Online Activity 3.1: Game Time!  September 17, 2018 

Education 4769: Fall 2018 / Kyla Sacrey 
 

Game #1: ​Democracy 3 (​ From Positech) 

http://www.positech.co.uk/democracy3/ 

In ​Democracy 3 ​the player is the Prime Minister or President of a democratic 

country. The goal of the game is to run a successful term that allows you to 
be re-elected. The game requires you to make policy decisions in order to 
gain voter support, balance the budget, and solve issues such as terrorism 
Summary  and unemployment. The game “simulates the motivations, loyalties and 
desires of everyone in the country,” and “has a unique user interface that 
makes visualising the connections between laws, policies, voters and 
situations easy.”1 (In other words, this might be a great game for visual 
learners!) 

1. Sample lesson plan from ​Teacher Gaming​. 

Although this isn’t necessarily a thorough lesson plan like we might use, it 
provides some good guiding questions to turn this into a “Big Game.” (For 
example, “​What kinds of choices affect the economy in the game? Which 
factors lead to GDP growth? Which areas of the economy can you, as the 
player, directly influence?”​) 
Resources 
 
2. Common Sense Media, a San Francisco based Non-Profit Organization for 
digital safety and citizenship, also has ​general educational information and 
teacher reviews​ of ​Democracy 3​ and provides a general ​student worksheet​ for 
using games that could be easily adapted to consider types of government 
and organization. 

Although ​Democracy 3 ​could be used for most high school grades, it could be 
specifically used for Social 30, ​Related Issue 3: To what extent are the 
principles of liberalism viable? 
Curriculum 
 
Connections 
As for specific outcomes, if used correctly, this game could meet outcomes 
3.1-3.9 for Social 30-1​. It could also cover political ideologies more broadly, 
which would cover more outcomes. 

There are a couple of ways that I believe this game could be used effectively.  
 
One way would be to have students play through a term of the game (in pairs 
or small groups, to encourage deliberation and debate), and to have them 
Lesson 
record their policy decisions, justify their choices, and explain whether or not 
Ideas 
their choices embrace or reject liberalism (which is the foundational concept 
for Social 30). This would allow students to explore which policies are 
affected by different factors in society and government on their own. 
 

1
​http://www.positech.co.uk/democracy3/index.php
 
 

Online Activity 3.1: Game Time!  September 17, 2018 

Education 4769: Fall 2018 / Kyla Sacrey 
 

Alternatively, a more guided approach would be to give students different 

roles within the government and different ideologies (classical liberal, modern 
liberal, classical conservative, etc.). In this scenario, students would play the 
game as Members of Parliament, and with the teacher as the Prime Minister 
(the person who physically controls the game). Students would have to vote 
on policies (keeping with their assigned ideology) and would record why they 
have chosen to vote the way in which they have. This approach would solve 
the problem that the game suggests that the Prime Minister acts unilaterally, 
which is not the case in democracies. 
 
Interestingly, the game was not designed for educational purposes, but due to 
high demand, the developers have licensing packages for teachers and 
schools who want to use it. Information about that can be found ​here​. 
 
 
 
Game #2: ​Minecraft (​ From Mojang & Mircosoft) 
https://minecraft.net/en-us/  

According to their ​website​, ​Minecraft​ is “a game about placing blocks and 

going on adventures.”2 It is an open game where the player can do virtually 
anything as long as it can be done with blocks. In recent years, it has gained a 
Summary 
lot of traction as a valuable resource and game for educators; so much so 
that their website has an ​education portion​ that includes lesson ideas for 
almost every subject. 

1. Education resources directly from Minecraft: 

https://education.minecraft.net/class-resources/lessons/   
 
Resources 
2. ​An Educator's Guide to Using Minecraft® in the Classroom: Ideas, 
inspiration, and student projects for teachers​, a
​ book by Colin Gallagher (an 
educator based in Signapore) 

Depending on how you intend to use ​Minecraft​, you could cover almost any 
number of curricular outcomes. However, the first one that came to mind for 
me were the following outcomes for ​Grade 4 Mathematics​: 
 
Curriculum  SHAPE & SPACE 
Connections   
GLO​: Use direct and indirect measurement to solve problems. 
 
SLO 3.​ Demonstrate an understanding of area of regular and irregular 2-D 
shapes 

2
​https://minecraft.net/en-us/what-is-minecraft/
 
 

Online Activity 3.1: Game Time!  September 17, 2018 

Education 4769: Fall 2018 / Kyla Sacrey 
 

SHAPE AND SPACE (3-D Objects and 2-D Shapes) 

 
GLO:​ Describe the characteristics of 3-D objects and 2-D shapes, and 
analyze the relationships among them. 
 
SLO 4​. Describe and construct right rectangular and right triangular prisms. 

A fun lesson to meet the aforementioned outcomes would be to have 

students use ​Minecraft​ to find the total number of squares if given the length 
and width of a rectangle. This could be done by having students create a 
house for themselves in ​Minecraft​.  
 
