Chapter 4 – Supporting Writing with Technology

#7 – Create a QUIA game to teach concepts associated with NJCCS in the area of Language Arts.

I created a QUIA battleship game that teaches concepts associated with NJ Core Curriculum Content Standard 3.2, the Writing Standard for 5^th grade Language Arts, Strand C. Mechanics, Spelling and Handwriting.  Specifically, my battleship game addresses the sixth cumulative progress indicator which states:  [students will be able to] use knowledge of roots, prefixes, suffixes, and English spelling patterns to spell words correctly in writing.  Please visit and play my game at:  http://www.quia.com/ba/202677.html.

The battleship game presents fifth grade students with prefixes and suffixes that are grade appropriate yet challenging and asks them to choose the correct definition, meaning and intention of each.  Playing the battleship game is a fun, active and manipulative way for students to meaningfully learn and test their knowledge.  While playing the game, if students choose the wrong meaning to a prefix or suffix, they are given an orange wrong answer dot on their battleship grid.  After answering a few more correct answers, they can go back and choose the correct answer.  This scheme allows students meaningful learning through constructive reflection.  It enables students to step back, rethink their initial incorrect answer, and think more deeply about the correct answer.  As it is not required to immediately come back with the correct answer, but to go on to all the other questions and use that learning to re-think the initial mistake, I believe this provides even more meaningful learning through skills and knowledge gained and intense reflection to get the correct answer and win. 

All human beings are competitive, and fifth graders, being at the top of the grade school totem pole are even more so.  They love to fool around and play games.  Most will willingly and happily play the game with the intent to win.  Even the most jaded fifth grader, when presented with an online game like my prefix/suffix battleship game, who may initially balk that it is “corny and dorky” will go on to play the game with the extreme intent to win.  It’s just how we are.  When learners use computers to do skillful planning to “sink the opponents battleship” as quickly as possible by quizzing their prefix and suffix knowledge, they are intentionally and meaningfully learning.

By adding many prefixes and suffixes fifth graders have seen in books and literature before as well as many that have be used in their vernacular and writings, such as tele, pre, anti, pro, and fore, I have provided fifth graders with meaningful learning through authentic, useful context that they have and will continue to use throughout their English speaking and writing life. 

Finally, my battleship quia game can be seen as providing meaningful learning through cooperation in many ways.  Most classes have 1 to 4 computers; I can see students playing by taking turns at the computer and trying to be the first to win, in addition to talking out what prefix or suffix means what with each other.  Some teachers also allow students to go two or three at a time to collaboratively learn, enable all students to have the opportunity to use the computer and to save time for further teaching.  In each instance, students would be able to gain meaningful understanding of prefixes and suffixes using my game through cooperative, conversational learning.

For all these reasons, I believe my quia battleship game not only meets the NJ Core Content Curricula Standard 3.2, but also exceeds them by providing fifth graders with a truly meaningful Language Arts learning experience.