Teaching Arkansas Standards through Games: Counties Work by iCivics
What kinds of resources exist for Arkansas educators looking to meet the needs of their diverse students? The current global pandemic is increasing the need for resources that can be adapted for use in the classroom and at home, that are fun and engaging while also guiding students to meet learning objectives. Luckily, there are many great educational partners working on resources just like this for K12 teachers in Arkansas and around the U.S.
Today, you’ll learn about one such resource and how to utilize it in various Arkansas social studies classrooms. You might even enjoy playing it yourself!
In-Game screen capture from iCivics game, Counties Work.
Counties Work
iCivics is a nonprofit organization founded in 2008 by retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. They work to provide teachers with effective and freely accessible resources that enhance their practice and inspire their classrooms. Their mission is to ensure every student receives a high quality civics education, and become engaged in and beyond the classroom. They offer a large library of online games to use for teaching civics concepts in the classroom. In the one we will explore today, Counties Work, students try their hands at running a local government, discussing issues with members of the community and making decisions about spending and budgeting at the county level. The game has ties to Arkansas learning standards for teaching U.S. Government, Civics, and Economics.
This single-player game has two modes, a “normal” mode with a moderate pace and a “fast” mode that offers an increased challenge. After students name their county, pick a character, and are set up to play, the game begins.
Students start out with $500,000 in funds, a 50% approval rating, and a population of 10,000 residents. Students spend the game working to meet the needs of various members of the community and grow their county. A constituent might ask which department they need to go to in order to enroll their child in school, or where they should go to pay their taxes. Students guide these characters to where they need to go while learning about various local government offices, the roles under those offices, and what kinds of tasks they carry out. As they continue, students can expand their county land and try to develop new projects like community parks, nursing homes, and fire departments. At the end of each year, students will get a rundown of the decisions they made and how those decisions influenced the community. They also get end of the year financial reports to see if spending is in line with tax revenue and choose to raise or lower taxes. Teachers and parents can use student’s in-game decisions to guide them through the connections they have to their own communities and the many roles, moving parts, and work being done in them.
At the end of each year, students will get a rundown of the decisions they made and how those decisions influenced the community.
Learning Objectives and Standards in This Game
Counties Work can be used as a learning tool to cover many ideas from Arkansas’s social studies educational standards for U.S. Government, Civics, and Economics.
U.S. Government:
SFG.6.USG.2 Evaluate the roles various government agencies play in maintaining the nation’s economic health
IACP.8.USG.3 Analyze local and national issues addressing fundamental rights of individuals
SFG.5.USG.2 Analyze the division of power and interrelationships between federal and state government
Civics:
CPI.1.C.1 Analyze the establishment and purposes of government
CPI.2.C.1 Explain how federal, state, and local governments acquire power
PRL.6.C.1 Investigate various methods for creating federal, state, and local laws
Economics:
EDM.1.E.1 Evaluate the roles of scarcity, incentives, trade-offs, and opportunity cost in decision making
EDM.1.E.2 Justify various economic solutions to problems affecting an individual or society using marginal costs and marginal benefit analysis
Questions to Guide Discussion
What kinds of requests did you receive from residents of your county?
How did you decide whose request to fill?
Did you ever decide to raise or lower taxes? Why or why not?
Did your population grow over time?
Did you fund any community development projects? Which ones and why?
What kinds of local government employees assisted you and your residents? What were their roles and responsibilities?
Wrapping Up
Counties Work is a fun student experience with many educational tie-ins for Arkansas learners. iCivics games can aid teachers and parents in connecting civics knowledge with students’ everyday lives while also providing a fun and differentiated learning experience. Use the games in conjunction with iCivics other educational tools or sign up for one of their professional development sessions today!
