ABSTRACT
The goal of simulation play in a history class is to enhance the ways that students study, analyze, and interpret human systems in the past (and present); assignments and assessments linked to simulation games should be designed accordingly. The exercises in this chapter provide examples of the many kinds of effective learning activities that can be designed. There is no one type of activity that is uniquely suited to promoting and assessing a student’s learning in a lesson involving a simulation game. Analytical papers, reflective essays, formal and informal presentations, creative writing exercises, small group discussions, and many other types of learning activities all offer opportunities to critique the models found within a simulation, work with the historical content of a simulation, and form valid generalizations about the past. Some of these exercises are most suitable as homework exercises or as formative steps along the way to a larger summative assessment. Ultimately, each teacher must determine the combination of types, lengths, and weights of assessments that will meet the learning needs of their students.
