Last week Anthony was contacted by a teacher for suggestions on creating games linked to the Year 6 Human Society and Its Environment units, Government and Democracy. We had a quick brainstorm and below are three ideas for creating games on this topic.
1. Who's the Boss! (Three Levels of Government)
The player has just been elected the sheriff of the island. You will have to perform the roles of three levels of government, local – state – federal. The player can look around the island, seeing the parliament and the courthouse and etc. When the player is ready to get to work they can walk up to a billboard just outside parliament. On the billboard there are three pictures (one representing each level of government). There is a picture of a dog (local government responsibility, catching stray dogs), a pot hole (state government, looking after the roads) and a bank robber (federal government, catching federal criminal and taking them to the courthouse for trial). Clicking on a picture will take you to a level where you have to play out that responsibility. For example, clicking on the picture of the dog will take you to another scene (another part of the island) where there are a number of stray dogs running around. The player will then have to catch all stray dogs. When you have succeeded, you have to click on the dog pound, etc, which will take you back to the main island to attempt the responsibilities of the other two levels of government
2. Aliens in Canberra! (Democracy)
A space ship lands in Canberra (or Sydney etc). The player is an alien, stepping into Australia for the very first time. You have to introduce this alien to democracy, citizenship, voting, etc so they can take this knowledge back to their home planet. Your alien will explore around Canberra, listening to questions and finding hints. These hints are then used when you try to enter your space ship. The ship’s computer won’t let you take off until you have answered three questions about democracy etc correctly. You can take your alien sightseeing to Parliament House and other significant landmarks.
3. Anarchy! (Government)
You are a police officer, and suddenly the world has turned mad! Dogs are running stray, sewerage is polluting lakes, the roads are pot holed and traffic lights aren’t working, crimes are being committed, etc. You have to go around town, finding these problems. You must then determine whose responsibility it is to fix up each mess – local, state or federal government. (It would be good if the game designer placed an even mix of local, state and federal responsibilities). This could also be split into three levels, etc.
If you have any game ideas that are linked to curriculum, we would love to hear from you!
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