Ansel & Clair: American Bowl
In the classroom, Ansel & Clair: American Bowl could be used for either whole-class or individual practice. While the game focuses on individual players, even allowing teachers to set up profiles for multiple students, it would be a fun whole-class activity, giving students a chance to work together to answer questions, review key facts, and save the bald eagles. The general format, however, favors individual students, making it ideal for teachers to use to get students interested in American history or as a tool to refresh their knowledge.
Continue readingEditor's note: Ansel & Clair: American Bowl is no longer available for download.
Ansel & Clair: American Bowl is a social studies quiz game that challenges kids to answer questions about U.S. history. Kids are tasked with freeing 50 bald eagles that were kidnapped by a villain. To begin, they choose a level from easy, medium, or hard, and select from 14 categories, including Amazing Americans, Black History, and The American Revolution. Kids then answer multiple-choice questions and play a bowling game. At the lowest level, every correct answer results in a chance to bowl. At higher levels, kids must answer questions correctly before heading to the bowling alley. Once they get to the bowling alley, they select a ball designed to represent a specific American symbol, choose a pin formation or a power-up, and let the ball fly. Knocking down all the pins frees an eagle.
Kids can answer hundreds of questions related to U.S. history, and additional explanatory paragraphs accompany each correct answer. And while this could be an engaging way to review historic facts, much of the learning gets overshadowed by the just-for-fun bowling game. The game loosely connects to history with bowling balls designed to represent American symbols, but most of the gameplay has no relation to the content. For kids who need additional motivation to learn the basics, however, the fun game may be a good way to get interested in American history.
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