For example, rather than simply multiplying, have students build an 8 x 10 
base for their house. Then, tell students that their walls should be 8 blocks 
high. Have students figure out the surface area of each side of their house. 
This will create links between 2-D and 3-D space (realizing opposite 2-D sides 
Lesson  on a 3-D object will be identical). 
Ideas   
A lesson such as this one could be supplemented with written materials or a 
workbook to record responses. It could also be an on-going project, where 
students learn to calculate different dimensions of the things in their worlds 
(for example, perhaps the volume of a pond in their yard, the area of their 
land, the distance between their home and their friend’s home, etc.). 
 
Inspired by: 
https://teachingmathliteracy.weebly.com/gr-45-minecraft-math-distinguishing
-area-and-perimeter.html  
 
 
Game #3: ​Poly Bridge​ (from Dry Cactus) 
http://polybridge.drycactus.com/  

The goal of ​Poly Bridge​ is to get “cars to their destinations by any means,” 
but mostly by building a bridge! The game requires the player to build bridges 
Summary 
(or jumps) to get vehicles across a gap in the road. It is rated for ages 4+ on 
the iOS app store, and it is also available through Steam. 

Although I found a number of websites that mentioned ​Poly Bridge​ as a great 

educational tool, I wasn’t able to find any resources directly related to using it 
in teaching (aside from this ​2015 blog post​). However, I believe that it could 
Resources 
be used meaningfully in conjunction with these resources (I will explain in 
more detail in the ‘Lesson Ideas’ portion): 
 
 
 

Online Activity 3.1: Game Time!  September 17, 2018 

Education 4769: Fall 2018 / Kyla Sacrey 
 

1. Scholastic’s resource for ​Engineering a Bridge: 

http://www.scholastic.com/browse/lessonplan.jsp?id=1509  
 
2. ​Hands on Science:​ L
​ evel 3 b
​ y Jennifer Lawson, et. al. Pages 111-125 
provide worksheets about different types of bridges and structures. (available 
through the ​U of L Library​). 

Poly Bridge ​could be used to develop science and physics skills at many 
grade levels (including high school), but for this assignment, I was 
immediately drawn to using this as a resource for Grade 3 Science. 
Specifically, the following outcomes: 
 
Grade 3, Topic B​: Building with a Variety of Materials 
 
GLO 3–7 ​Construct structures, using a variety of materials and designs, and 
compare the effectiveness of the various materials and designs for their 
intended purposes. 
Curriculum 
 
Connections 
SLO 1. ​Using a variety of materials and techniques, design, construct and test 
structures that are intended to: 
• support objects 
• span gaps 
• serve as containers 
• serve as models of particular living things, objects or buildings. 
 
SLO 2.​ Select appropriate materials for use in construction tasks, and explain 
the choice of materials. Students should demonstrate familiarity with a variety 
of materials, such as papers, woods, plastics, clay and metals. 

The most obvious use for this game in elementary school, would be for the 
third grade building unit (above). I would use ​Poly Bridge ​as a part of a series 
of lessons for bridge construction. I would use the game to have students test 
different types of bridges and I would have them compare their findings on 
hard-copy worksheets. Once students have had the time to explore and 
create with ​Poly Bridge, ​I would have them select the bridge that they believe 
would be able to hold the most weight, and test their findings using actual 
Lesson 
materials (like those from the scholastic guide, or many grade 3 textbooks). 
Ideas 
 
Overall, I think that ​Poly Bridge w
​ ould be a fun way to test as many bridges as 
students would like to test, before using the actual materials. I believe this 
also allows students to explore science in a number of different ways: 
electronically - through computer simulation - and through actual testing. I 
also believe that this would be much more engaging than having students 
look at or draw photos of bridges prior to actual testing. 
   
 
 

Online Activity 3.1: Game Time!  September 17, 2018 

Education 4769: Fall 2018 / Kyla Sacrey 
 

References 
 
Common Sense Education. User review of “Democracy 3.” 
https://desk.teachergaming.com/lessons/r6QRqSQ9acsnJNcRE/politics-and-the-econo
my​. 
 
Dry Cactus. ​Poly Bridge.​ ​http://polybridge.drycactus.com/​. 
 
Gallagher, Colin. ​An Educator's Guide to Using Minecraft® in the Classroom: Ideas, inspiration, 
and student projects for teachers​. Peachpit Press, 2015. 
 
Government of Alberta. Programs of Study (multiple). 
https://education.alberta.ca/programs-of-study/programs-of-study/​. 
 
Lawson, Jennifer, et. al. ​Hands-On Science and Technology, Grade 3.​ Winnipeg: Portage & 
Main Press, 2008. ​goo.gl/Qeq9H6​. 
 
Mojang & Microsoft. ​Minecraft​. ​https://minecraft.net/en-us/​.  
 
Positech. ​Democracy 3. ​http://www.positech.co.uk/democracy3/​.  
 
Scholastic. “Engineering a Bridge.” 
http://www.scholastic.com/browse/lessonplan.jsp?id=1509​.  
 
Teacher Gaming. “Teach Politics and the Economy with Democracy 3.” 
https://desk.teachergaming.com/lessons/r6QRqSQ9acsnJNcRE/politics-and-the-econo
my​. 
 
Teaching Math Literacy. “Gr. 4/5: Minecraft Math: Distinguishing Area and Perimeter.” 
https://teachingmathliteracy.weebly.com/gr-45-minecraft-math-distinguishing-area-and
-perimeter.html​.