iCivics Activity Cheat Sheet

iCivics Activity Cheat Sheet Activity Time to Complete Grade Levels Activate 30+ 6-12 Students choose a cause and then support it in stages that begins at the individual level, moves up to local and even national stages. A lot of mini activities involved in this one, you can save when it pops up. Argument Wars @15 6-10 Choose a side to defend in a court case, develop an idea and play cards that support your argument to convince the judge to rule in your favor. This game is not as interactive or straightforward as some. Would not recommend starting here. Bill of Rights Edition 30+ Same as “Do I have a Right?” but focuses only on the Bill of Rights instead of all amendments. Branches of Power 30+ Start out by choosing 2 issues and core values of your government. You get to act as all 3 branches of government but you only play as one at a time, and the other 2 continue doing things while you are acting as the third. There are 10 issues, each represented by a growing tower. The goal is to grow your issues into full fledged laws before time runs out. Cast Your Vote <15 6-12 Students are presented with 5 issues and they “ask” two candidates a question. They choose which response they agree with, and rate how important the issue is to them. At the end they vote for a candidate and the program reviews how their views aligned with the candidate they voted for to see if it was a smart choice. Counties Work 15-30 6-12 Name your county and choose a seal. Adjust your taxes, set a budget, respond to requests and keep citizens happy to get re-elected. Citizens will also have questions about government and you need to take them to the correct department (Health and Social Services, Public Works, etc.) to resolve their issues Occasionally a crisis will pop up and you will have to resolve that as well. Objective/Summary Court Quest Citizens need help navigating the federal court system. - wasnt loading properly, try again. Do I Have a Right? This game runs for 7 rounds. The player owns a law office, and as clients come in must direct them to a lawyer who specializes in the Constitutional Amendment that should be used to defend the client. At the end of each round you have the chance to add more lawyers to your firm and improve your offices to help keep clients happy. Executive Command Immigration Nation 15 min 4-7 There are 5 harbors at Ellis Island. Boats appear and the people on them plead their case for being allowed to enter the US. If it is a legitimate request, the student has to choose the correct port to dock the boat. If the request is invalid, the student denies entrance to the US. This game involves 6 rounds. Lawcraft 15 min 6-12 Choose a political party, a state to represent and a cause. Write a bill and add amendments to gain support and get it passed in both houses of Congress and by the President. People’s Pie 15-30 min 8-12 This game is played in three rounds. At the start of each round the user must set tax levels and retirement age to build your budget. In part two students are presented with requests for money from the different departments (State, Education, Transportation, etc.) and have to decide what to fund and what to deny without going into debt or having voter approval fall too low. Power Play 15-30 6-10 Somewhat like tug of war, the player chooses “state” or “federal” and must argue for their side to be the controlling power for decisions in various facets of government (highways, immigration, education, etc.). They choose their players off the bench who have arguments that support their state or federal stance and try to pull big monuments representing the different facets toward their end zone before the other team pulls the same monuments to their own end zone. Represent Me 15 6-12 You are a legislator who has 12 bills to stamp. Read the bill and decide which group of voters would benefit from the bill (ie. old/young, urban/rural). You then see your constituents and which groups they fall into. Choose 3 of the 12 bills to pass and appease as many citizens as you can to get their vote and get re-elected. Responsibility Launcher <15 6-12 You are given anvils and a catapult launcher. Each anvil represents a civic responsibility (staying informed, voting, etc.). Citizens come to you with issues, choose the correct anvil and launch it at the citizen. If you chose the correct responsibility anvil, it will “knock” some sense into the citizen. What student doesn’t like launching objects at mini people? Supreme Decision We the Jury Win the White House 30-45 8-12 Has a tutorial, can pause and return, can choose court case. The initial instructions are a bit confusing, but once you get started it makes sense. You are given evidence in a case and you must decide one way or the other. Then you have to use the evidence to sway the rest of the jurors to get a unanimous vote.