Techie Tuesday - Questionaut

I'm on a role! Two week's in a row linking up for Techie Tuesday! If you don't already follow Technology Tailgate, you need to! Excellent tech posts everyday!

The BBC has some exceptional online educational content. Several years ago I discovered the game "Questionaut" which takes students on a quest to save a hat that has been taken away by an air bubble. To get to it the main character must fill his balloon with bubbles, and to get those he has to answer questions correctly.

The first level questions are all about writing. But, to get to the questions students have to figure out how to "unlock" the them. (Hint: click the paper and unplug the lamp)

Choose the correct answer and fuel up! Choose incorrectly and you'll pop a bubble!

On level two students will need to awaken the beekeeper by mousing over the branches until they all have plusses and minuses. Guess what type of questions you'll find on this level? Math! 

The questions on this level are basic number sense, operations, and mental math. You'll notice that there may be British vocabulary or, in this case British locations. This is an especially sweet question because my mum is from the UK and went to university in Leeds! (Oh, and I'll be heading to the UK this summer!)

This next level is tricky. Here students need to unlock life science questions. Some kids will need some extra help to get to the science questions. (Pull cat's tail, click on bird, click on worm, click on plant, click on owl-PHEW)

And the fun doesn't stop there! Next is the measurement/geometry stage, followed by chemistry, then data analysis/probability, then physics questions, and finally more English questions. 

Questionaut is a fun and engaging game. In a 20 minute period many of my students made it to level 4. I have also played with the entire class by projecting the game onto the screen. Unfortunately students cannot save their progress, so if they don't finish one day, they will have to start again the next time they play. It's also a great way to sneak in a little bit of test prep for those oh-so-loved state tests! Even though the questions may not align to your state test it still helps students think about problem solving, especially when they may not know the answer already! 

BONUS! I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE the music on this game. A few years ago I contacted the composer to see if the music was available for purchase, unfortunately it wasn't. But, I have been known to play the game just to have some nice background music during class time. 

The American Revolution and Techie Tuesday

Yesterday I went back to work after two glorious weeks of Spring Break. One day to prep before kids (plus meetings and the district rally) is not enough! Today my kiddos returned and we jumped right in to the Revolutionary War (my favorite 5th grade social studies topic!). I started reading aloud Benjamin Franklin as a part of David Colbert's 10 Days series. We read Day 1 today, and although we stopped a lot to discuss, the students really seem to be getting into it!

Then this afternoon we started working on our American Revolution Lapbooks! This project is a great way for the students to show what they learn about the Revolution as we delve through this exciting period of American history. 

Oh, and what do you know?!  This lapbook is available in my TpT store and is my second bestseller! We also did a mini tax simulation to get the students to start thinking about what the colonists were going through that led them to revolt. The students were taxed for various things, like having siblings, or wearing a white shirt. Most of my classroom "colonists" were left with little or no money, while the King and the tax collectors took quite a chunk of change. 

Today I am linking up with Technology Tailgate to share a great interactive game find!

A teammate stumbled upon the Mission US website which has two interactive missions. The site also includes additional educator resources and activities! I only managed to play a bit of the game, but I'm definitely going to have the students try it out when we go to the computer lab next week. Students have the opportunity to make different choices throughout game play, including deciding where their loyalties lie! The site includes two missions; the first mission takes place as the Revolutionary War begins.

Mission 1: For Crown or Colony?

These missions can be played on computers or can be downloaded to mobile devices. Students will need to register (but they do not need an email address). 

The preview trailer will be a great hook to get the students excited about their mission!