Culturally Responsive, Game Based U.S. History! K4-5 Pre-Game Warm-Up: PODER

Put Manifest Destiny into full context with over 25 lessons that use an animated video, maps, DBQs, expository writing, class discussions & group challenges. Next? Play the PODER board game (separate purchase). History class was never this intriguing.

BOARD GAME DESCRIPTION: "Just because you can, does that mean you should? With PODER, students create a head-spinning model of the MexicanAmerican War. From commodity deals in Louisiana and trade fairs in Santa Fe; from the Alamo, the Battle of San Jacinto and the Texas Republic; to a lone soldier breaking the chain of command in Alta California. The trick is clearing the gap between power and protocol."

BRAVE PROGRAMMING IS PERFECT FOR YOUR CLASSROOM IF YOU'RE...

• Short on time for social studies because you're focused on reading outcomes. BRAVE programming is aligned to meet ELA, C3, IEFA & SEL. After all, a Fordham study show contextualized reading is essential for increasing literacy in girls and minorities. Just don't forget: lower readers with deep knowledge in a content area outperform higher readers with little background knowledge in terms of comprehension and working memory. Yup, BRAVE believes in learning to read AND reading to learn.

• Nervous to teach history in this political climate. We lean into Game Theory and Theory of Mind to empathize (not sympathize) with historical actors' motivations/actions. Not to judge, but to make lemonade. Because BRAVE students know you can't hide from facts, but you can test them! Using the NGSS 3D Learning Framework, students as scientists build a living model of the past to reveal competing narratives, then collect & organize data stemming from dynamic situations.

• Frustrated by the damage that students' social skills suffered during Covid closures. Fortunately, students LOVE gamifying history. Not because it's easy; because it's hard. Rigorous? Yes. More importantly, it's hard in an honest, gritty, collaborative way that engages hearts and demands we level up on accountability, mutual respect, patience, forgiveness, kindness & trust. The first step? Looking each other in the eye. Then we lay it all out there using NVC, Non-Violent Communication.

• Still worried? I understand, trust me. I've done R&D with over 1,000 students, on and off Native nation Reservations, so I understand the need to provide Trauma-informed programming to support all children as they strive to safely process why the world is as it is. Because students from historically underrepresented backgrounds deserve curriculum that models a growth mindset. If so, we'll learn how to navigate the past in a way that works for everyone.

ALSO: Don't forget to download BLUE! This game-within-a-game takes a deep dive into one of the narratives found within PODER: Rio Grande Pueblos.

PLUS, it's FREE!