Testimonials

I wanted to try a simulation because it is very hard to make history come alive for students without something tangible. My students were very excited from the minute we mentioned "a game". Besides helping to teach and reinforce the concepts I was teaching, the students gained much from learning to work in a group to make their simulation successful. One student commented that she had learned so much that she had written up a list of ten things that make up a good leader on her own, without me even giving that as an assignment!

As a third grade teacher, I found the Play With History simulation games to be an effective tool in making history come alive in the classroom. The students were transported to that time period as they solved problems and really saw how history was made. I found the games to be not only an instrument for imparting historical information, but a great tool for helping students to work in cooperative learning groups. Our classroom time flew by as the game took new twists and turns each day.

At the end of the game the students were able to articulate why their group was or was not successful and to relate it to actual historical successes and failures. They were also able to point out the benefits of good group dynamics such as the importance of a good leader. The best endorsement of this game came at the conclusion of one simulation when a third grade boy said, "I would pay my own money if we could play with these simulations every day!". I feel that the Play With History simulation games promote learning at its best.