How to Use:
Ignite student engagement and create transformational learning opportunities with digital games that make learning objectives come alive. iCivics games allow students to explore roles such as lawyer, county supervisor, and presidential candidate and motivate them to learn about content, concepts, and systems.
The magic formula behind our games
Our games are created to integrate seamlessly into your curriculum and classroom.
Transformative
Built using a transformational design framework, our games impact students’ understanding and actions beyond gameplay and the classroom.
Supplemental
Deepen student understanding and engagement with games that introduce, reinforce, or review concepts covered in class.
Timely
Requiring just 10–45 minutes to play, our games are easily incorporated into a single class period.
Memorable
Allow your students to do, not just see or hear. Hands-on experience and simulating roles make the systems and processes they learn more relevant.
Teaching Tips
Create transformative experiences
Our games not only have an impact on students’ understanding of government systems and historical events but also contribute to their skill development and how they see the world around them. Pre- and post-game assessments show an average increase in students’ civic knowledge and dispositions (i.e., likelihood to vote) of 26% and 38%, respectively.
Implement with ease
iCivics games are a ready-to-use teaching resource for educators and do not require students to have prior knowledge of content. Students will learn everything they need to know to succeed through gameplay. Scaffolds provide support and teach academic vocabulary as they play.
Teach with a game sandwich
Extension Packs and Game Guides equip you to create transformative and lasting learning opportunities. Increase game effectiveness by teaching with the iCivics Game Sandwich—incorporating a starter activity, mini-lesson, post-game activities, and assessments sandwiched around gameplay.
Adapt for classroom needs
Our games can be played in a variety of settings from 1-to-1, to small groups where discussion adds to the learning experience, or as a whole class with the game projected on a wall. Games make great homework assignments to introduce or practice concepts covered in class.
Harness the power of games with these tools
Every classroom is unique, and you know your students and learning environments better than anyone. Features and tools within our games make them adaptable to your classroom needs.
Assign and track
Assign games and track student progress and performance with the iCivics LMS.
Spanish & EL/ML supports
Most games are available to play in Spanish and include support for English and multilingual learners (ELs/MLs).
Replayability
Learn even more with games that offer multiple playthroughs when students play as different characters or take different paths.
Pre- and post-play quizzes
Measure learning when you create opportunities for feedback with short quizzes that accompany games.
Ways to use games in the classroom:
Introduce
Introduce new topics for which students have little to no prior knowledge, creating curious minds ready to learn.
Supplement
Round out an engaging sequence of learning activities designed to foster an understanding of key content.
Extend
Make learning objectives sticky and leverage classroom learning by adding iCivics games to your existing materials and teaching methods.
Enrich
Add games to your offerings to students when they complete other assignments early or as a treat at the end of a long week.
Most popular games
- The Constitution
Run a law firm and test your knowledge of constitutional rights.
- 30+ min.
- The Executive Branch
Being the president is no easy task. Are you up to the challenge?
- 30+ min.
What makes our games unique?
Games do so much more than entertain. Playfulness, delight, and humor are key components of the iCivics magic formula. They also play a powerful role in creating transformative gameplay experiences. Games work well for students, as they:
Allow students to participate in exploring new concepts with less anxiety or risk, inviting them into deeper engagement. Students can practice applying the knowledge they are learning in the classroom.
Help prepare students to be engaged citizens in a democracy who stay informed, vote, and participate in political life or in their communities.
Make learning stick, resulting in knowledge and experiential transformation. Games have clear learning objectives that focus on developing students’ knowledge, skills, and dispositions.
Why games work for educators
Explore more resources for teaching civics
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