When I was in eighth grade I studied the Constitution. I had to memorize the preamble and was told that anyone who got below a C on the end of unit Constitution Test would be required to retake it until they passed, or not graduate from eighth grade. I suppose I might be misremembering that last bit about not being promoted to high school, but I do know that I was fearful of that test. I just knew I would be retaking the test all spring. Thankfully, I squeaked by with a 70% and only had to take the test once.
Fast forward more than three decades, and I find myself teaching the Constitution to a new generation of young teens. Based on my own experience, I knew I did not want to give my students a high stakes test, but I also knew I wanted them to really understand how our government works. Yes, I know they will get U.S. History again as juniors in high school, but igniting civic engagement now can only help them come to a deeper understanding later, which is an important piece of becoming civically minded adults. (I come by my fierce Patriotism naturally - my grandfather on my mother's side was a career officer in the Army, and my father moved here from Peru at age 18. I have always known that I am blessed to have been born in the United States.)
I have taught U.S. History to fifth graders eleven times, and this is my fourth year teaching it to eighth graders. In past years I have had students write a report. I stand by the need for students to be able to express themselves in writing, but I am no longer a writing teacher and a history teacher. It's no longer a primary part of my job to ensure students can express themselves in writing. One year I let my fifth graders make me whatever they wanted to show what they learned about the Constitution. I vividly remember one student's "Liberty Tree" made out of wrapping paper tubes, construction paper, and lots of labels.
I considered that tactic again this year. My seventh graders make "knowledge products" to showcase their learning about the European Renaissance, so they are familiar with less structure in a final project. But this year I was running up against spring break. I wanted something that would be fun for them, easy for me to assess, and doable by everyone before the break started. And then it hit me:
So today was play-testing day. We had games based on CandyLand, Chutes and Ladders, Sorry, Solitaire, Uno, Memory, Risk, and D&D as well as several original games. There was even one text-based computer game. (Zork, anyone?) Every student was engaged playing games created by their classmates. It was LOUD. There was so much laughter and students complimenting each other in the ruckus. They were genuinely invested in the games, getting upset when they lost, cheering when they won, and asking for rematches.
