Trying Out Ecotourism: a literacy-enhanced game
In this game, students play the role of an indigenous land-owner in the Amazonian rainforest. They will work in groups to make decisions about running an ecotourism project in their village. To win the game, students must make decisions that preserve the rainforest while still generating income for their community.
Materials:
How this activity was adapted...
This activity was adapted from an online game about ecotourism that was similar in format to a “choose your own ending” book (http://www.eduweb.com/ecotourism/eco1.html). To accommodate for classrooms where access to computers is limited I have modified the activity to be performed without technology. This was actually to the activity’s advantage, as it made room for some interdisciplinary and language learning accommodations. First, modifying the activity allowed for modifying the language to be more inclusive of English language learners. Throughout the student instructions and the information contained in envelopes are bold words. These words were defined on a separate vocabulary sheet. Additionally, students are put into groups with members of varying reading levels to facilitate their learning with and from one another. An emphasis was placed throughout the activity on metacognition. Students are required on the score sheet to discuss and write about their thought process. This forces students to think about how to translate their thoughts into words, which will be helpful in building their writing skills. In terms of interdisciplinary connections, there is an element of mathematics practice involved in the activity. Instructions about how much rainforest should be shown on the game board are given in terms of fractions. This requires that students be able to rationalize how to represent the given fractions on their game board with the 12 sheets of paper. Students are building their understanding of fractions and applying this knowledge in a setting relevant to science.