else becomes a soldier. Then finally, one day they will bring several pairs of CLEAN balled up socks for ammunition, and we will go onto a football field and carry out a battle. The general barks out orders such as where to go and fire, and the nurse will get to run around and heal someone every ten minutes. Last group standing wins.
ReplyDeleteWell, I don't suppose students would learn that much about the Civil War, but the sock battle sounds like a lot of fun anyway.
DeleteWhen I was in 8th grade, we had a student whose dad was a semi-professional film producer. He made it possible for us to produce a filmed version of Pickett's charge. Students more than 10 years later still had to watch our movie.
I came up with this game rather quickly and it was quite easy. I actually played it among a group of friends rather than students and it went quite well. I used a simple tennis ball and tossed it to one of my friends who stood in a circle. I asked him a history question and he got it wrong so he had to sit down and toss the ball to someone else in the circle. This continued until only one was left standing. The person left standing was the winner and I awarded them with a wrapper of some candy I had. It turned out to be a lot of fun and was a really simple yet easy way to encourage learning.
ReplyDeleteSimple is good. This would work well as a review game. An interesting variant might be to have the ball tossed high in the air with the answer required before the ball is caught.
DeleteThat is a good idea. We like to whip the ball at each other so we would drop the ball and simultaneously lose our chance to gain a point, but I can imagine allowing students to whip balls at each other might not be the best idea in an actual classroom.
DeleteThis game can be used with any number for groups, at least 2 groups with 3 people on a team. Most school floors have title flooring and you can use that as a game board, if carpet, then use scotch tape to make 10 squares for a start and finish. Have a number of questions to ask, then each group is asked the same question. The students will agree on a piece of paper and read it out loud. The groups that get it right, step forward one step. If they get it wrong the first time, they stay in the square they are in. If they get two wrong in a row, that's two steps back. Three wrong in a row, three steps back and so on. The start line is the furthest back they can go. So, its a race to the finish line. If they reach the end at the same time, it turns into a duel with harder questions. That will go on till one team gets it right and one gets it wrong.
ReplyDeleteSounds like fun. Got a name for your game?
ReplyDeleteSquare Off, a History Race...I don't know, I'll have to think of a better title.
Delete