Science games

Today I went on a hunt for science games that I could use in my classroom. During this search I came across Sciencekids.co.nz.  This site has a compilation of science simulation games along with other experiments, lessons, quizzes and other activities for teachers and students. The site seems mostly geared towards elementary students and some of the games are better than others. Most of the games could be used as an introductory activity to peek student interest or possibly as a replacement to a live experiment when materials weren't available or time is short. A positive to the games is that most include discussion questions to guide students' scientific inquiry. Here are two games that I liked.

Title: How Plants Grow

Publisher: Science for Kids

Summary: The goal of the game is to create the best environment for the plant to grow tall. Players control the conditions of the room to see how light, water and heat affect the growth of a plant. The game is four weeks long. Players click on the levers to give the plant water and to increase or decrease the heat in the room. Players can also pull down a window shade to take away sun light. Questions at the end of the game encourage players to try out other situations such as no sun light or no heat to see what happens to the plant. If the plant dies, a clear explanation of why is given.

Educational Value:  I think this game is a good way for students to apply what they know about how plants survive. With teacher led discussion, students could be encouraged to make hypotheses and to draw conclusions. I would use this game as an introduction to a "live" plant experiment in the classroom. Students can use the background knowledge they gain from playing the game to hypothesize what they think will happen to the real plants. This could also take the place of the experiment if there was not enough time before a long vacation or summer for students to observe a real plant grow.

Opinion: Overall I would use this game in my classroom. I recommend that teachers play the game ahead of time to familiarize themselves with the game play. Once I got the hang of it, the game was pretty easy to control. In the beginning the directions are not very clear. I do like that the game includes questions and encourages further experimentation.

Link: How Plants Grow

Title: Teeth and Eating

Publisher: Science for Kids

Summary: The purpose of this game is for players to use what they know about animals and what they eat to give each one the correct set of teeth.  Students match three sets of teeth to a sheep, lion, human and a penguin. Players can click on magnifying glasses next to each set of teeth to get more information. The information provided explains whether the teeth belongs to an omnivore, herbivore or a carnivore, has a diagram of the teeth and explains how the animal uses the features of the teeth to consume food. Also once players finish they click eat. Then they are given immediate feed back. If players are correct they are encouraged to read more about the teeth and comparison questions are asked. If players are incorrect, the animals explain why the teeth don't belong to them.

Educational Value: I would use this game as an exploration activity during a study of animals' adaptations that help them survive. This activity could be a good starting point. Students do need to have some background knowledge of omnivores, carnivore and herbivores.

Opinion: I think students will enjoy playing this activity. This game will help students learn more about why animals have different kinds of teeth and how they can help the animal survive. I also like the discussion questions at the end. I could see using those questions with "think-pair-share" where students discuss them with a partner or even having students answer them on a quick exit card so I can see what they've learned.

Link: Teeth and Eating

Roy the Zebra

Throughout my educational career I have found that it is easier to find math games than any other subject so today I decided to hunt for language arts related games. One website I came across was Roythezebra.com.  This site has online books about Roy, a zebra who likes to sing and all of his friends at the zoo. There are also a collection of reading and writing games starring Roy and his friends. The games are often simple to play and colorful to be appealing to children. There are games for several reading skills such as making words with consonant blends and vowel pairs, rhyming, putting words in ABC order, singular vs. plural nouns, capitalization and punctuation and reading sentences to see if they make sense. Most of the games are geared towards K-2 students.  Below are two of the games that I enjoyed playing.

Title: Singular or Plural

Publisher: Tim Bowerbank (creator of roythezebra.com)

Game Summary: Players read and sort words by singular and plural. Within the sort they also match the singular form to its plural form. The game gives immediate feedback as well as a chance to try again when a mistake is made. When players finish the sort correctly they get to choose a present for Lucy's room. After completing four sorts, Lucy's presents are delivered and her room is transformed. There are five different levels for differentiation or increased challenge. When students finish one level they can move on to the next.

Educational Value: I would use this game on the interactive whiteboard as a word study lesson or as independent practice in the computer lab instead of a worksheet. The only down fall is that this game doesn't track data, but students could complete a quick exit card at the end of the lesson to demonstrate learning. This game could also be used as part of a computer center or small group activity for students who need additional practice.

Link: Singular or Plural?

Title: Double Consonants

Publisher: Tom Bowerbank (creator of Roythezebra.com)

Game Summary: Double Consonants was one of my favorite games on the website. Players make words by dragging groups of letters (double consonants) to the end or beginning of a word. After players create four new words they help Wellington clean up the ocean by dragging a piece of trash in the recycling bin. After five rounds all of the trash is gone and Wellington will drag the recycling bin out of the ocean.

Educational Value: This game gives students practice making words and using their decoding skills to read the words. There is a mix of frequently used words and more challenging words. It would be nice if the game had a feature where it would read the words out loud or give a definition if needed for further developing vocabulary. There is some feedback given. If students create a nonsense word they are asked to try again. While the main focus is making and reading words with double consonants, the 'story' also provides a subtle message to recycle and take care of the Earth/oceans.  I would either use this game as independent practice or as a center for students who need additional practice. There are five different levels that each practice specific double consonants which allows for differentiation. Students can work on the sounds they need more practice with. Teachers could pair up stronger readers with students who are still developing for additional help with reading the words.

Link: Double Consonants

Batter's Up Baseball

One of the first games I found on my search for educational games was Batter's Up Baseball. It is a fun game that encourages students to practice solving addition problems using mental math. The game is simple to play and is quite addicting. My husband even spent quite a bit of time playing as well!  I think that students will be motivated by the cheers of the crowd for each correct sum, especially when a home run is scored. The three levels make differentiation easy for teachers.

Game Title: Batter's Up Baseball

Publisher: Prongo.com

Game Type: Sports

Game Summary: The purpose of the game is to move your player around the bases to score a run by solving addition problems. The game has three built in levels- Single (easy), Double (medium) and Home Run (Hard). Players get the opportunity to choose the level in between each problem. An addition problem is displayed and players choose the correct sum from a 3x3 grid. Each time an addition problem is solved correctly, the baseball player moves around the bases according to the level you chose (1 base for single, 2 for double and a Home Run for Home Run).  If the incorrect answer is chosen the player gets a strike. After three strikes the game is over.

Educational Value: Batter's Up Baseball provides practice solving 1 digit, 2 digit and 3 digit addition problems. Players have 30 seconds to solve each problem so players are encouraged to use efficient strategies or mental math. I would use this in my classroom on my interactive whiteboard as a warm-up with white boards, as additional practice in the computer lab or as a part of my computer center.  

Link: Batter's Up Baseball