How Can Teachers Use It?
Teachers can use IF... as a single-student game or as a teacher-led classroom activity. Try using the app in conjunction with other SEL curriculum materials, or design a unit to support IF as a stand-alone curriculum tool. Teachers can find a syllabus and lesson ideas on the developer's website. Teachers may also want to recommend this app to parents; they can reinforce the app's vocabulary and lessons at home to help kids improve social skills and increase emotional intelligence in their daily activities. Teachers and parents can access the dashboard for a report on gameplay and SEL skills practiced in each chapter, as well as related questions and conversation starters.
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What's It Like?
Editor's Note: IF... The Emotional IQ Game has closed and is no longer available.
IF... The Emotional IQ Game is an adventure game that helps kids age 6 to 12 develop the skills that lead to emotional intelligence. Inspired by the poem "If" by Rudyard Kipling, the app leads kids on a quest that promotes self-awareness and positive social communication. Kids create their own dog avatar and travel through Ziggurat, a glittery fantasy world, fixing things in the environment and collecting "energy creatures" called Vim to cleanse them of dark energy. With the help of a wise Zen-like master, YouDog, kids think about and exercise choices related to core social and emotional learning (SEL) skills like gratitude, helpfulness, and regulation of fear. Characters use language such as "Let's find a win-win," and "This is really frustrating and scary" to help kids learn problem-solving and emotional vocabulary. As YouDog sends kids on missions, they practice skills such as teamwork, grit, and patience. Teachers can view a report on kids' gameplay and skills practiced for each chapter. This first chapter is free; all chapters thereafter require purchase.
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Is It Good For Learning?
The curriculum-based lessons interwoven into gameplay on this quest-style app can help kids develop their emotions-based vocabulary, learn social decision-making, build empathy, and increase their ability to handle stressful situations by labeling feelings and discovering ways to manage stress. Learning the emotions-based vocabulary and communications skills peppered throughout the quest may help kids navigate potentially troublesome situations like bullying, test anxiety, and everyday frustrations in the real world. Especially if teachers reinforce these lessons by using the same language and promote the skills (such as deep breathing) modeled by characters on the app. If used in conjunction with additional SEL curriculum in the classroom, IF... The Emotional IQ Game can be an effective learning tool.
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Questions are spoken, but kids must read the answer options.
Kids can use points collected in their journey to customize their avatar.
Kids learn SEL strategies through their encounters on their adventure.
Vims battle using positive energy, and convert enemies to their team.
Characters model authentic emotion and thoughtful responses.
