Posts Tagged ‘video games’
The Importance of Civics Education (Updated)
Truth be told, I always disliked history and government classes as a Kindergarten through undergraduate student. I found it dry, boring, irrelevant, and unimportant. I believe this was due to it all being about memorization . . . memorizing events and dates in history; memorizing the branches of government; memorizing states and their capitols. This type of learning reflects only remembering, the lowest level of Bloom’s Taxonomy.
Now that I am a teacher of gifted education, I believe it is important for my students, for all students to participate in civics education. There is a problem with knowledge of civics by today’s children and youth (adults, too). The Center on American Progress stated in The State of Civics Education:
Civic knowledge and public engagement is at an all-time low. A 2016 survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center found that only 26 percent of Americans can name all three branches of government, which was a significant decline from previous years. Not surprisingly, public trust in government is at only 18 percent and voter participation has reached its lowest point since 1996. Without an understanding of the structure of government; rights and responsibilities; and methods of public engagement, civic literacy and voter apathy will continue to plague American democracy. Educators and schools have a unique opportunity and responsibility to ensure that young people become engaged and knowledgeable citizens.
For civics education to be effective, though, it needs to be engaging, exciting, authentic, and relevant for learners. Here are two civics education practices that can be implemented within the classroom”
Schools should provide direct instruction in government, history, economics, law, and democracy in ways that provoke analysis and critical thinking skills. These subjects are vital to laying the foundation for civic learning and may also contribute to young people’s tendency to engage in civic and political activities over the long term. However, schools should avoid teaching only rote facts about dry procedures, which is unlikely to benefit students and may actually alienate them from politics.
Schools should incorporate discussion of current local, national, and international issues and events into the classroom, particularly those that young people view as important to their lives. Engaging students in civil dialogue about controversial issues provides opportunities to foster character and civic virtue–important civic dispositions that are the habits of the heart and mind conducive to the healthy functioning of the democratic system. Examples include civility, open-mindedness, compromise, and toleration of diversity, all of which are prerequisites of a civic life in which the American people can work out the meanings of their democratic principles and values (Revitalizing Civic Learning in Our Schools).
As discussed in the NEA article Forgotten Purpose: Civics Education in Public Schools , the value of civics education goes far beyond politics:
Now I am including civics education as part of my gifted education instruction for my 2nd through 6th grade students. There are two reasons I am doing so:
- The political climate, not just in the United States, but worldwide has become contentious and toxic. I believe that this is due, in part, to a lack of education in civics.
- There are online tools like Brainpop, Newsela, and iCivics that make civics education more interesting and engaging.
Update
This is an update of the original post in which I discussed the midterm elections – see below. I have a group of 5th and 6th grade gifted students who selected the global citizenship class I offer one day a week for 1.5 hours per meeting time. This means that they are interested in this topic. They have been working on their presidential candidacy speeches as if they were going to run for being the president of the United Speech. Today, April 11, 2019, we watched some Brainpop videos.
I stopped them at several points to ask questions, “Who is the vice president of the United States?” Them, “I don’t know.” “How many terms – how long can someone be president of the United States?” Their response, “I don’t know.” How many branches of the US government are there?” Their response, “I don’t know.” Yikes – more evidence that civics education is needed in our schools.
I teach at two Title 1 schools with a predominately Hispanic student body. An article from the NEA had this to say about civics education in lower income schools:
Only 25 percent of U.S. students reach the “proficient” standard on the NAEP Civics Assessment. White, wealthy students are four to six times as likely as Black and Hispanic students from low-income households to exceed that level. Here’s why: Students in wealthier public school districts are far more likely to receive high-quality civics education than students in low-income and majority-minority schools (Forgotten Purpose: Civics Education in Public Schools ).
Midterm Elections
The midterm elections provided a great teachable moment for my students to get some civics education. We began with a KWHLAQ Chart developed by (what do I Know, what do I Want to know, How will I find out, what have I Learned, what Action will I take, and what further Questions do I have) developed by Silvia Tolisano. We then watched some Brainpop videos on voting using the follow-up review quizzes. Students were then asked to choose an article from the Newsela Civics category to read, and play iCivics games. Here are the slides of activities I shared with students in our Google Classroom so students could have access and work through the Newsela and iCivics activities at their own pace, making choices of news articles and games based on their own interests.
