Fun social studies games for middle school

Explore Jamestown. The game is essentially mine sweeper with a twist. Students need to uncover the different artifacts and avoid the hazards.

Once an artifact is recovered, the student can click on it and read about how it relates to the history of Jamestown. In Strike it Rich, players take on the persona of a different person who took part in the gold rush.

Players must balance different attributes, such as health and wealth, while they try to strike it rich. Pyramid Challenge. Mummy Maker. Players simply act as the person responsible for mummification.

They are offered different options on how to prepare the body for mummification. Make too many mistakes the body is ruined and you fail. The game offers a lot of information on the mummification process and the religious beliefs associated with it. Alternatively, at the end of the unit assign or reassign all the letters and have students select a word based on what they have learned.

If you recorded words at the start of the unit this is a great way to show them their growth. Display a pool of words on your wall. These could be either unit-specific content vocabulary or from a list of should-know academic words.

Whenever a student needs a pencil or wants a bathroom pass or any other type of request, challenge them to use one of the words properly. If you choose academic words, challenge students to find ways to incorporate the words into their discussions and writings. Would you say he sounds pugnacious? This could be a formal review game in small groups, or an on-the-fly bell ringer or exit activity with a couple selected student in front of the class.

Designate each number of a die to a different task related to the concept you are covering. Then, challenge students to roll the dice. Have the other students guess the term. This is a super easy and interactive way to get them talking about concepts from all sorts of angles.

This one is especially important in the high school setting as listening, talking, reading, and writing dominate the curriculum. If we want students to understand new and often-abstract ideas and concepts, then we need to be cognizant of including spatial, visual, and tactile strategies.

In a study where participants were asked to memorize a series of words dog, bike, lemon , those who were encouraged to visualize the words a dog riding a bike while eating a lemon could recall the words at a significantly higher rate. Not only are learning deeper and retrieval easier, but the time to learn a new concept is shortened when visuals are included.

Talk about a win-win! Stash a pack of pipe cleaners or tiny tubs of playdough in your cupboards. Challenge students in pairs or small groups to create something three-dimensional that represents what they have learned. For example, have students shape the one prized possession an Ellis Island immigrant may have packed in their suitcase. Or, an object that represents a right from the Bill of Rights.

Use Photo Shop, draw or paint your own illustrations, or use a collage method. Cards could be printed on a color laser printer. Use the cards for games or inspiration. Choose three to five countries and a time period. Create a timeline which references all major events in all the countries. Create the timeline in word, excel or other program that uses links so that each point in the time line links to a website explaining it.

Learning to cross reference countries at a given time period helps to prove the connection between civilizations at the same period of time.

Encourage your students to author an e-book about history or other social studies subject matter. It could be anything about anything from ancient cultures to macroeconomics. Once written the book could become a tremendous success.

Make sure all copyright laws are followed including those on illustrations. Have your student create an online website, forum or blog about a social studies topic. Collage America. Description: This innovative USA Activity allows students to construct the United States by dragging and dropping the states to the map.

States are illustrated with themes relative to each state. Students can choose from three different themes for each state, thereby making each "collage" different. Collage World - Online. Description: This awesome resource allows students to make online collages featuring a continent of choice and its nations.

Great world geography practice and collages print beautifully! Information Games - the Constitution. Description: Ms. Information is traveling the country trying to re-write history with her false information!

Can you stop her? She has traveled to the National Archives in Washington D. Use your knowledge of this great document to foil her plan once and for all!

Grade Levels: 3, 4, 5, 6. Information Games - Lewis and Clark. She has traveled to the Missouri River to change the story of the events in the Lewis and Clark expeditionr. Use your knowledge of these causes to foil her plan once and for all! Information Games - Causes of the Revolutionary War. She has traveled to Philadelphia change the story of the events leading to the Revolutionary War.

Information Games - George Washington. She has traveled to the Washington Monument in Washington, D. Information Games - Jamestown. She has traveled to the Jamestown Village in Virginia to change the story of the colony's early history. Use your knowledge o Jamestown to foil her plan once and for all! Description: This is a "jeopardy" like game on the American Revolution..

It's super fun for classrooms, individuals, or small teams, totally customizable. Uncheck "teams take turns" to make it more exciting for kids.

Not Boring Jeopardy - 13 Colonies Editiion. Description: This is a "jeopardy" like game on the 13 colonies. Not Boring Jeopardy - Presidents Edition. Description: This is a "jeopardy" like game on United States Presidents. Description: This is a "jeopardy" like game on U. Halls of History - Online U. History Game. Description: Welcome to Halls of History! This game will test your visual knowledge of American history. There are seven sections to the game, five of which cover historical eras until the Civil War, and two of which cover famous people in American history.

Click on each image in history to enlarge and inspect and then answer the question associated with it. When you are done with the game, you'll get a percentage score for each section. Ameriquake - Game. Description: In this game, an "Ameriquake" occurs resulting in the state name becoming jumbled.

Students must drag and drop the correct names back to their states.