Game of LIFE Activity
Students should be educated in the intricacies of social order. If it is the objective
of schools to prepare students to function in society then they should provide
tangible experiences to this end. An activity related to this concept is the board
game LIFE. This experience would be most useful for middle school or high school
age students. The instructions of the game can be altered to reflect different
social classes and different policies and practices reflecting those circumstances.
Players are randomly divided into manageable groups of 4 or 5 and multiple games
occur simultaneously. Players choose playing pieces and these correspond to their
social class. They are presented with a definition and background information
relating to their social placement. As the game progresses and different people
have to play by different rules the disparities between the low income and the
high income segments of society are revealed. This serves as a catalyst for conversations
about structures social inequalities and how people can work together to make
positive changes within communities. This can be related to history as students
discover how policies and programs have evolved over time. Students could be challenged
to go out into the community and find out what services are available locally
to serve the disenfranchised of their own neighborhoods. Finally, a writing assignment
of a paper or letter to a state representative with ideas for improvements in
social programs.
This would be an interesting way to bring a real life experience home for the
students. It could be implemented as a history or social studies lesson. “To
study history is not to amass information, but to use information in constructing
a vivid picture of how and why men did thus and so; achieved their successes and
came to their failures.” (Dewey, p151.)
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