A game that I thought would be helpful on iCivics Education is Branches of Power. Branches of Power is labeled for middle school and high school students. The game allows students to learn how all three branches of the United States government work and what each branch's specific jobs are.
I would integrate this activity as an end-of-unit wrap-up activity. All students would need their own Chromebook or tablet with access to the internet. All students should be able to use it because it has the option to read the dialogue to students who may struggle with reading, and you can move the due date so all students have enough time to complete it. There is a Spanish version for Spanish-speaking students as well as an English voice-over for English Language Learners. The game also has a decision support tool for students who may need extra help.
There is an end of the game that the students have to work towards. After completing the game, I would give the students an exit ticket with just a few questions assessing what they have learned, as well as a final question asking their thoughts and what they took away from the game.
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This website looks super cool, thank you for sharing! The history nerd in me is wanting to play this myself, as it would not be appropriate for my current population.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who did not prefer social studies as a youngstudent, I think I would have enjoyed something like this! I clicked around the website, and there are many fun games that cater to many different ages. It looks like fun! Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteJaclyn- This game looks so fun and I would agree with Morgan that I think social studies would've been much more fun and tangible to me. I like that students have to follow the prompts of the game to figure out what to do. I notice that some of my students tend to like to click the buttons until they get the message that they are correct, without fully taking in the information, but having to read the prompts to figure out what to do next could really help them to be less "clicker happy." This was a really neat find!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this look at Branches of Power from iCivics. I appreciate how you highlight the accessibility features, especially the read-aloud and Spanish language settings—those matter a lot for multilingual learners and students who need support with reading. Research on digital game-based learning (Gee, 2007) consistently shows that well-designed games can help students make sense of complex systems, and iCivics definitely leans into that.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I’d add is the importance of teacher facilitation around the game. Studies on serious games note that students learn more when teachers frame the activity with guiding questions and follow up with some reflection afterward (Connolly et al., 2012). Even a short debrief—“What choices did you make? What surprised you?”—can help students connect the gameplay back to real civic processes.
I also like your idea of using an exit ticket. That’s a simple way to capture students’ reasoning and literacy practices, not just whether they “won” the game. For students who struggle with reading or abstract concepts, pairing the game with a graphic organizer or vocabulary preview could make the experience even more accessible.
With scaffolding and intentional reflection, games like this can genuinely strengthen students’ civic understanding.
References
Connolly, T. M., Boyle, E. A., MacArthur, E., Hainey, T., & Boyle, J. M. (2012). A systematic literature review of games-based learning. Computers & Education, 59(2), 661–686.
Gee, J. P. (2007). What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy. Palgrave Macmillan.
Hi!
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate how intentional you were in considering the needs of all learners. The built-in read-aloud features, language supports, and decision-support tools make this game accessible to so many different students. Using it as an end-of-unit activity is a great idea, too. The gameplay really helps reinforce the three branches of government while letting students apply what they’ve learned in a hands-on way. I also think it’s so valuable for students to learn these concepts in general. Understanding how the government works sets them up to be more informed and engaged members of their communities, and using a game like this makes those big ideas feel a lot more approachable and memorable. Ending with an exit ticket is a great touch, since it gives students a chance to reflect and helps you check for key takeaways! Well done planning this lesson and integrating a fun game!
Hey there!
ReplyDeleteI also said this in the discussion forum, but I honestly really enjoyed this game. I ended up playing it for about 45 minutes because I kept wanting to see how different choices played out. It does a great job showing how the branches don’t work in isolation, but push and pull on each other.
Using it as an end-of-unit wrap-up makes total sense. It feels like the kind of activity that helps everything “lock in” after students learn the basics. And I completely agree about the accessibility features - the read-aloud option, flexible timing, and Spanish version make it a lot easier to include everyone without extra steps.
I also like the exit ticket idea. It gives students time to reflect rather than just rushing through the game and moving on.
I think iCivics is such a cool platform! To understand today's politics-heavy environment, students need to learn the basics of government. The Branches of Power game you mentioned makes civic learning engaging and accessible for kids! The built-in supports, like the read-aloud supports features and other language options, ensure that all students can participate meaningfully. For someone that was never a true fan of social studies class, this is an exit ticket I would definitely engage with!
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