Games

@http://www.ixl.com/
 * IXL Math Games **

IXL is a website that allows children from grades Pre-K to 8th to practice and hone their math skills. It also provides an Algebra option so children can be introduced to higher-level math at a younger age if needed. Each grade level provides anywhere from 40 - 250 skills. For example, in the third grade bracket, 21 concepts are given, and each concept has a number of particular skills, i.e. the Probability and Statistics concept has four skills to practice, while the Decimals concept has 9. Students can click and choose any skill, and IXL provides questions and tracks the scores as well. IXL also increases difficulty in the questions as students improve. As the students answer the questions correctly, the site provides motivating praise, such as, "Awesome!" and "Keep it up!".

An elementary school teacher from Minnesota stated, “ My students love it! It really challenges them to master the concepts. I told one of my students to change to another topic so she could practice for the upcoming tests, and she said, 'No, wait! I want to get to 100% first!' I have never seen her more motivated to succeed! " (Rosengren).

In my school library, I would like to be able to set up 3-5 computers with this website available as a link on the desktop, along with 2-3 other educational websites for various subjects. The students, while attending library class, will have the opportunity to use this site as a learning tool for 5-10 minutes. This site could help them complete their work faster, along with helping them understand the material better. Because the questions go from easy to hard, they challenge the students and motivate them to continue doing well. It can also be used as a studying tool at home; if certain students are struggling with math, this site could be given to their parents to help them at home as well as during library class.

Diptilata (Rina) Misra

Rosengren, JaLene. 4th and 5th grade teacher in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Retrieved from http://www.ixl.com/membership/school/testimonials.

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 * Food Force **

Food force, called the first humanitarian video game, gives children a glimpse at the real-life challenges the World Food Programme faces providing food to those in need. Players of Food Force complete six missions that address different obstacles to food distribution: need assessment, nutrition, geography, purchasing, safety, and long-term solutions. The WFP suggests using the ‘Introduction to Food Force’ lesson plan ("Introduction to food," n.d) for grades 4-7, which involves students working in groups to complete one of the missions and giving a presentation to the class detailing their mission. In my school library, I would also use the Food Force game as a reward. I would encourage teachers to send me a list of students who have increased their reading fluency, raised a reading level, or deserve some kind of reading recognition. These students would be invited to stay after school once or twice a month to play Food Force in the library computer lab. Another option would be to also invite students who may be at risk for gang involvement to play Food Force after school. These students would benefit from the safe environment and could channel some of their energy into this action-packed game.

// Introduction to food force //. (n.d.). Retrieved from []

Randi Sather

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Games in Education-English Inanimate Alice Set in the early years of the 21st century, Inanimate Alice tells the story of Alice and her imaginary digital friend Brad. Through text, sound, images, music and games, the story of Alice becomes increasingly interactive and game-like, reflecting Alice's own developing skills as a game designer and animator. //Suitable for:// All ages //Resources:// The Inanimate Alice Education Pack can be downloaded from [|http://www.inanimatealice.com/education/edupack.pdf]

I would like to set up 3-6 computers in my school library and work directly with students ages 11 through 13. Utilizing technology tools with this age group will be very interesting as they are at the age of exploring and discovering new digital software. Students will enjoy hands on work while having the opportunity to use the computers for searching animated and creating imaginary friends.

It can also be retrieved from: Games in Education-English =
 * Faailoa Afalava**

= = Free Rice  =

The game Free Rice is located at: [|http://freerice.com/#/english-vocabulary/2093]

The website, Choice Literacy, describes its use at: [|http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/590.cfm]

Free Rice is a vocabulary game that students can play to practice vocabulary and feed those in need. In the game, the students must answer each vocabulary word correctly in order to donate 10 grains of rice. As described in the article in Choice Literacy, teachers have used this game for motivation, strategic, differential and assessment purposes. Students are encouraged to read all the possible answers before answering the question in order to ensure that they will answer correctly. Additionally, the game provides students with the opportunity to get “easier” or “challenging” words according to the amount of questions they get correctly. Teachers can also briefly assess the students at the end of the game by seeing the level they were currently on, and the number of questions they answered correctly by dividing the grains of rice by 10.

