Jenni Wright

Grade Level:

4th & 5th

Length:

75 minutes

Performance Expectation:

The student will research information

about two states within a region, and work in a cooperative group

to create a game about the specific region.

Materials Required:

Duty/Instruction sheets (one for each group)

Materials suitable for creating a game (poster board, cardboard,

index cards, timers, dice, pens, crayons, pencils, paper, etc.)

Pre-lesson Background Activity:

Students will be assigned two states within a specific region

of the country. Give students time to research interesting facts

on each state from the classroom and school library. Resources

can include: encyclopedias, almanacs, fact books, and books about

the states. The World Wide Web is also an excellent resource,

as most states have home pages full of information.

Procedure:

1. Begin a brief dialogue with students by asking them to share

the types of card and board games they enjoy playing. You may

want to discuss specific games that students have played in class.

2. Explain to students that they will be creating a game which

uses the facts they collected about states in the regions of the

United States. Divide the class into groups by region and pass

out instruction sheets for each group to plan their strategy for

design. This sheet should also include a place for each student

to sign up for a group job.

3. Instruct students to use 10 – 15 minutes to decide on the objective,

rules, and artistic design to be used for the game, and to spend

the remainder of the hour fulfilling their group duties and completing

construction.

4. Have each group play their own game once through, then play

the game of another group. Request that each group create a feedback

sheet for the other groups which addresses questions such as:

a. Was the game fun to play?

b. How much do you think you learned about the region while playing?

c. Were there any problems encountered while playing? If so, what

happened?

d. List some suggestions for how you might improve the game.

Closure:

Have each group share the design and rules of

their games, and the most interesting facts they found about their

region.

Evaluation/Assessment:

Observe students as they interact

in the groups. Are all the members participating? Did the students

create rules for the game? Were all areas of the duty sheet addressed?

Keep anecdotal records of group behaviors during the activity,

and collect the information sheet after the activity.

Adaptation/Extension:

This assignment could be completed with various themes: cities,

states, countries, continents, historic events, and civics.

References:

Jasmine, G. & Nader, L. (1995).

Cooperative learning activities

for social studies.

Huntington Beach, CA. Teacher Created

Materials, Inc.

Adaptation by Jenni Wright, University of Missouri – Columbia,

1997.

Notes:

Instruction Sheet:

1. The game should include facts about your region of the United

States.

2. The game should have pre-determined rules (record below).

3. The game should use fact cards and a game board.

4. The game must include a way for every player to have a turn,

and a way to finish the game.

Decide on a name: _____________________________________________

Assign group duties:

Game board designer(s):

Card Maker(s):

Artist(s):

Other(s):

Answer the following questions:

1. How does the game work?

2. What are the rules of play?

3. Was it fun to play? Why or why not?

4. Did the game help you learn about the region?

5. How would you improve the game (after playing once)?