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Teacher Review for Presidents vs. Aliens

Build Your Knowledge of the Presidents. Identify their quotes, political affiliation, and historical events.

Elisabeth A.
 Technology coordinator
Cosumnes River Elementary School
Sloughhouse, United States
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My Subjects Math, Social Studies
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My Rating
Learning Scores
Engagement
Pedagogy
Support
My Students Liked It Yes
My Students Learned Yes
I Would Recommend It Yes
Setup Time Less than 5 minutes
Great for Further application
Homework
Individual
Knowledge gain
Practice
Small group
Student-driven work
Great with Advanced learners
General
How I Use It
I would use this game to help students identify U.S. Presidents by their photo/portrait, associating them with historical events. This is a very practical skill for students. While learning to match presidents to key historical events doesn't provide any background into the details of the event, it does give the teacher an opportunity to expand on an event as part of a social studies/history lesson.
My Take
At its simplest level, students must select at least 2 kinds of questions to answer, perhaps identifying presidents by photos/portraits and correct nicknames. So, the game provides some variation, appealing to what interests/challenges the learner. Students answer questions correctly and earn presidents. Earning a certain number of presidents unlocks different games, like Heads of State. Students can choose to learn about quotes, facts, events, nicknames, party affiliation, or vice presidents. Earning 18 presidents unlocks the Executive Order game; earning 15 presidents unlocks Heads of States. Games are played with well-known monuments shown in the background. The game portion (slinging a president at an alien) is fun and involves some strategy, but I think the captivating part involves trying to answer questions correctly to see if one is gaining knowledge. Personal improvement trumps the game reward.