I read that company newsletters should not be about your products because no one cares. I disagree, We have cool new games that help you teach history with math and science, and both are free. We have a new four-hour cross-curricular unit teaching traditional Lakota feeds, math and English language arts. And we have an even cooler game builder coming out.
We finished up the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources grant in September, but that doesn’t mean we are done making games with historical sources.
Both new games address the 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.
We had so many outstanding game suggestions submitted by teachers and there was not time to make them all
We needed to vote to select the ones we could make in the next few months. The number one selection, by far, was a game on generosity. The Greasy Door is a short, bell-ringer game designed to be played at the beginning of class to spark students’ interest or at the end as class is winding down. I liked these type of activities when I was teaching middle school because I would often find students who were finished assignments early and I wanted something for them to do that was educational but not just another worksheet that felt almost like punishment for getting their work done – here, now you have more work.
The Greasy Door title comes from a saying about Chief Luther, because when people left his tipi they were often carrying so much meat he gave them that it brushed against the door. Along with a lesson about the traditional Lakota value of generosity, past and present, I also had to throw in a little lesson about fractions, because, of course, I love math.
Plant Knowledge Combines Four Game Ideas – and Science
The four levels of the Plant Knowledge game are:
- Chokecherries
- Important plants (sage, sweetgrass and prairie turnips)
- Food preservation, past and present
- Traditional agriculture
Each level includes a visual novel or video providing instruction, a game, like clicking on the birds to catch them before they eat your chokecherries, and an assessment. This game includes social studies and science, but no math, this time.
Chokecherries, math and more lessons
I love this lesson on Chokecherries and Fractions for so many reasons. https://www.growingmath.org/chokecherries-and-fractions/ It is a cross-curricular unit that requires 4-6 hours and includes a lot on teaching vocabulary, reading, Lakota culture and Lakota language. There is an optional but highly recommended cooking activity. Obviously, these teachers have a lot of experience because they start out letting you know what materials are required and don’t necessarily assume everyone has buffalo meat laying around. They also allow the teacher to select whichever activities meet the needs of their classroom. HOWEVER, I don’t know the names of the teachers in the group from the Sitting Bull College workshops who did it, because it was uploaded without a name. If you know, let me know. I’ll update you when I find out.
We have a large background of lessons from the Teaching Rural and Indigenous History with Primary Sources grant that just ended, so expect to see many more coming up.
Make Your Own Games, without coding.
Our vision has long been to make creating educational games as easy as writing a blog post. For the next few months, every communication from me will carry this reminder – we are creating a game builder that anyone can use to create educational and game content without coding. If you can type, point and click, you can make an educational game. See an example of one of the screens below.
Interested? Click here to get on our beta list. The first version will be available to the public in April. We also have a low-code version using JavaScript and HTML that would be a great fit for coding classes.
Summer 2026 – Free Professional Development for Your District on Making Educational Games
We will be offering free PD on making educational games using either the low-code or no-code game builder. Limit one per district. The PD will be offered by Dr. AnnMaria De Mars, live in California or Minnesota and via Zoom in other states. On-site PD in other states can be arranged but the district would have to pay travel expenses.
