Games in Special Education

One of the first websites that I found, when looking for games to play in a Special Education setting, was called Do2Learn where teachers can go and search for curriculum, games, and songs that both students with and without disabilities can practice and use. There were also books that teachers could access and read to their students that talk about subjects such as bullying. Also on the website it was organized to where teachers can search for items for students who struggle with behavior skills, academic, social skills, and even offers job training information fo those who are going to be transitioning into the work force. This website has a wide range of activities for students with different skill levels, so that both students with and without disabilities can be working on the same website. One game that I found was called balloon mania where the student has to use the keys on the key board to shoot the correct ballon that is corresponding to the color of the arrow, and is also written at the top of the screen and colored in for those who can read.

I think that this game would be for students who are in kindergarten because they are building their motor skills by using the keys to shoot as well as working on color recognition. On the website it did not say an age range this game is intended for but I think that if older kids tried this they would find it boring after a couple tries. I don't think that this game is too immersive but it is great practice for all kids. I also think that because it is such a straight forward game students won't need much guidance other than showing them a couple time how it works.

It is a very simple game but would need some initial guidance.I think that I would use this for students who are beginning to learn their color words because they are told a color and then have to hit the correct color so that it appears on their score board. When playing the game they are shown a color that they they have to shoot and once they hit the balloon it explodes and the color appears on a score board on the top of the screen. It would also be a nice warm up to have because it is timed and only allows 2 minutes that they could do it twice before jumping into the lesson. This would be a simple and easy game that all students would be able to do and have access to.

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Another website I found that was helpful in finding fun games for students was Common sense media. The point of this website is to teach students about compassion so all of thier games are center around kindness and compassion. And this is a great resource to use, because, sometimes with our students it can be hard to teach them about kindness and compassion. But when they read it in books and see it in games it makes them more engaged and interested to where they would want to copy that in their daily lives.

On this website I found a game called Avokiddo Emotions where students are in charge on a character and they have to learn how to read their facial expressions/ nonverbal cues to figure out what is best to do for that character. A student can choose from one of three characters which are a zebra, sheep, or giraffe. Students will then have to look at how the animal is acting and figure out what they need such as food, water, etc. For example something that a student might have to look for is when the animals eyes become droopy, they will need to know that their animal is tired and needs to go to bed. After a few tires the student will have learned to look for different cues like this to know what their animal needs.

It is very much so in the students hands and is very open ended with funny sound effects and designs that the student has access to. The navigation on this game is clear and simple so students would not need much guidance on what to do. This game also allows students to become responsible for the character because they have to put them to bed, wake them up, feed, and play with them. Students can also dress them and add accessories to make the character more entertaining to the student. This can be used on tablets or phones but not on computers which is a bummer if the student is not in a one to one school setting. This would also work for students who are hands on learners because they can do it themselves and know if what they choose was correct or if there was a better solution to the problem. I would use this game in a classroom when talking to my students about emotions and how our actions can impact others. I would maybe have this as a station that they can go to and work out different scenarios then move one to something else where they would have to explain what they did and why. Although the website says 2+ I think that this game could be used in a k-2nd grade setting because it's easy but also entertaining enough that they won't easily get bored.

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