I would incorporate this game in a school library setting by always having 1-3 computers with the webpage available. A student visiting the library can have the opportunity to play 5-15 minutes, depending on the amount of students. Students will be encouraged to play the game in order to better develop their vocabulary skills, and to do something that can make a difference in our world. Dictionaries will be available to use, but students will be encouraged to only use a dictionary when they need the additional assistance. This game works well in the library setting because it helps develop vocabulary skills, an important component in literacy, while teaching an important life skill of helping those people in need.

Priscilla Rodriguez

Reading Rockets
www.readingrockets.org/ This web site teaches children to read and to also helps children who struggle with reading. The site is full of information on games, reading strategies, lessons, and activities to help children learn how to read and improve their reading skills. The site also has resources to aid parents, teachers, principals, librarians, and other professionals. There is also an extensive list of other resources on the site.

One way the site has been used in an educational setting is by utilizing a classroom strategy, Rhyming Games. How to use rhyming in learning to read and spell is discussed in the strategy. Also discussed is why to teach about rhyming, when and how to use rhyming, and examples. A book list is given to use with this strategy. Suggestions are also given to create games. Also noted is differentiated instruction for second language learners, students with diverse reading abilities and lower reading level students. Also of interest is the site lists the research that supports the strategy. www.readingrockets.org/strategies/rhyming_games/

The site is also brimming with information for librarians. The site notes the resources in the librarian section was developed in partnership with The American Library Association. The site lists twelve top resources for librarians.

For a lesson in the library, the curriculum in our district conducts a study on America Earhart. To supplement the lesson in the classroom, the activity connects to aviation, biography, engineering, geography, and women’s history. The subject areas the activity connects to are: language arts, math, science, social studies, and technology. www.timewarptrio.com/teachers-parents/lessons/pdf/twt-lesson-earhart.pdf

In learning about Amelia Earhart and utilizing the information from this site, the students would be in diverse-ability groupings and they would play a media Amelia Earhart Jeopardy game. The Jeopardy game would be based on the initial information the students have collected on Amelia Earhart. The rules for Jeopardy would be followed and discussed with the class. The winners of the game would get a homework pass for a subject approved by the classroom teacher.

When the activity is completed, the student groups would brainstorm and come up with tags. The tags could then be used in Wordplosion. Each group would go to the computer to play Wordplosion using the tags they came up with. http://www.timewarptrio.com/games/wordsplosion/. The students would then play a different version of an Amelia Earhart Jeopardy game. This game would summarize the information the students learned about Ameila Earhart. The rules for Jeopardy would be followed and reviewed with the class. The winners of the game would get 10 minutes free time in the library to play a game on the computer or to have the librarian start reading a book to the group; or file folder games on information covered in the Amelia Earhart activities would be placed at the student group tables for student groups to play.

Annette Schatzman

** Fun English Games **
The site contain wide range of free teaching resources that are perfect for students learning English and ESL classes. [|http://www.funenglishgames.com]

This link connects to the grammar section of the web site: [|http://www.funenglishgames.com/grammargames/prefixsuffix.html]

This site gives students an opportunity to enhance their reading and writing skills. It improves students’ English skills with different interactive English games covering topics such as reading, writing, grammar and vocabulary. It does offer different activities such as scrabble and Pictionary. In addition, teachers can also printout quizzes for students. The verb, noun and adjective game support students learning and reinforce their skills on different word types. The online games help students understand the usage of these types of words and when to use them properly.

As a school librarian I will assign couple of computers, about 5 - 6 computers with internet access with the webpage available. I will be working closely with the classroom teachers, preferably from 1st to 4th grade level to help students who need extra work with the English lesson. The teachers will schedule students to come in the library twice a week; after class lecture to do hands-on practice. Students will also explore other features of the site such as cool trivia, funny jokes, impossible tongue twisters, witty riddles, classic puns, unique figures of speech and much more to help them learn English language. Although quiz given to the students after few session will not be graded, it will help the teacher see students progress. It will also guide me to access appropriate game/reading level for each students.

This link connects to the video section of the website: [|http://www.funenglishgames.com/videos/vocabulary/commonenglishexpressions.html]

It is important that the library offers different teaching tools for younger children. Often times younger children lose interest playing computer games and videos can be fun and entertaining learning tools for students. These short educational lessons will help students learn new words or phrases. Students can learn phrases used in common everyday conversations. For this activity, I will set up 3 or 4 computers for watching videos. Students will use headset while watching videos.

