Posts on “ Argument wars ”

BrainPOP’s newest topic, ethics, provides an accessible, engaging storyline and a terrific entry point for students to frame and build skills focused on in the Common Core State Standards. Understanding the ethical dimension of reasoning will prepare students for critically evaluating a broad range of topics, from science and technology to history and literature. BrainPOP is making an strong effort to support implementation of the Common Core State Standards by creating new topic movies that consider changes in curriculum and performance based assessment. The Common Core standards for English Language Arts emphasize proficiency in making and evaluating arguments, problem-solving, and critical reasoning. Our ethics movie begins with age old questions – when you’re faced with a tough decision, how do you figure out what to do? What guidelines or examples do you use to make up your mind, and what happens when there’s more than one good way to act?  Tim and Moby offer some simple advice on what to do when you’re faced with tough choices about right and wrong, or good and bad. Students will consider some rules of thumb about ethical decision making, including ways to find a solution that does the most good while doing the least amount of harm. Ethics also primes students… Read the Rest»

The popularity of gaming in the classroom is rapidly growing and more studies are proving that it’s not just fun, it actually helps students learn!  iCivics, the developer of GameUp games Supreme Decision, Executive Command, Court Quest, Win the White House, Law Craft, Branches of Power, and Argument Wars, has recently released a video showing how the use of iCivics’ games is being implemented in the Waco Independent School District. To collect data that supports the success of a curriculum that integrates the use of these games, iCivics joined with Baylor University to get their games into the classroom.  The movie begins by explaining some of the important concepts students can learn through playing these games and further goes on to discuss the experiences of students and teachers in Waco ISD.  The positive response from the students and teachers featured in this movie is truly inspiring and motivating.  Be sure to visit the iCivics teachers’ section where you can find a collection of useful resources on how you can integrate the use of their games into your own classroom.