Why so Serious... ?

I played a serious game called Budget Hero. I played it twice. The game allows players to “manipulate” the government budget and see how their choices affect the deficit. I would incorporate this game into a unit about elections and political offices. This would be useful in an ESL classroom because it is teaching them about the government of the country in which they live in. This game is a good tool to learn about the vocabulary and issues that are discussed during election time. The aspect I didn’t enjoy about the game is that the numbers seem unreal and out of touch for the students who would be playing this game. Before playing the game the site asks for player information: name, nationality, and email. I didn’t like this either. Students (especially if they happen to be refugees or immigrants) would not feel comfortable with this.

My learning objectives would be for students to learn the vocabulary that is used during election time and also the meaning of the decisions made during election. Another objective would be on decision making or cause and effect. The students would be responsible for playing the game on their own since every student will have their own ideas and opinions. For assessment I would have the students write a reflection paragraph on their experience while they explain their choices while using the vocabulary they learned.