End of Systems Unit Fall 2023: ADST Game Project

Hello!

Final assignment for our first unit of the year! Report Cards are coming up fast for the end of term one!

Students will be put in groups to create a game to teach people how their personal choices are connected to the health of their body.

The game needs to:

  • Show your knowledge from the unit, so you need to use your binder and journal as a resource,
  • Teach someone in grade 3 or higher how they can make positive personal choices that help the interconnected system of the human body (we will play the games with our buddy class),
  • Be a board game or 3-dimensional game (try to avoid having a game with too many cards, as they take a long time to make — no games that are cards only, as this is an ADST project and needs to involve building),
  • Have a winner for the game after less than 30 minutes of play,
  • Be easy to explain and play right away, rather than having a ton of instructions,
  • Include a set of instructions and all playing pieces,
  • Be attractive and aesthetic so people will WANT to play the game (we will look at some examples in class), and
  • Be finished and ready to play by December 5th, Tuesday. 

Here are the steps to make the game:

Step One  Make up a theme for the game and think about how you will teach what we have learned in the unit about personal choices. We will brainstorm some themes together in class, so feel free to use one of those or make up your own.

Step Two  Create the rules of the game. Write them down as a draft in your journal, then someone in your group needs to type them up.

Step Three  Look at materials we have available, or what materials you could bring from home like cardboard and recyclables. Do not purchase anything to make the game. use existing materials. Think about how much time you have to build. Then, make a draft of what the game will look like in your drawing book and create a list of the materials you will need to gather. I can provide dice, timers, and some spinners, if needed, and we have a lot of items that can serve as play tokens, so again, no need to purchase anything new.

Step Four   Make the game. As you find issues with construction, don’t worry about changing your idea, but keep track of how much time you have to build so it is finished on time and meets criteria.

Step Five   Add playing pieces and think about how to store the game so pieces are not lost. Can you create an aesthetic way to store the game?

Step Six    Find someone to play the game with. Have them evaluate your game. Evaluate yourself on the rubric I provide for you. Turn the rubric in to Ms. D. Play the game with our Buddy Class.

Tips and Ideas:

  • Always remember simple is better. If a game is easy, it will be more fun to play.
  • Add a start and a finish space.
  • Borrow ideas from other games and make them better – don’t just copy, but do use ideas you have seen before and morph them into your own!
  • Add spaces where you have to draw a card, but do not make too many cards. This is one thing that generally takes too much time. What other ways can you communicate health information in the game, other than using cards and written facts?
  • Do a few test plays by yourself to see if it is too hard or needs adjustment.
  • Cut small figures out of paper to use as game pieces, or use Legos, etc.
  • Get ideas from other people. Creativity doesn’t just come from one person. The best ideas are ones that involve lots of ideas.
  • Make it colorful and eye-popping. Make it 3D! It doesn’t need to be too big, though. Think about the size of most board games we play.
  • Name it something appealing! Come up with something of your own – don’t use a name out of a movie or comic book.
  • You could have an objective or goal of the game, instead of a finish space to reach, such as find a golden nugget or land on the water fountain 10 times.
  • For the base of the game you can ask for a clean take out pizza box from a restaurant or find a box at home from Amazon. Any supplies from home are also okay, as long as Mom and Dad are okay with it! No need to purchase anything new.

A rubric will be provided to self-assess at the end of the project. The project is due by December 5th, Tuesday. No extensions due to report card timeline!!