Imengel Mad

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This site contains games for grades K-8, and I focused specifically on the grade I currently teach, which is 6th:
 * Internet 4 Classrooms **

[|http://www.internet4classrooms.com/skills-6th-langbuilders.htm]

Internet 4 Classrooms has two components, reading and language arts, that I have used. It’s been utilized in my own classes for 3 years. Teaching middle school students the joys of reading and grammar is not an easy task by any means. I found this site to be a great way to increase engagement and reinforce previously taught skills. Since it has materials for grads K-8, students can work at their current level and move up to more challenging activities with ease. Internet 4 Classrooms is easy to navigate and user-friendly. The one downside I have found is that it, like virtually any website, is sometimes taken offline for routine updating and maintenance. Math activities are also available on this site, although since I teach ELAR, I confess that I have not used them. In the library, Internet 4 Classrooms can be used in a few ways. In classrooms with limited student computers, I would use it during small groups as a station activity. I think this site would be great for students who need additional instruction in certain areas, finish activities early, tutorials, or as a small group activity. Since it is user-friendly and allows students to work at their current levels, it is also ideal for special education students and/or English Language Learners. To incorporate this site in the library, I would have it up on the computers and do a quick demonstration on the big screen, showing students how to navigate the site. The classroom teacher and I would have collaborated on which areas students need to utilize. As a ticket-out-the-door activity, either the classroom teacher or I would request that each students write down exactly which areas they worked on and one thing they learned from working on the activties or which activity was their favorite and why. Ticket-out-the-door activities would be collected by the teacher, who would decide whether or not to count them for a grade.

I think Internet 4 Classrooms can also be used as a coteaching activity with stations or small group instruction. The classroom teacher could work with one group to target specific objectives, while the librariant could work with another group on the library computers, teaching them skills from the site. If there is a larger class, a third group could do independent work at the library tables. During tutorials or as cushion work (when students finish early), students could work independently on the computers and reinforce previously taught skills through the website. I think the library would be a a great place for students to get some extra learning done via this website.

Once again, please note that this site does contain a math component.

Sarah Kline

Game Classroom
[|http://www.gameclassroom.com/]

Game Classroom houses some of the best educational games in one site. It’s easy navigation allows teachers or students to quickly select a specific grade level, K through 6th, and subject area, Math or Language Arts. Each subject area is categorized into skill areas. For example, the 6th grade Math link contains Algebra and Geometry games, and the Language Arts link contains Vocabulary and Comprehension games.

Another plus feature about this site are the links for specific lessons, additional homework help information, and newsletters relevant to each grade level.

In the classroom, teachers can utilize these games to reinforce skills being taught in the classroom, especially those instructing the primary grades. Specific games are those practicing r-controlled vowels and addition skills which would be perfect for computer centers.

There are many games on this site that could be shared in a library setting. One particular game, suggested on the 6th grade page, called FLING A TEACHER ( [|http://www.gameclassroom.com/game/45206-3525/words-multiple-meanings/fling-teacher]) would be fun to play as a whole group, using an inFocus -- or MimioStudio to make it interactive -- to review different literary elements. Students could also be divided into teams, tallying points for each team. Tying the need for knowledge about literary elements into writing styles of author’s would make this lesson even more meaningful.

Christine Huse

--- =**Quizlet.com**=

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Quizlet is a website of user-generated content available to the general public. Teachers and students can create vocabulary lists to generate flash cards, quizzes and play games. One can also utilize and edit previously-created content as necessary to fit their needs. Learn Mode provides students the opportunity to self-test and find areas where they need to spend more time. Test Mode allows for the creation of randomly generated, customizable tests. You also have the opportunity to use the Text to Speech function, allowing vocabulary and definitions to be read in 18 language, a fantastic tool for foreign language students. In an educational setting, Quizlet can generate printable flashcards,glossary lists or tables. As a learning game, students can play Scatter, a timed matching game, as well as Space Race, a more challenging game where you must type in the vocabulary word before the definition scrolls to the edge of the screen. Since these games are timed, students can challenge one another to have the best time/score.

In the library setting, Quizlet would serve well to introduce and/or test students' knowledge of vocabulary used in a library setting. The ease of turning learning boring vocabulary into a fun and challenging game where students can compete against one another add to engagement. It can also be useful in demonstrating the differences between fiction/nonfiction, having foreign language students translate library terminology into another language and encouraging students to create their own vocabulary lists from a book they are reading.

Virginia Garcia