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S T U D E N T G U I D E

How Video Games Can Teach Us to Play Well with Others

Can videogames be used to develop more inclusive learning and work spaces?

View this lesson at ThinkCERCA

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Table of Contents

Vocabulary Building

  • Map a Word

Direct Instruction Guide

  • Cornell Notes: Evaluating Evidence

STEP 1: Connect

  • Finding Your Purpose for Learning
  • Think-Pair-Share

STEP 2: Read

  • Pause and Reflect
  • Test Prep Strategy: Verify Your Answer (Optional)

STEP 3: Engage with the Text

  • Highlight and Annotate

STEP 4: Summarize

  • Write a Summary

STEP 5: Build an Argument

  • Collaborate: Share your argument builder

STEP 6: Create your CERCA

  • Peer Editing Activity
  • Writing Reflection

Throughout the guide, look for the laptop icon to find steps to complete online!

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Optional Extensions

  • Inquiry to Research: The Games We Play
  • Inquiry to Research: Asking Questions of the Texts
  • Roundtable Discussion

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SYNONYM (SIMILAR OR LIKE WORD)

ANTONYM (OPPOSITE WORD)

PICTURE OF�VOCABULARY WORD

SENTENCE USING VOCABULARY WORD

VOCABULARY WORD

PART OF SPEECH

V O C A B U L A R Y B U I L D I N G

Map a Word

Choose a word from the vocabulary list that is linked in the lesson. Write the word in the box below. Then fill in the other boxes on this page.

Completing this process will help the word "stick" in your memory!

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D I R E C T I N S T R U C T I O N G U I D E

Cornell Notes: Evaluating Evidence

Why is evidence important to supporting an opinion piece?

Evidence is important for supporting an opinion piece because...

How do authors use evidence?

Authors use evidence to...

What makes a good source?

A good source is…

Take notes on the lesson using the organizer below:

Watch the Direct Instruction lesson at learn.thinkcerca.com

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D I R E C T I N S T R U C T I O N G U I D E

Cornell Notes: Evaluating Evidence (continued)

Summarize and Reflect

In your own words and in complete sentences, write a 3–4 sentence summary of this skills lesson. An accurate summary will cover the lesson's central ideas and include important details to support those ideas.

Record your summary here:

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S T E P 1 : C O N N E C T

Finding Your Purpose for Learning

When you've finished reading the overview, answer the following questions in the space below:

What more would you like to learn about implicit bias and its impact? What would you like to know about the concept of projective identity? What do you want to find out about how a person’s identity affects their daily interactions and opportunities?

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Read the Topic Overview provided at learn.thinkcerca.com

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S T E P 1 : C O N N E C T

Think-Pair-Share

  1. Think: On your own, think about your experiences related to the topic.

  • Pair & Share: With a partner, group, or a trusted listener, share the parts of your response that you feel comfortable sharing.
  • Reflect: If time permits, reflect on your experience. What ideas did others share that you hadn't considered? How were your ideas alike?

Complete the writing activity in Step 1: Connect at learn.thinkcerca.com

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S T E P 2 : R E A D

Pause and Reflect

When you’ve finished reading, go back and find the questions in the text marked “Pause and Reflect.” These questions will help you connect the text to yourself, to other texts, or to the world around you.

Use the space on the left below to answer the reflection questions. Then, discuss your answers, noting how they were similar or different.

Record “Pause and Reflect” answers here:

Record discussion reflections here:

Read the text for this lesson at learn.thinkcerca.com

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S T E P 2 : R E A D

Test Prep Strategy: Verify Your Answer

Multiple choice questions can be tricky! Take your time. Carefully read each question and each response. After you settle on an answer, verify your response by replacing it in the actual question.

Practice this technique with the questions from your reading.

QUESTION ON THINKCERCA

CUE WORDS TO BE REPLACED

VERIFICATION OF YOUR RESPONSE

EXAMPLE: The author lists which of the following as a benefit of video games:

“Which of the following”

The author lists social connection as a benefit of video games.

Refer to the reading and multiple choice questions for this lesson at learn.thinkcerca.com.

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S T E P 3 : E N G A G E W I T H T H E T E X T

Highlight and Annotate

In this step, you will analyze the text closely, then discuss your findings to begin developing reasoning for your argument.

  1. Read the text again, highlighting and annotating important details. Follow the prompts provided.

The highlighting prompts will help you with the final writing task. You will find evidence to support your own argument or informational piece, as well as models of excellence that will help you better understand a writer’s craft in narratives. The evidence you highlight will be available when you begin building your draft in the next step.

  1. If time permits, pair and share your highlights and annotations with a classmate. Pay close attention to this conversation! Your thinking is important reasoning you may include in your final draft.

Return to learn.thinkcerca.com to complete Step 3: Engage with the Text.

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S T E P 4 : S U M M A R I Z E

Write a Summary

Summaries help you process your thinking about a text and are often a great way to start off an argumentative or informational essay. A good summary shows you have knowledge about a topic.

