Lesson: Game Time
In this lesson, students consider the positive aspects of video games as well as the ways in which games may take time away from other activities they enjoy. Students are introduced to the idea of balancing game and screen time with other parts of their lives and learn about the reasons why they may be tempted to spend more time playing games or find it difficult to stop playing. They then keep a diary of their game play (or another screen activity if they do not play video games) that prompts them to reflect on their gaming habits. Partway through that process, they are introduced to techniques that will help them moderate their game play and deal with the difficulties they may feel reducing game time. Finally, students reflect on the experience and develop a plan to make their game play more mindful.
Grade range: 4-6
Teacher Material: https://textbook.mediasmarts.ca/discoveringstudent/chapter/game-on-2/
Student Material: https://textbook.mediasmarts.ca/discovering/chapter/game-on/
Time Frame
| One class period (45-60 minutes) | Two or three class periods (90-120 minutes) | ||
| Activities |
Game On!
|
Game On! Mindful Gaming Mindful Gaming Plan
|
Preparation:
Make sure that students are able to access the interactive activities.
A printable version of this lesson is available at https://mediasmarts.ca/teacher-resources/game-time
Learning Outcomes
Big ideas/key concepts: Students will understand that…
Digital media experiences are shaped by the tools we use
- Games and other digital media are designed to make us use them longer and more often
Interactions through digital media have a real impact
- Using digital media more than we want to can affect our health and our mood
Key questions:
- How do games and other digital media make us use them longer and more often?
- What role do games play in our daily lives? How does that affect us?
Essential knowledge: Students will know…
- Reading media: Features of games and other digital media that make us use them more often
- Media health: Impacts of games and other digital health on our mood and health
Performance tasks: Students will be able to…
- Use: Use digital tools in a mindful and healthful way
- Understand: Analyze how digital tools influence how we use them
- Engage: Identify the role that digital media play in their own lives and its impact
Curriculum Connections
Strand A: Literacy Connections and Applications
A1 Transferable Skills
A1.2 Student Agency and Engagement
evaluate and explain how transferable skills help them express their voice, be engaged in their learning, and plan the next steps to develop their capabilities and potential
A2 Digital Media Literacy
A2.2 Online Safety, Well-Being and Etiquette
demonstrate an understanding of how to navigate online environments safely, manage their privacy and personal data, and interact in a way that supports their well-being and that of others, including seeking appropriate permission
A2.3 Research and Information Literacy
gather, evaluate, and use information, considering validity, credibility, accuracy, and perspectives, to construct knowledge, create texts, and demonstrate learning
A2.4 Forms, Conventions, and Techniques
demonstrate an understanding of the forms, conventions, and techniques of digital and media texts, consider the impact on the audience, and apply this understanding when analyzing and creating texts
A2.5 Media, Audience and Production
demonstrate an understanding of the interrelationships between the form, message, and context of texts, the intended audience, and the purpose for production
A2.6 Innovation and Design
select and use appropriate digital and media tools to support the design process and address authentic, relevant, real-world problems by developing innovative solutions
A3 Applications, Connections, and Contributions
A3.1 Cross-Curricular and Integrated Learning
explain how the knowledge and skills developed in this grade support learning in various subject areas and in everyday life, and describe how they enhance understanding and communication
Strand C: Comprehension: Understanding and Responding to Texts
C3 Critical Thinking in Literacy
Grades 4-5: make local and global inferences, using explicit and implicit evidence, to extend their understanding of various texts
Grade 6: make local and global inferences, using explicit and implicit evidence, to develop interpretations about various texts and to extend their understanding
Strand D: Composition: Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts
D1. Developing Ideas and Organizing Content
D1.1 Purpose and Audience
identify the topic, purpose, and audience for various texts they plan to create, and explain why the chosen text form, genre, and medium suit the purpose and audience, and how they will help communicate the intended meaning
D1.2 Developing Ideas
generate and develop ideas and details about various topics, such as topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion and to other subject areas, using a variety of strategies, and drawing on various resources, including their own lived experiences
D1.3 Research
Grade 4: gather information and content relevant to a topic, using a variety of sources and strategies, and record the sources of information
Grade 5: gather and record information and content relevant to a topic, using multiple textual sources; verify the reliability of sources, using simple criteria; and record the creator and source of all content created by others
Grade 6: gather information and content relevant to a topic, using multiple textual sources; summarize the information; verify the reliability of sources; and record the creator and source of all content created by others
D1.4 Organizing Content
Grades 4-5: select and classify ideas and collected information, using appropriate strategies and tools, and sequence content, taking into account the chosen text form, genre, and medium
Grade 6: classify and sequence ideas and collected information, using appropriate strategies and tools, and identify and organize relevant content, taking into account the chosen text form, genre, and medium