Fernando M. Reimers et 31.

groups of students who then create games focusing on Egypt and China.
Each group will consist of smaller sub—groups of between two and four stu—
dents. (The goal is to form ten groups total throughout the fourth grade, so
groups will be larger or smaller depending on the student body. See below
for more detailed plans.)

Activity 4.4.1

The Creation of the Games

Each group will research one game from ancient China or Egypt (depend—
ing on which group they are in) and create a version of the game to be
played during the game days. Some examples include dice games, Senet,

Mahjongg, and physical games to be played outside.

Each group will also create one board or physical game that illustrates the
components of civilization. Students may consider building on existing
board games, such as Trivial Pursuitmeach pie piece could represent a com—
ponent of civilization—or the electronic Civilization games; role—playing
games; or strategy games.

Note that sufficient time should be given to this activity. It may stretch
across several weeks, with the teacher checking in on students’ work peri—
odically. Or the teacher may choose to more intensively prepare for these
games over a few weeks. Either way, the games should be well developed,
with all of the necessary pieces or components made by students and fully
functional, and demonstrate a clear understanding of the components of
civilization. Students should be given rubrics to evaluate their own games
for these quality components, and teachers should also use the rubrics
to communicate to students the areas that need improvement before the

games are played.

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