Professional Documents
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Although Democracy 3 could be used for most high school grades, it could be
specifically used for Social 30, Related Issue 3: To what extent are the
principles of liberalism viable?
Curriculum
Connections
As for specific outcomes, if used correctly, this game could meet outcomes
3.1-3.9 for Social 30-1. It could also cover political ideologies more broadly,
which would cover more outcomes.
There are a couple of ways that I believe this game could be used effectively.
One way would be to have students play through a term of the game (in pairs
or small groups, to encourage deliberation and debate), and to have them
Lesson
record their policy decisions, justify their choices, and explain whether or not
Ideas
their choices embrace or reject liberalism (which is the foundational concept
for Social 30). This would allow students to explore which policies are
affected by different factors in society and government on their own.
1
http://www.positech.co.uk/democracy3/index.php
Depending on how you intend to use Minecraft, you could cover almost any
number of curricular outcomes. However, the first one that came to mind for
me were the following outcomes for Grade 4 Mathematics:
Curriculum SHAPE & SPACE
Connections
GLO: Use direct and indirect measurement to solve problems.
SLO 3. Demonstrate an understanding of area of regular and irregular 2-D
shapes
2
https://minecraft.net/en-us/what-is-minecraft/
The goal of Poly Bridge is to get “cars to their destinations by any means,”
but mostly by building a bridge! The game requires the player to build bridges
Summary
(or jumps) to get vehicles across a gap in the road. It is rated for ages 4+ on
the iOS app store, and it is also available through Steam.
Poly Bridge could be used to develop science and physics skills at many
grade levels (including high school), but for this assignment, I was
immediately drawn to using this as a resource for Grade 3 Science.
Specifically, the following outcomes:
Grade 3, Topic B: Building with a Variety of Materials
GLO 3–7 Construct structures, using a variety of materials and designs, and
compare the effectiveness of the various materials and designs for their
intended purposes.
Curriculum
Connections
SLO 1. Using a variety of materials and techniques, design, construct and test
structures that are intended to:
• support objects
• span gaps
• serve as containers
• serve as models of particular living things, objects or buildings.
SLO 2. Select appropriate materials for use in construction tasks, and explain
the choice of materials. Students should demonstrate familiarity with a variety
of materials, such as papers, woods, plastics, clay and metals.
The most obvious use for this game in elementary school, would be for the
third grade building unit (above). I would use Poly Bridge as a part of a series
of lessons for bridge construction. I would use the game to have students test
different types of bridges and I would have them compare their findings on
hard-copy worksheets. Once students have had the time to explore and
create with Poly Bridge, I would have them select the bridge that they believe
would be able to hold the most weight, and test their findings using actual
Lesson
materials (like those from the scholastic guide, or many grade 3 textbooks).
Ideas
Overall, I think that Poly Bridge w
ould be a fun way to test as many bridges as
students would like to test, before using the actual materials. I believe this
also allows students to explore science in a number of different ways:
electronically - through computer simulation - and through actual testing. I
also believe that this would be much more engaging than having students
look at or draw photos of bridges prior to actual testing.
References
Common Sense Education. User review of “Democracy 3.”
https://desk.teachergaming.com/lessons/r6QRqSQ9acsnJNcRE/politics-and-the-econo
my.
Dry Cactus. Poly Bridge. http://polybridge.drycactus.com/.
Gallagher, Colin. An Educator's Guide to Using Minecraft® in the Classroom: Ideas, inspiration,
and student projects for teachers. Peachpit Press, 2015.
Government of Alberta. Programs of Study (multiple).
https://education.alberta.ca/programs-of-study/programs-of-study/.
Lawson, Jennifer, et. al. Hands-On Science and Technology, Grade 3. Winnipeg: Portage &
Main Press, 2008. goo.gl/Qeq9H6.
Mojang & Microsoft. Minecraft. https://minecraft.net/en-us/.
Positech. Democracy 3. http://www.positech.co.uk/democracy3/.
Scholastic. “Engineering a Bridge.”
http://www.scholastic.com/browse/lessonplan.jsp?id=1509.
Teacher Gaming. “Teach Politics and the Economy with Democracy 3.”
https://desk.teachergaming.com/lessons/r6QRqSQ9acsnJNcRE/politics-and-the-econo
my.
Teaching Math Literacy. “Gr. 4/5: Minecraft Math: Distinguishing Area and Perimeter.”
https://teachingmathliteracy.weebly.com/gr-45-minecraft-math-distinguishing-area-and
-perimeter.html.