A Digital Game Offers a Lesson on Compromise, the 18th Century Way
A Digital Game Offers a Lesson on Compromise, the 18th Century Way
A Digital Game Offers a Lesson on Compromise, the 18th Century Way
By Caitlyn Meisner
August 30, 2023
Summary
The nonpartisan, nonprofit iCivics has created a digital educational game to teach students and families about the compromises that went into the crafting of the Constitution in 1787.
The game, Constitutional Compromise, focuses on specific compromises made by each state delegate-except Rhode Island, which did not send anyone to the Convention-when crafting the U.S. Constitution.
The website has 17 educational games, along with hundreds of free resources for civics educators.
Placing civic education at the forefront "The game gives students the opportunity to weigh and learn about the arguments that were made during the convention itself, and make a decision on their own," said Julie Silverbrook, a constitutional scholar in residence at iCivics.
"Kids can learn to apply that in their own lives and expect that from their own elected leaders." Silverbrook said the game puts a fun spin on the "Process of acquiring civic values," while deepening the knowledge of its target group of middle and high school students.
The game models the conversation among Washington, James Madison from Virginia, who favored counting all slaves, and William Paterson from New Jersey, who opposed slavery and wanted to count none.
Silverbrook said it's especially important to develop games for the younger generation in a way that they interact with most, which is online.
Reference
Meisner, C. (2023, 30 August). A Digital Game Offers a Lesson on Compromise, the 18th Century Way. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/a-digital-game-offers-a-lesson-on-compromise-the-18th-century-way/2023/08