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Constitution Go Fish Game

Mindprint Rating

Tags

Social Studies ^21st Century Skills All Ages Game

Skills

Working Memory

Mindprint Expert Review

Pros

  • The cards are sturdy and visually appealing making and the game approach may motivate students to review topics related to the Constitution.
  • Develops cognitive skills while playing and learning information.
  • Students who have studied the material can be successful even if they have weaker cognitive skills needed for game play.

Considerations

  • Students with weaker listening skills might need to have clues repeated or could feel uncomfortable.
  • Students with weaker working memory could have difficulty trying to remember the clues and recall the answer, even if they might know it, especially when they feel everyone is watching them.

Mindprint Expert Review

This is a great, educational card game for two or more players that will help students improve their knowledge of the U.S. Constitution while also exercising cognitive skills. The cards are divided into 12 topics (Judicial Branch, Separation of Powers, Supreme Court cases, Executive Branch, etc.) and further divided into 4 sub-topic cards (Executive Branch: White House, Commander-in-Chief, Electoral College and Grant Pardons). Each card has a representative picture and four hints on the topic. For example, hints for Electoral College include "Choose President" and "Not a school". The object of the game is to collect the most cards by being the first to guess the card sub-topic from the hints. One player reads the first hint to the first guesser and continues reading additional hints to other players until the sub-topic is guessed. The correct guesser earns the card, and if no one guesses, the reader can keep the card and share the picture and information on the card. Player two continues in the same manner and play continues until all 48 cards are read. The cards also can be used for the traditional game of “Go Fish” where players try to get four-of-a-kind of one topic. This format could help increase awareness of the Constitution among younger students who are not ready to learn the specifics of the Constitution. Playing these games exercises working memory as students juggle clues with their knowledge. And it can be very effective of helping students understand and remember Constitutional topics through multiple senses as they see the bright, simple pictures, read or listen carefully to the related clues, and need to actively recall topics from memory.

Academic Benefits

Improves academic skills

  • Provides sufficient and varied types of practice problems to maximize understanding and generalization of the targeted skill/concept
  • Manufacturer claims alignment with Common Core/Known Standards
  • Presents educational concepts accurately
  • Explains answers so students can learn from mistakes
  • Better for teaching the skill to new or struggling learners
  • Better for practicing or refreshing the skill
  • Skills are practiced through authentic, meaningful problems (not just rote practice)

Fun

Engaging for the Mindprint recommended age range

  • Appropriate for a broad age range to use and enjoy
  • Visually appealing to children in the target age range
  • Adults would enjoy playing with a child
  • For electronic games, gives positive or encouraging feedback
  • Offers ongoing, progressive challenge
  • Overall - Enjoyable. Given the option, students would choose this option

Easy to Use

Understandable for children in the Mindprint recommended age range

  • Provides teaching guidance for adults to support the child and set appropriate goals
  • Student should be able to use independently after first use
  • Student graduates to the next level or topic only after meeting a benchmark
  • Can effectively understand and monitor student's progress (email report or in product)
  • Does not require excessive set-up time after first time use
  • Can be fun as a single player game
  • Multi-player game which fosters collaboration or cooperation
  • Well-made for the cost
  • For electronic games, can play without sound
  • For electronic games, allows user to save work
  • For electronic games, voice/sounds are appealing and pronounces words properly
  • Provides options to play in languages other than English/Good for ELL
  • Presents information in multiple formats (voice over, pictures and text, etc.)
  • Overall - Easy to use

Cognitive Concerns

May not be advisable for students with the following cognitive needs

  • Auditory Processing
    • Requires recall of spoken information without text or visual cues
  • Self-regulation
    • Multi-player activity that requires cooperation or has potential for disagreements
    • Multi-player activity with a clear 'winner' and 'loser'
  • Verbal Memory
    • Requires recall of spoken information without text or visual cues
    • Assumes specific knowledge or vocabulary without "look-up" options

Manufacturer Description

Geopuzzles Are Jigsaw Puzzles That Make Learning World Geography Fun! The Pieces Of A Geopuzzle Are Shaped Like Individual Countries, So Children Learn As They Put The Puzzle Together! Geopuzzles Help To Build Fine Motor, Cognitive, Language, And Problem-Solving Skills, And Are A Great Introduction To World Geography For Children 4 And Up. Designed By An Art Professor, Jumbo Sized And Brightly Colored Geopuzzles Will Soon Be Available For All 5 Major Continents. Geopuzzles Are Durable And Come With A 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. They Are Made From Recycled Material, Because We Wouldn't Want To Tear Up The Earth To Teach Kids About It:-) Geopuzzle Europe Has 58 Pcs And Is 19"X16".