Posts Tagged ‘critical thinking skills’

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Media Awareness Games for Kids

May 27th, 2010

Recommended Website:
Media Awareness

Age Range: 9-14 (Grades 4-8, approximately)

ClickScholar Cie recommended this website that offers free, interactive, multidisciplinary, educational games that help kids use critical thinking skills to navigate their way through the volume of media, consumer, and pop culture influences they are exposed to everyday.

When you get to the site you’ll see a menu of games that include:

  • Co-Co’s AdverSmarts: An Interactive Unit on Food Marketing on the Web — Kids design a website for a popular cereal and learn about marketing techniques that foster brand loyalty and consumerism.
  • Privacy Playground: The 1st Adventure of the Three CyberPigs — Kids (ages 8-10) learn to detect marketing ploys, spam, and how to protect their personal information and avoid online predators. A Teacher’s Guide provides activities and handouts for classroom use that can be tweaked for homeschooling.
  • CyberSense and Nonsense: The 2nd Adventure of The Three CyberPigs (ages 9-12) — Learn the rules of netiquette, how to distinguish between fact and opinion, and how to recognize bias and harmful stereotyping in online content. A Teacher’s Guide gives info on “cyberbullying” with activities and handouts.
  • Jo Cool or Jo Fool — Take a CyberTour of 12 mock Web sites to test kids’ online savvy and surfing skills. Includes a quiz that provides food for thought about various Web issues they may encounter. Teacher’s Guide provides further activities and resources.
  • The Target is You!: Alcohol Advertising Quiz — A quiz for kids ages 11-14 to help increase students’ understanding of alcohol marketing on TV commercials, branded clothing, ads in magazines, websites, and sponsorships at sporting and music events. The quiz helps students understand how these marketing messages can influence their attitude toward drinking. Includes a companion activity to reinforce learning.
  • Allies and Aliens: A Mission in Critical Thinking — Increases students’ ability to recognize bias, prejudice and hate propaganda on the Internet and in other media. A Teacher’s Guide provides supporting discussion points and student activities.

All of the games are interactive, colorful, animated, and narrated presentations designed to engage kids in learning how to deal with the issues and challenges they encounter in all forms of media — especially when using technology tools like computers, video games, and smart phones, etc.

As always, parents should preview the games to determine suitability of content. These games, when used with parental guidance, can open the door to important discussions about Internet savvy and safety.

Enjoy!

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Posted in social sciences

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Play “Admongo!”

April 29th, 2010

Hi!  It’s Thursday, April 29, 2010 and time for Social Sciences at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Admongo

Age Range: 8-12 (non-readers will need assistance)

ClickScholar Cie recommended this website that is part of a literacy campaign by the Federal Trade Commission (the nation’s consumer protection agency) to educate “tweens” about advertising including unfair and deceptive marketing practices.

The website defines a “tween” as a child between 8-12 years old. It also points out that kids this age have money to spend and they play an important part of family buying decisions, which is why they need to become discerning consumers.

The site offers a free arcade-type game with lesson plans (developed with Scholastic) to help kids understand advertising and become smart consumers through exercising critical thinking skills. The game is called “Admongo.”

When you get to the site, I recommend that you read the “Parents” and “Teachers” sections on the menu to better understand how to fully utilize the activities and lessons offered. 

Then, play the game to improve your “ad-ucation.” There are a series of levels to explore that touch upon concepts such as truth-in-advertising and marketing to children, etc. In each level you collect points as you analyze ads and move through the course. By selecting a password at the beginning of the game, you can save your game and return to the section where you left off at any time.

Kids who are used to playing video games will understand how this works immediately. Novices will have to experiment with the keypad to discover how to move their character and “jump” to collect points.
 
The most benefit will come from playing this game with your children, so you can talk about the concepts of ad literacy as they are unfolded throughout the game. The free lessons and worksheets that you can access through the “Parents” or “Teacher’s” sections on the menu will enhance learning.

As the website explains, “By applying the information they learn through this campaign, your kids will be able to recognize ads, understand them, and make smarter decisions as they navigate the commercial world.”

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Posted in social sciences

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Free Language Arts Games Every Day

May 6th, 2009

Recommended Website:
A Game A Day

Age Range: 9-99

I stumbled upon this website by accident and wound up spending way too much time online. :) The site provides free, interactive monthly puzzles and word games that exercise and reinforce language arts skills such as reading, spelling, and vocabulary while improving concentration and attention span, memory skills, hand-eye coordination, and problem solving and critical thinking skills.

When you get to the site pick a level (I or II) to play. A new page opens with the May 2009 calendar of games — one for every day of the month. Click on a game and a new window opens with the game and instructions on how to play. You’ll find a wide variety of games including:

  • Word Searches
  • Brainteasers
  • Trivia Games
  • Anagrams
  • Cryptograms
  • Crossword Puzzles
  • And more!

Use the menu at the top of the page to move back and forth between levels I and II, and to access the archived games from the previous month. You’ll need to bookmark this site to return monthly to play the new games.

Enjoy!

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Are You The Parent of a Preschooler? You’ll Love Universal Preschool’s Learning Calendar! It’s chock-full of fun, easy activities & time-saving resources for learning with little ones all year long! Get your copy today…

DID YOU MISPLACE A ClickSchooling Review? Do you need to find an educational website — fast! Visit the ClickSchooling archives.

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Posted in language arts

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Free Online Video Art Lessons for Kids

December 6th, 2008

Recommended Website:
Mark Kistler’s Online Video Art Academy

Age Range: 4-13+ (Grades PreK-8, approximately)

ClickScholar MaryAnna recommended this website featuring free video art lessons with Mark Kistler who has taught millions of children worldwide how to draw in 3-D over the past 30 years through his hit children’s public television series “The Secret City,” “The Draw Squad,” and “Imagination Station.” He has also written and illustrated many popular children’s drawing books. Kistler’s philosophy is explained at his website:

“Mark deeply believes that learning how to draw in 3-D builds a child’s critical thinking skills while nourishing self-esteem. His positive messages on self-image, goal setting, dream questing, environmental awareness and the power of reading have inspired millions of children to discover their awesome individual potential.”

Kistler sells art lessons in a variety of media and packages on his website. He also offers 4 free, sample video lessons that your children are sure to enjoy.

When you get to the website, click on the words “Hey Look!” to gain access to the free videos. (Note: The free videos change randomly from time to time. Bookmark the site and return again to see if the rotation has changed to access the other free videos.)

Kistler maintains another website as well — the Mark Kistler School of Imagination

Here, you can access some free sample drawing lessons and games. The site is a little confusing to navigate. Click on “Lessons” on the menu bar and read the text for an explanation of how it works. Or, just start clicking around and investigating on your own. Eventually, you’re sure to see all of the fun freebies.

Again, these are commercial websites that offer some free sample 3-D art lessons in both text and video format. You don’t have to purchase anything to enjoy the handful of free lessons available.

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Are You The Parent of a Preschooler? You’ll Love Universal Preschool’s Learning Calendar! It’s chock-full of fun, easy activities & time-saving resources for learning with little ones all year long! Get your copy today…

DID YOU MISPLACE A ClickSchooling Review? Do you need to find an educational website — fast! Visit the ClickSchooling archives.

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Posted in art

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