Exploring Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Math requires tapping into student passions and interest areas. With 83 percent of teens engaging in games on a regular basis, the design and playing of board and card games provides a great inroads into STEAM activities. Below I’ll share some ways games can explore these subjects!
Science – Demonstrating Understanding Via Card Creation & Visuals
One great way to explore concepts related to science is by creating representations of the various systems common to science, such as ecosystems, parts of the cell, and other interconnected concepts. We offer blank templates of our Gamestormers cards that students can use to create their own cards about science vocabulary, concepts, and more, and they can give them each “abilities” that match the role and function the words have in real life.
In addition, simply using game assets as vocabulary practice can be a fun and engaging way to practice science terms. Our Gamestormers board game comes with five visual dice with 6 unique images on each side, creating 30 icons that students can roll and use to connect to vocabulary terms. Or, students can flip over 5 of our 139 unique game cards with art and use the visuals to make metaphorical connections to the concepts they are learning about.
Technology – Reflective Social Media Use Through Playful Learning
Not only are games a great way to demonstrate learning – they also provide an opportunity to take unique roles and perspectives to learn more about a subject. In Doomscroll, students learn more about responsible and reflective technology use by taking the job of a social media company in a fantasy world. Their goal? Create a social media feed addicting enough to sell products the fastest via timely ads.
After playing the game and seeing how social media platforms manipulate us into staying on our devices, students and educators have the chance to debrief and discuss reflective social media use via a guided lesson plan.
Engineering – Game Design and Prototyping
One of the best aspects about board and card game design is how accessible and approachable it can be! All folks need to get started are some dry erase boards, blank cards, dice, and any other materials, and you’re ready to go! Creating a game prototype involves engineering the game assets to be user-friendly, easy to use, visually appealing, and functional in its given space and box dimensions. If you’re looking to engage students in game design engineering, try out our free 15-day game design curriculum that can be customized to fit your age group and time available!
The Arts – Narrative Writing and Media Creation
Engaging in artistic creation is wonderful by itself, but having a point of inspiration is always helpful for getting the creative juices flowing. One activity that helps launch learners into creative writing is playing a few rounds of our Gamestormers Party Variant. This mode has each player connecting five cards together to create a cohesive narrative, which they then share with the judge for the round to impress them. From there, students can take their favorite narrative and launch into a writing prompt about their newly-created world.
For a social studies-infused twist, a great artistic activity involves students researching an individual or group from a culture different than their own. Through primary sources and writings created via that individual or group, the students can then develop what they might have looked like as a card, character, or group in a game using our blank templates. This helps students reflect on how to create a media representation based on celebrating one’s culture rather than stereotyping it.
Math – Exploring Volume Through Game Design and Logistics
The best kind of math problems emerge when there are many different correct answers depending on the variables of the scenario being explored. To get students into an interesting math problem, start by having them design a product like a board game box to house their hypothetical game. Once they’ve done so, they can calculate the dimensions and volume of the box and calculate how many can fit on a standard shipping pallet. From there, challenge them to see how many pallets they would need for 20,000 copies of their game, and how many pallets of their game can fit into a shipping container. This kind of math not only lets students dictate the variables of the problem, but also provides real-world scenarios that happen each day!
Those are just five of the MANY ways games and game design can help explore STEAM subjects. What other methods have you tried?