Games

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 * Pandemic Board Game-- Online and Non-Online play**

This game is designed for students age 10 and up. It can be purchased as a board game and can also be played online. Playing time is about an hour and can involve 1-4 players. Students monitor diseases, find cures, and try to prevent pandemic outbreaks. Students are engaged in inquiry-based learning as they work together and race against time to plan strategies to stop outbreaks around the world.

This game can be used well in a school library setting. Students are surrounded by research tools (encyclopedias, atlases, books, and the internet) necessary to gather information to problem-solve and stop the outbreak. Students must work with each other to make choices and solve problems. Each choice has consequences, which encourages students to discuss, collaborate, and evaluate what the next move should be.

I would use this in a school library setting by allowing groups of students to play at various times. It could be used by students who are currently studying diseases and pandemic outbreaks in class, students who have earned a reward to leave the classroom and play a research-based game, or for gifted/talented students who have finished work early and need to be challenged. I would also use this game for those unmotivated and hard-to-reach students. As a school librarian, I would use teaching students how to successfully play the game as a way to connect with my patrons and get them into the library. Teachers could also use this game as an introduction/engagement strategy for various science and social studies units.

Emily VanLangen

Order in the Library []

This is a game designed to familiarize and challenge the player with organizing books in a library. The tutorial aspect covers key terms such as Dewey Decimal System, and call number, as well as explaining what the digits in a call number represent. This section provides a short lesson on how books are shelved and then explains the three sections of the game. This would be a handy introduction lesson for any age and grade in elementary school. The levels of the game also provide differentiation for learners who need less difficult or more challenging tasks.

If library is an enrichment rotation on a school, or even if there is a flexible library schedule, this game would be best utilized as an introductory meeting with every class. It provides new information for younger students, and a review for upper grades. Students would be challenged to complete the three games in increasing difficulty and to print the certificates as they pass each level. I would offer a new paperback book or special library seating as an incentive for completing these levels successfully to any student who does so.

Rachel Dodson


 * Quia Library Skills Games and Review**

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The website lists several games that can be incorporated into the classroom as well as the school library setting. The games are divided into the following groups: alphabetizing, books, call numbers, catalog, genres, parts of a book, internet, reference, Dewey Decimal System. There are several games within each category. The classroom teacher can introduce the topics briefly before the librarian teaches the lesson. The games can also be used for review of the library skills.

The games seem geared toward elementary students but could be used with older students for review. After being in the classroom for a decade, I have observed that some students who require specific accommodations and modifications benefit more from utilizing the computer games. The games would be appropriate to incorporate into the classroom work station rotation schedule, allowing all students the opportunity to use them.

Monica Gadson

**Sporcle Literary Quizzing Games**
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This website, Sporcle is a trivia quiz site in which you can make custom quizzes on your own, or use the site's quizzes for literature, but also including other subjects such as geography, sports, language, entertainment, and the list goes on. You can create quizzes based on a book that students have been assigned in class or for summer reading program. These quizzes can be used to test the students on knowledge retained from reading. These quizzes are not only helpful, but fun! Students percentiles are shown and this encourages educational competition. Since libraries are a strong part of the educational setting, these games would keep the students involved and engaged while supporting the reading activity. These games could also be used in the classroom setting for review of test material and vocabulary.

Becky Patterson

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This is a list of different games that can be used to teach students how to use the different aspects of the library. There are links to different games that teach different skills needed to successfully navigate a library. Most of the games would be utilized to understand how a library is organized. This would be a useful site for elementary and middle school libraries, but may not be as useful for high school library settings as students may find the games boring and already possess the skills being taught and reinforced.

The games listed could be used in lesson plans to teach how to find books, how the library is structured and what type of different reference tools are useful for finding answers. There are also games that help understand the difference between fiction and nonfiction books and the how those differences utilize different cataloging techniques. In addition there are games that describe the different parts of books, the catalogs and Dewey Decimal system.

This website is a useful link to many different games with the majority of games coming from Quia. [] With this web page the library skills are already in one convenient location so you do not have to search the site for games with the skills you are looking to highlight.

Kerryn Rodriguez

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This website is usedfor the GT studetns in our school but can also be accessed by all the kids. It is a great website for offering children up to adults some activities and games that are outside of the box. The activities and games can be used to enhance any subject matter and the sites that Renzulli links to are very braod. From simple crossword games to activities that can test you visual spatial abilities to. They tell you on their website that they ofefer activities that teachers can assign differentiated assignements to their students of all instructional levels.

Renzulli is a site that a more independent student can go and do research as well as play games.

Cathryn Record-Horn