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Because of student choice and the interactive nature of Newsela and iCivics (I can’t overstate how much all of my students love iCivics), students found the activities engaging. These activities also tapped into higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. This is a start. I plan on integrating civics lessons throughout the school year.
There are no so many fun and interactive ways to teach civics as well as suggestions and tips for best practices such as the ones recommended by The National Center for Learning and Civc Engagement in a guidebook entitled Six Proven Practices for Effective Civic Learning.
The necessary elements of effective civic education include classroom instruction in civics & government, history, economics, law and geography; service learning linked to classroom learning; experiential learning; learning through participation in models and simulations of democratic processes; guided classroom discussion of current issues and events, and meaningful participation in school governance.
Access to this document can be found below; and the NEA has a list of civics education resources found at http://www.nea.org/civicseducation.
Video Game Design with Elementary Learners
In order to support interest and passion driven learning (all – I mean all – of my students play video games) as well as address cross-curricular content area integration of language arts, science, and technology standards, I had my gifted elementary learners, grades 2 through 6, do a semester long project on video game design.
Standards Addressed
English Language Arts Common Core State Standards
- Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character’s thoughts, words, or actions).
- Make connections between the text of a story or drama and a visual or oral presentation of the text, identifying where each version reflects specific descriptions and directions in the text.
- Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
- Reference – http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/
Next Generation Science Standards
- Define a simple design problem that can be solved through the development of an object, tool, process, or system and includes several criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.
- Generate and compare multiple solutions to a problem based on how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the design problem.
- Reference – https://www.nextgenscience.org/
ISTE NETS for Students
- 4a – Students know and use a deliberate design process for generating ideas, testing theories, creating innovative artifacts or solving authentic problems.
- 4b – Students select and use digital tools to plan and manage a design process that considers design constraints and calculated risks.
- 4c – Students develop, test and refine prototypes as part of a cyclical design process
- 4d – Students exhibit a tolerance for ambiguity, perseverance and the capacity to work with open-ended problems.
- Reference – https://www.iste.org/standards/standards/for-students
Unit Overview
The overview for this unit:
- Introduction to Storytelling
- Storyboarding with Storyboad That
- Storyboard Presentations, Feedback, and Revisions
- Create a Video
- Design a Logo
Introduction to Storytelling
The following video and articles were reviewed with the learners:
-
How To Write A Good Game Story – http://www.paladinstudios.com/2012/08/06/how-to-write-a-good-game-story-and-get-filthy-rich/
- How To Write A Compelling Game Story In Three Steps https://www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/how-to-write-a-compelling-game-story-in-three-steps/
Storyboarding with Storyboard That
Learners used Storyboard That to create the storyboards for their video games.
Storyboard That is a graphic organizer and storyboard creator . The program provides pre-made scenes, characters, text boxes, shapes, and other images to choose from, Students are able to drag and drop these items into their chosen layout. Scenes are organized into locational and thematic categories (e.g. school). Characters are organized similarly and can be customized with hair color, eye color, and other edits. Text boxes allow the student to give voice to their characters. Shapes and additional images add props to the story. (https://www.edsurge.com/product-reviews/storyboard-that-product)
It was continually reinforced that their storyboards needed to include strong characters, settings, and plot.
Feedback
Learners presented their storyboards to their classmates. Their classmates asked questions and gave feedback using the questions from How To Write A Good Game Story http://www.paladinstudios.com/2012/08/06/how-to-write-a-good-game-story-and-get-filthy-rich/
They made revisions and additions based on the feedback they received.
Create a Video Game
Learners were then given the choice to create their video games using one of the following platforms:
Create a Logo for the Game
Finally, learners were asked to design a logo for their games. To add another element of fun, learners decorated sugar cookies with their game logo.
Examples
The Adventures of Jack by a 6th Grade Boy
His video game was created using Sploder:
His Game Logo:
Save Mother by a 4th Grade Girl
Her video game was created by Bloxels:
Her Game Logo:
Sam and the Dark Lord by a 2nd Grade Boy
His video game was created using Sploder:
His Game Logo:
Jackie Gerstein, Ed.D.
