Mission US is a free website from WNET Thirteen with well-designed animated role-playing games to teach middle and high school students about significant moments in American history. There are presently five games which concentrate on the lives of ordinary men and women who struggled for social, political and economic freedom and equality. Students can assume the role of a printer’s apprentice in Boston after the Boston Massacre, a fugitive slave in the 1850’s, a Native American boy coping with white settlers and US expansion, a young Jewish immigrant in New York in the early 1900’s or twins whose family wheat farm is devastated by the Great Depression. Prior to play, users are introduced to the characters where they can either read about the character or listen to the narrator and historical circumstances regarding the characters. Although there is always the option to either read the subtitles or listen to the narrator, students with weaknesses in speed, listening or auditory processing may still get frustrated without adult support. Students choose actions for their character as they go. For example, Lena is on Ellis Island and the user decides if she should hide her baggage under her skirt or just abandon it. The animations are life-like, music is relevant (e.g. Chanting slave songs to introduce “Flight to Freedom” about a 14-year-old slave in Kentucky) and the characters have accurate accents (e.g. Lena is from Russia and speaks with a Russian accent). SMARTWORDS provide and store definitions of probable unfamiliar terms like almshouse, anarchist and apprentice. Adults may want to preview the Educator’s Guide for each mission because the games require different levels of reading comprehension, vocabulary, reasoning, reading speed, mental juggling and attention. Students can take a 10 question multiple-choice quiz on the historical significance of each mission where correct answer choices and explanations are provided. Missions can be as long as 30 minutes, so it is important to consider students' preferences based on their interest in the topic and specific learning needs. Most games are long but they are interesting and packed with experiential learning for students. This role-playing game is a great choice for students to study historical events because it helps users feel empathy for the characters and therefore makes history relevant.

• 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)

• Appropriate for a broad age range to use and enjoy
• Subject matter and problems are relevant, interesting and authentic to students
• Visually appealing to children in the target age range
• Provides virtual rewards or incentives after meeting specified goals or objectives
• Provides a "break activity" between academic problem sets
• Offers ongoing, progressive challenge
• Overall - Enjoyable. Given the option, students would choose this option

• Has a free or trial version
• Provides teaching guidance for adults to support the child and set appropriate goals
• Provides an age-appropriate tutorial/first time users can work independently
• Student should be able to use independently after first use
• Has a multi-player option to foster in-person collaboration or cooperation
• Multiple users can save a profile
• Student graduates to the next level or topic only after meeting a benchmark
• Can play without sound and not distract others
• Students can save work between sessions
• Can effectively understand and monitor student's progress (email report or in product)
• Requires registration before using the first time
• 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

• Abstract Reasoning
• Directions may be confusing for students using independently
• Turn or quiz abruptly ends when timer runs out
• Students might need support with navigation
• Attention
• Directions may be confusing for students using independently
• Auditory Processing
• Turn or quiz abruptly ends when timer runs out
• Organization
• Directions may be confusing for students using independently
• Students might need support with navigation
• Reading Basics
• Directions may be confusing for students using independently
• Reading Comprehension
• Directions may be confusing for students using independently
• Verbal Reasoning
• Directions may be confusing for students using independently
• Turn or quiz abruptly ends when timer runs out
• Visual Memory
• Students might need support with navigation
• Working Memory
• Directions may be confusing for students using independently
• Turn or quiz abruptly ends when timer runs out
• Students might need support with navigation