It's Greek to Me

The first game I tried is called "It's Greek to Me." This is on the scholastic.com website and can be found at http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/athens_games/gameGreekToMe.htm.

Curriculum connections: We do a lot of word work in 4th grade to analyze word definitions by noticing their word parts. Certain root words are studied so that students can learn to decipher words that may be unknown to them.

Game analysis and reflection: In "It's Greek to Me," the player chooses either to participate in archery (easy level) or discus (hard level.) A root word is displayed along with a word that uses that Greek root. The player's job is to choose the definition that best describes the word. If the player is correct, the arrow hits the bullseye or the discus travels far. If the player is incorrect, the arrow or the discus falls close to the avatar. Players can play several rounds and can print out their medals when they're finished.

This type of game is an educational trivia game. It is not a true shooter game because the player does not have any control over the aim. The player controls the shooting only by answering the question correctly or incorrectly.

I earned several gold medals in the archery level of this game. Not too shabby, if I say so myself. My first round of the discus level yielded only a silver medal, as I found the definition choices for "android" difficult to distinguish. However, I did not let that defeat hold me back. I went on to earn several gold medals in the discus level.

I think this game could be one that some of my fourth graders would enjoy. I can see some of my students deciding to just guess answers to see the arrows or discuses fly. But I do think that many of them would be engaged, particularly in the archery level. Since we don't have a lot of class time to devote to word work, using the laptops to practice this game for about 10 minutes a few times a week would be an effective and engaging method. This is also allows the students to be quite independent, and so after initial instruction, I could also use this as a station on the classroom computers.