Thanks to the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources grant from the western region, we were able to meet with cohorts of teachers to co-design games. The first six are completed with two more in progress. Four of these completed games – Follow the Bubbles, The Greasy Door, Healing Journeys and Plant Knowledge are “bell ringer” or ‘warm-up’ games, designed to be played in 5-15 minutes at the beginning or end of class. The other two games take longer, maybe a full class period, but our suggestion is that you play a couple of levels each class until done.
Follow the bubbles – Designed for grades 4-6. Social Studies content includes discussion and examples primary source, hangman games to teach vocabulary and a couple of math mini-games (tic-tac-toe and caves and ladders) to review multiplication and division. Bonus: This game is 100% accessible for players with visual impairments.
The Greasy Door teaches the Lakota value of generosity and addresses Oceti Sakowin Essential Understandings Standard 2.3 – Recognize that there is a continuum of tribal identity, ranging from traditional to contemporary lifestyle that includes the challenges of living in two worlds.
Healing Journeys – Designed for grades 6-8. This short game, tells the story of Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte, the first Native American doctor, can be played in 15-20 minutes, maybe a little less if your students don’t hit too many buffalo with their train.
Plant Knowledge – Designed for grades 5-7. This short game has four levels teaching about important plants (sage, sweetgrass and prairie turnips), food preservation, Hidatsa agriculture and chokecherries. Teachers from the CIRCLES program wrote this amazing unit that includes the game.
Warrior Vets – Designed for grades 5-7. Students learn the definition and examples of primary sources along with the history of Native American veterans of notable Native American veterans from World War I through the present. While this game does not focus on mathematics, there is an accompanying project-based lesson that includes ratio and proportion.
You are here: On the Lewis and Clark Trail – Designed for grades 4-6. Teaches about science and math on the trail, from Hidatsa agriculture to Clark’s cartography. The Growing Math site has several cross-curricular lessons using this game. Find two of those lessons here.