BBC World War II History

I liked the idea of a kid's view of life in Britain during World War II (or World War 2 at this site). The concepts are excellent: read evacuee's letters; play a rationing game by trying to shop for staples; visit a typical home. I let both of my kids "play" here -- though the site is mostly text with graphics rather than interactive games, I thought that my oldest son (the history buff whose grandfather fought in WWII) would love it. But he didn't. He could read a "Dear America" book for hours so he is used to intaking historical information without the flash. I think, though, he wanted a different kind of experience for his computer games (he adores PBS' Liberty Kids by the way) and this section within this site fell short of his expectations.

I do like though that the BBC has content directly aligned with school curriculum. Also I love being able to learn what British kids are learning and find out what chapters in history are significant to them.

BBC's Pods Mission in Science

The BBC educational section covers not only basic topics for K-2 but has advanced topics (such as an area devoted to Ancient Greece) for older grades. My 7-year-old tried out the flash version of the character Pod's "solids and liquids" game. I would have thought that the game would teach different concepts about solids and liquids but instead this particular game focused on freezing and melting temperatures. The use of celsius rather than fahrenheit measurement of temperatures was confusing to me, as I watched. My son was able to figure out the answers by process of elimination but other than allowing him to use a learning (or guessing) strategy, the game was more confusing than helpful-and will be confusing until the US converts to metric and celcius measurements.

Still, I want to explore the other areas of this site as it looks intriguing.

grammar rules! and more at quia

Quia has lots of games and quizzes. Topics include Grammar or English as well as Astronomy, American History, Logic, and lots more. Site subscribers are able to create games and quizzes, and post them on the site. Quia issues a disclaimer--that there may be inaccuracies and the quality may vary because the games and quizzes are developed by user/subscribers and there is no discernable screening process.

I asked my fifth grader to try the "comma usage" quiz. Not a grammar fan, he didn't enjoy it. We also found one misspelled word that, when corrected, rendered his answer incorrect. Otherwise, I thought the quiz was well done and could help teach some comma concepts to older kids.

The games and quizzes are not categorized by grade level or age level.

order of operations from math goodies

My fifth grader found and tested this site on his own. I like the lesson combined with the quiz. It's been so long since I took a math class that although I know and understand concepts (usually), I can't recall the terminology. Sites like these (with explanations and quizzes) are especially useful. My son enjoyed the quiz although he thought that the last question in the order of operations wasn't relevant to the topic. Word problems, like this one, are a good way to test how to apply a concept.

place values: good content; confusing navigation

Understanding place values requires understanding a concept first. Once you get it, place values aren't too hard but a child may have to think about it longer than recalling math facts (it probably depends on the kid though).

The explanations here I like; the games are okay but not too exciting. I do like the instant feedback on whether an answer is correct or not. The site navigation is extremely confusing.

contractions look fun but aren't

I liked this memory contractions game. Unlike other memory games, matches aren't exact matches but similar ones. For example, "do not" matches "don't." The matches (which may not be intuitive for a second grader) once made appear at a small screen just below the main image or match board.

My second grader, who I think understands the basic concept of contractions and knows what a matching game is, didn't like this game. The non-visual nature of the game is a bit confusing as most matching games involve matching exact pictures.

initial blog offering

My blog, “Kids Play Games,” will research online educational activities (games and quizzes) for elementary school children. Many computer games that are labeled “educational” have minimal educational content while those that have this content often do not engage children. Online activities are free and can be easily tested to see if they are educationally appropriate and match a child’s interests. Parents as well as teachers and friends (grandparents, tutors, child care providers) of elementary school aged children are my audience. They will be interested in finding activities of educational value and determining whether these activities suit the interests and capabilities of their children. Although I can’t always tell whether a child will enjoy an activity, I have good sense of whether materials are grade-appropriate and also can articulate what skills and knowledge they should have before attempting the games or quizzes. In addition, I am familiar with offline educational materials, such as math games, phonics programs, reference materials, book series, and even computer games for children. The questions that I would like to answer are: What are the most reliable sources of quality online educational activities? Can online activities really help children build and reinforce skills? What components of an online activity should a parent consider in determining its suitability?

Keywords will include: “games”; “quizzes”; “elementary school”; and curriculum areas such as “math,” “social studies,” “history,” “language arts.” I will also search the sites of book publishers, children’s television programming providers, and school districts.

Title: PBS Kids - Games
Web address: http://www.pbskids.org/games.html
Brief description: This website features games and activities associated with PBS Kids programs. Children will recognize characters from the television shows and the activities reflect programming content and themes.

Title: Internet 4 Classsrooms
Web address: http://www.internet4classrooms.com/
Brief description: This website is a portal for educational content. Audiences include teachers, parents, and students. Visitors can navigate according to curriculum content and read site descriptions of websites. There are links to games and activities but other resources are also available.

Title: Scholastic Games & Contests
Web address: http://www.scholastic.com/kids/games.htm
Brief description: This sub-section of this book publisher’s site has games with tie-ins to book series as well as other non-related activities. The “If you were President” activity provided a civics lesson with instruction in critical thinking and decision-making.

Title: Seussville Playground
Web address: http://www.seussville.com
Brief description: This Random House website has information about Dr. Seuss and a playground area with games that are suitable for non-readers. The site design is unconventional as you must enter via bandwidth settings and then navigate a pop-up area, which contains the playground.

Title: Funbrain.com
Web address: http://www.funbrain.com
Brief description: This site has quizzes on various subjects. The graphics are very average although the content is sound. My biggest concern is that these quizzes can be difficult.

Title: Sovereign Bank Presents KidsBank.com
Web address: http://www.kidsbank.com
Brief description: This site has information on banking and money using concepts and language understandable by children. I found it from a link on my children’s school website. Games are available but require registration.