Seventh grade students are adept at online games and so educational force and motion games are a natural way for students of this age group to review key concepts. The traditional paper game of hangman can be found on the Internet with a new twist. Students read a clue about one of the laws of force and motion and must determine the hangman word. Instead of a hangman, students see an atom man that begins to disintegrate if the wrong letters are tried. Students must determine the answer before the atom man completely disintegrates. Flashcards are another online game for students to learn force and motion. Students view flashcards online, but because it is online they have the illusion of playing a game.
Students can compete against each other in groups of two to four players at their desks. To reinforce concepts of force and motion, students can play Concentration. Give groups of students sets of index cards. Cards will have concepts of force and motion and corresponding terminology on other cards. For example, one card will indicate “Newton's First Law of Motion.” A corresponding card will state “Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it.” Perhaps 24 cards are in the deck. There are 12 with concepts and 12 with corresponding terminology. The cards are mixed up and placed face down on a table. Like the game of Concentration, students must turn two cards face up. When a pair turns up where the terminology and the concept match, the student takes that pair. The student with the most pairs of matching cards wins. Students can also work with each other on timed word searches. Key concepts of force and motion can be embedded in a traditional word search. Students time each other to see who can find the most terms in the shortest amount of time.
Team games provide an opportunity for students to stand up and cheer each other on. For example, seventh graders will particularly enjoy teaming boys against girls. Each team lines up prepared for battle against the opposing team. Armed with their knowledge of force and motion, students are ready to show what they know in a game of Force and Motion Trivia. The teacher asks the first student a question about force and motion. If the student answers correctly, the student remains standing and goes to the end of the line. If the student answers incorrectly, the student returns to his seat and the opposing team has an opportunity to answer the question. The team with the most students standing at the end of class wins.
Almost any game that can be played on the computer can be played on the Smartboard. Any teacher lucky enough to have a Smartboard in the classroom knows how it appeals to students of all ages. Seventh graders can play a game of Jeopardy utilizing the technology of the Smartboard. The teacher would design a series of force and motion answers at varying dollar amounts depending upon the level of difficulty which students must answer with a question just like on the television show. The Smartboard can also be used to play “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” The questions with the multiple choice answers appear on the Smartboard. For this game, the class can be divided into teams to answer the questions. The first team to reach a million dollars wins.