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TeachNet Grant: To Game or Not to Game?
Renny Fong
rennyfong@yahoo.com

Public School 130 Manhattan
143 Baxter Street
New York, NY 10013


Grade/Subject: Grade 5 / Technology
About the Grant:

Students will evaluate online educational games and write reviews about them.  Students will first look at examples of online written game reviews.  Students will then work in pairs and write up their own reviews on online educational games.  Finally, students will post their reviews online through a wiki or Google Site and have others comment on their reviews.

How This Grant was Adapted:

So many students spend so much time playing games, whether on their game systems or online.  This unit encourages students to evaluate what they are playing. Students will evaluate online educational games and write about what the objective of the games are, what the educational value of the games are, and look at the positives and negatives of the games.  By the end of the unit, students should look at online content with a more critical eye.

Project URL

No.

Objectives

Adapted from the NYS ELA Standards:

1.  Students will express their opinions and support them with evidence through their written reviews.

2.  Students will present arguments for their views with reference to specific criteria that support the argument.

3.  Students will monitor and adjust their own oral and written presentations to meet criteria for competent performance through feedback from their audience.

4.  Students will use effective vocabulary and follow the rules of grammar, usage, spelling, and punctuation in writing up their reviews.

Websites Used
  1. http://guest.portaportal.com/areyougame
    This is a site with links to online educational games.

  2. http://bubbl.us/
    This is a simple and free web application that lets you brainstorm online, for those who do not have Kidspiration or Inspiration.

  3. http://learningvillage.com/html/guide.html
    A website that offers a Software Guide for some computer software.

  4. http://commonsensemedia.org/game-reviews
    A website with online reviews of video games. Common Sense Media's mission is to improve the media and entertainment lives of kids and families.
Standards Addressed:

From the New York State Learning Standards for English Language Arts:

Standard 3: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.
As listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they will present, in oral and written language and from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences,
ideas, information and issues.

Listening and Reading -

1. Listening and reading to analyze and evaluate experiences, ideas, information, and issues requires using evaluative criteria from a variety of perspectives and recognizing the difference in evaluations based on different sets of criteria.

Speaking and Writing -

2. Speaking and writing for critical analysis and evaluation requires presenting opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information, and issues clearly, logically, and persuasively with reference to specific criteria on which the opinion or judgment is based.

Lesson 1:

Lesson 1: What does a Review look like?

Objectives:

  1. Students will analyze information and ideas presented by others.
  2. Students will identify the essential components of a quality written review.

Materials:

  1. Laptops or Desktops (2 students per), Projector or Interactive White Board
  2. Resource websites:  http://learningvillage.com/html/guide.html  and  http://commonsensemedia.org/game-reviews
  3. Software: Kidspiration, Inspiration, or use http://bubbl.us/
  4. Post-Its (Optional)

Procedures:

  1. Let students know that they will be working in pairs and play the role of Online Game Critics.
  2. First, ask students, "If you were to read a review for a video game, what would you expect to read about in the review?  What kind of words or vocabulary might you come across in such a review?"
  3. Teacher or volunteer can web out students' responses, using Kidspiration, Inspiration, or http://bubbl.us/. This could be projected or done with an interactive whiteboard.  If those are not available, then Post-Its could be used to make the web.
  4. Have students work in pairs to explore http://learningvillage.com/html/guide.html  and  http://commonsensemedia.org/game-reviews. Half the class can explore one site while the other half can explore the other.
  5. Have students read some of the reviews on these sites and web out other components of the reviews and key words that they came across when reading the reviews. 
  6. After exploration, come together as a group, and add to the web.  Have a discussion of what the students feel make a quality written review.
  7. For homework, students can redraw the web and write about what they learned about writing a quality written game review.  If computers are available at home, students can read more online reviews and add to the discussion.
Lesson 2:

Lesson 2: Are You Game?

Objectives:

  1. Students will express their opinions and support them with evidence.
  2. Students will present arguments for their views with reference to specific critieria that support the argument.

Materials:

  1. Laptops or Desktops (2 students per)
  2. Software: Kidspiration, Inspiration, or use http://bubbl.us/
  3. Game Resource Website: http://guest.portaportal.com/areyougame

Procedures:

  1. Review the criteria/components of what makes a quality written review.
  2. Tell students that they will now have a chance to play some of the online educational games.
  3. Let them know that by the end of the session, they should have picked out a game that they want to review and shoiuld have a web stating the objective of the game, how they feel about the game, the educational value of the game, etc.
  4. Students will go to http://guest.portaportal.com/areyougame for a list of game sites. After the students have played the games, picked out a game, and taken notes about it, they will share out their webs to the class. Students will provide input of any other relevant information they might want to see in their reviews.
  5. For homework, students should draft out written reviews on the online game that they have chosen. Partners should discuss who will write up what, so when they meet together in the next session, they will be ready to write and edit their pieces.
Lesson 3:

Lesson 3: A Polished Review 

Objectives:

  1. Students will express their opinions and support them with evidence.
  2. Students will present arguments for their views with reference to specific criteria that support the argument.
  3. Students will use effective vocabulary and follow the rules of grammar, usage, spelling, and punctuation in writing up their reviews.

Materials:

  1. Laptops or Desktops (2 students per)
  2. Word Processing Software such as Microsoft Word, Google Docs, etc.

Procedures:

  1. Students will use their notes and drafts from the previous session and write out their educational online game reviews, in pairs.  Students can use any Word Processing software that is available to them.
  2. After students have written and edited their reviews, they will post them to a wiki or Google Site.
Lesson 4

Lesson 4: To Game or Not to Game?

Objectives:

  1. Students will monitor and adjust their own oral and written presentations to meet criteria for competent performance through feedback from their audience.

Materials:

  1. Laptops or Desktops (1 per student)
  2. Word Processing Software such as Microsoft Word, Google Docs, etc.
  3. Access to a Wiki (PBworks, wikispaces, etc.) or Google Sites

Procedures:

  1. Prior to this lesson, teachers should set up some kind of free wiki account (PBworks, wikispaces, etc.) or Google Sites, where students can upload their written reviews. Students names could be omitted from those reviews. Initials should be sufficient.
  2. Students should give their reviews a final read/proofreading before submitting their reviews online.
  3. After students have posted their reviews, they are to read and comment on others' reviews individually. More important than whether they agree or disagree with the review, students should be providing feedback in the form of questions for clarity and any relevant information that the reviewers should add in their reviews.
  4. After students have commented on the posts, the writers should go back and read the comments and then edit their original pieces - so that others may comment on their reviews.
  5. Students will read each others' reviews and post comments on their reviews, providing them with feedback.
  6. As a whole group, have a discussion about the whole process. Web about what they have learned about writing reviews and online educational games in general.
  7. For homework, students should write about the whole process and discuss what they have learned about writing well-developed quality reviews.

Renny Fong is currently the Technology Teacher at Public School 130 Manhattan, where he has taught for the past twelve years. He has taught kindergarten, fourth, and fifth grade. Renny received his B.A. from Columbia College in 1993 and his master’s degree in Elementary Education from Teachers College, Columbia University in 1994.  His honors include:  TeachNet Grant Recipient (2009), Turning Technologies K-12 Grant Award Recipient (2008), Hewlett Packard Technology for Teaching Grant Initiative Recipient (2006), and Toshiba America Foundation Grantee (2006). His wife and his three-year-old son are his joy and inspiration.

 

 

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