Hot Topics Gaming the Summer Reading One of the things I want to do this year is make learning a joyful

experience. Think back to kindergarten, when you learned through play. Thats what were going to try to recreate in our classroom. Already youve been hard at work with markers and paper, so were getting there, but now Id like us to up our game, so to speak. In your groups, youve carefully selected 10 quotations from each of your summer reading books. Check to make sure these quotations truly reflect either that technology is working to improve the world or the fact that we need to put limits on technology because, unfettered, it can be dangerous. Now that you feel satisfied with your quotation selection, create a game board. The basic rules of the game are that a player can advance when s/he lands on a space that shows the possibilities of technology and receives some penalty when s/he lands on a space where technology wreaks havoc with the world. Use your quotations as the basis for the spaces on the game board. Wednesday-Thursday: Establish the rules of your game and what it takes to win. Create the spaces on the game board and any other game-like elements that help or prevent players from advancing on the board. Monday-Tuesday: Make your game board visually appealing. Print out images at home and draw illustrations that make your board exciting and attractive. Use the accompanying rubric to make sure you meet the standards of the assignment.

Game Board Rubric:

Quotations from Never Let Me Go Quotations from The Sorcerers and Their Apprentices Quotations were highly relevant and clearly showed why technology should advance; quotations were applied in a sophisticated manner to the game format Quotations were relevant and showed why technology should advance; quotations were applied well to the game format Quotations were mostly relevant and almost always showed why technology should advance; quotations mostly applied well to the game format Quotations were inconsistently relevant and often didnt show clearly why technology should advance; quotations werent applied well to the game format Quotations werent relevant and werent applied to the game format Game Board Creativity The game board was a work of art: full of creative images, both downloaded and handmade. Care and attention was paid to small details that would delight a player. The game board was visually appealing, showing creativity and a sense of aesthetics. Group Work Collaboration The game showed the exceptional work and enthusiastic cooperation of every member of the group, with clearly demarcated contributions that each person made. The game showed the work and cooperation of every member of the group. Most contributions were attributed to a group member. The game showed the work and cooperation of most members with some attributions to group members.

Quotations were highly relevant and clearly showed why technology should be limited; quotations were applied in a sophisticated manner to the game format Quotations were relevant and showed why technology should be limited; quotations were applied well to the game format Quotations were mostly relevant and almost always showed why technology should be limited; quotations mostly applied well to the game format Quotations were inconsistently relevant and often didnt show clearly why technology should be limited; quotations werent applied well to the game format Quotations werent relevant and werent applied to the game format

The game board was adequately appealing. Relevant images were downloaded, but the board wasnt particularly creative or visually exciting. The game board wasnt creative or exciting. Images were added in a sloppy or haphazard manner.

The game showed inconsistent work and cooperation with unclear attributions to group members.

The game board lacked images.

The game showed little work and cooperation among group members and/or clearly one person did most of the work.