It's All Fun and Games

Finally getting around to reading the September/October 2011 issue of Knowledge Quest, and guess what ... it's about educational gaming! I'm so behind the times. Actually, you know what? I was super AHEAD years ago. At least when it comes to actual games (versus gamifying lessons). Check out this snazzy collection development guide that I and a classmate put together for our Children's Lit class back in 2006: It’s Your Turn: Best Board Games for Your Children’sRoom

For the last day of school, I brought in Uno and Taboo. They're related, respectively, to math and ELA! I definitely want to plan for International Games Day in November this year.

Anyways, here are some ideas/resources from KQ:

• School Library System of the Genesse Valley Educational Partnership Game Library - They aligned all of the games in their collection to AASL standards! I need to get a copy of Mayer and Harris' Libraries Got Game.
  
  
• "Board games promote collaboration, inquiry, and critical thinking." (p.10, Annalisa Crews)
  
  
• 7Ate9 = math card game
  
  
• "[A]ctive learning through playing games allows the school librarian to deliver differentiated instruction. The nature of games enables students to use different learning styles, such as kinesthetic or auditory modes, to be successful in demonstrating mastery of information or library skills." (p. 20, Jennifer Siderius)
  
  
• starfall.com =  free phonics
  
  
• Three recommended online MYTH resources: The BigMyth; Thinkquest; and Myths Brainstorming Machine
  
  
• Gamestar Mechanic lets kids learn about game design and then create their own.
  
  
• Play science, math, social studies, and health games at Brainpop.
  
  
• Why not offer the option for students to design a game about the topic they're studying instead of a presentation or paper? (Alan Gershenfeld)
  
  
• When Mary Fran Daley taught a class in creating games with Scratch, her "'difficult' students were the learners of my dreams because they were having fun."