GAMES TO LEARN BY
A number of games are employed to stimulate the students and develop a dynamic educational environment. These games trigger different types of brain functions as they develop creativity and teamwork. The games always work with the basic material the students are learning. They therefore reinforce an understanding of the basic flow of American History. The basic games employed in the course are Password, Charades, Quiz Wiz, Rapid Recall, Challenge, Draw It and Write It.
In Password one student looks at a series of index cards. Each has a different term written on it. The student trys to get their team mate to say the word. They go in thirty second periods. In Charades the teacher gives one student a sentence from their history notes. They try to get their team to say the sentence within a two minute period. The game Quiz Wiz usually takes place the day before a test. The teacher askes ten questions, each of which will be added to the test the students will take the next day. If a student gets all ten correct they are out of the game. If not they can check their notes and consult with other students for answers. This is done a total of three times. At the end the students have about ten minutes to make sure they have all thirty questions correct. These questions create a study sheet for the new questions that will be added to the test given the next day. Rapid Recall is a series of statements that attempt to tell the story of the flow of American History. Dates are stated on the sheets explaining when the sections should be memorized by. A game is played when the students challenge each other by reciting one and challenging another student to receite the next one. Students develop questions from a history chapter and ask other students for the answer in Challenge. Draw It takes place when one student from four different teams are given a word and they must draw symbols that get their partner to write out the word first. Write it takes place when a group is given an essay question but each menber must answer it by adding on a few sentences to what other team members have written.