Practicing summarizing also helps you prepare for the main idea questions posed on many standardized assessments. In addition, summarizing is a helpful skill for working with others, such as when you need to confirm your understanding of what someone else has said. That's a useful skill for all parts of life.

  1. ��Use the sentence stems provided to summarize the text.

Your summary should:

  • Be brief
  • Include the main idea and key details
  • Represent these ideas fairly and accurately �
  • If time permits, pair and share with a classmate. Read each other’s summary, and discuss how they are similar or different. What did you say were the main idea and key details? Were your summaries fair and accurate? Why?

Return to learn.thinkcerca.com to complete Step 4: Summarize.

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S T E P 5 : B U I L D A N A R G U M E N T

Collaborate: Share your Argument Builder

When you’ve completed the argument building step, share your results with others, and listen to how they responded to the same question. Ask questions and give feedback to help strengthen your partners’ reasons and evidence.

Share

Listen

Can videogames be used to develop more inclusive learning and work spaces?

Can videogames be used to develop more inclusive learning and work spaces?

1.

2.

3.

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S T E P 6 : C R E A T E Y O U R C E R C A

Peer Editing Activity

  1. Do a self-assessment of your CERCA. Use the online Rubric for the lesson on learn.thinkcerca.com, checking each box where you find evidence that you have achieved the criteria.�
  2. Next, collaborate with a peer or peers to read each other’s drafts. Again, use the Rubric to evaluate each other’s work.�
  3. Share insights into what might make your pieces stronger. Find two positive attributes and one area of growth for each draft you review.�
  4. Revise your piece using what you learned from your self-assessment and the feedback from your peers.

Complete Step 6 to create your CERCA at learn.thinkcerca.com

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S T E P 6 : C R E A T E Y O U R C E R C A

Writing Reflection

Before you submit your final CERCA, write a brief reflection describing your experience.

An area for growth for me on this piece or in my writing in general is…

The strongest areas of this piece of writing are…

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Through self-assessment and/or peer editing, I learned…

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Optional Extensions

The following activities can be used as optional extensions to this lesson.

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O P T I O N A L E X T E N S I O N : I N Q U I R Y T O R E S E A R C H

The Games We Play

�Background

According to a 2020 study from the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital at the University of Michigan, adolescent boys spend about 3 hours a day playing video games.

With this self-reflection activity, be a critical media consumer. Choose a game that you or a friend play regularly. Then, take to a console, and look at it through the lens of these questions:

  • Who made the game?
  • What is the purpose of the game?
  • What techniques do the game designers use to capture and hold attention?
  • What lifestyles, values, and points of view are shown?
  • How might different audiences interpret the message or purpose of the game?
  • Who or what is omitted from the storyline?
  • What skills do people need to play this game? What skills can this game help build?

Share

In small groups or a class roundtable discussion, share your findings. What did you learn? Did your experience reshape the way you see this game? Why or why not?

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O P T I O N A L E X T E N S I O N : I N Q U I R Y T O R E S E A R C H

Asking Questions of the Texts

As you engage with texts in any subject, you can actively ask questions about the author’s purpose, intended audience, and occasion to understand the message. The table below provides examples.

Approaches

Example

Questions about the author

Is the author an authority on this topic? What was the author’s motivation in writing this piece?

Questions about the audience, purpose, and occasion of the text

Why was this article written? Why was it published at this time?

Questions about civics, economics, geography and history

What are the root causes of racial bias?

Questions about concepts and ideas

How can societies most effectively fight bias and discrimination?

Questions about self and community reflections

What implicit biases do I hold?

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O P T I O N A L E X T E N S I O N : I N Q U I R Y T O R E S E A R C H

Asking Questions of the Texts (continued)

Use the table below to record questions about the text you read.

Approaches

Questions

Questions about the author

Questions about the audience, purpose, and occasion of the text

Questions about civics, economics, geography, and history

Questions about concepts and ideas

Self and Community Reflections

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O P T I O N A L E X T E N S I O N : R O U N D T A B L E D I S C U S S I O N

Sharing Additional Research Findings, Learnings, and Experiences

Roundtable discussions offer you the opportunity to share what you’ve learned, as well as to ask questions and learn from others. Come to the discussion prepared to share your key findings. Use the organizer on the next page.

How the discussion works:

  1. Choose a group leader who will help lead the roundtable discussion, and select a member of the group to go first.
  2. Go around the group, allowing each participant to share a quick review of their their key findings.
  3. When not presenting, take notes, summarizing key findings of your peers. Snap silently to show gratitude, appreciation, or interest!
  4. After each presenter, take a moment for participants to ask questions or summarize what they just heard. Each participant should ask at least one question or summarize what someone else presented at least once during the discussion.
  5. When complete, the presenter “passes the mic” to the next presenter.

Remember, it’s important to value dialogue and appreciate different perspectives. Learning from and understanding people who think differently or have different experiences is part of the process of growth! You don’t have to agree to learn from another perspective!

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