Links between Global Gang's games and the National Curriculum for England

Global Gang has a great selection of online games that are really popular with children visiting the site. But as well as being hi-tec and engaging they are also non-violent and educational, which makes them a useful classroom tool.

The chart below gives you a summary of each game and describes how it links to the curriculum. There are also hyperlinks to other relevant areas of the site.

Game:

Sneaky Snakes

Players progress across a snakes and ladders board – but the snakes cheat!
The opponent, an anonymous businessman, finds this very amusing. Children are thus prompted to consider what makes rules fair or unfair.

The player is then invited to stop the snakes cheating by answering multiple-choice questions. These flag up world issues, with a focus on trade rules, highlighting facts and practices that are unjust.

3e) to explain how places are interdependent [for example, through trade, aid, international tourism, acid rain] and to explore the idea of global citizenship

6i) development, including:

i) ways of identifying differences in development within and between countries
ii) effects of differences in development on the quality of life of different groups of people
iii) factors, including the interdependence of countries, that influence development

2b) why and how rules and laws are made and enforced, why different rules are needed in different situations and how to take part in making and changing rules

2g) what democracy is, and about the basic institutions that support it locally and nationally

2h) to recognise the role of voluntary, community and pressure groups

2j) to recognise that resources can be allocated in different ways and that these economic choices affect individuals, communities and the sustainability of the environment

5d) to make real choices and decisions

Stories about children affected by trade rules here .

Children can send an e-postcard to Patricia Hewitt here .

A Planet Teacher topic on trade here .

Game:

Go Goat, Go!

Set in a village in Kenya, this game shows how one goat can help a village become self-sufficient.

Players milk their goat, and then take it to the grazing ground. Returning from school, they shovel up the manure the goat has produced.

The time they have to do this is linked to how much milk they had for breakfast. Players then have to spread the dung on their plants to see how much food they can produce for the village.

3a) to identify and describe what places are like [for example, in terms of weather, jobs]

3f) to describe and explain how and why places are similar to and different from other places in the same country and elsewhere in the world [for example, comparing a village with a part of a city in the same country]

3g) to recognise how places fit within a wider geographical context [for example, as part of a bigger region or country] and are interdependent [for example, through the supply of goods, movements of people]

5b) to recognise how and why people may seek to manage environments in a sustainable way, and to identify opportunities for their own involvement [for example, taking part in a local conservation project]

3d) to explain how and why changes happen in places, and the issues that arise from these changes

6i) development, including:

i) ways of identifying differences in development within and between countries
ii) effects of differences in development on the quality of life of different groups of people
iii) factors, including the interdependence of countries, that influence development

2e) to reflect on spiritual, moral, social, and cultural issues, using imagination to understand other people's experiences

2h) to recognise the role of voluntary, community and pressure groups

2j) to recognise that resources can be allocated in different ways and that these economic choices affect individuals, communities and the sustainability of the environment

3b) to think about the lives of people living in other places and times, and people with different values and customs

5d) to make real choices and decisions

Stories about children who are learning how to grow more food here .

Stories about why children are hungry here .

Homework Help topic on food here .

Homework Help topic on farming in Africa here .

Planet Teacher topic on farming here .

Planet Teacher topic on hunger here .

Game:

Landmines Challenge

Players must progress across a field to reach a water pump. If they land on a 'mined' square they have to answer a question about landmines.
Players have three lives.

3d) to explain why places are like they are [for example, in terms of weather conditions, local resources, historical development]

5a) to recognise how people can improve the environment [for example, by reclaiming derelict land] or damage it [for example, by polluting a river], and how decisions about places and environments affect the future quality of people's lives

2h) to recognise the role of voluntary, community and pressure groups

3b) to think about the lives of people living in other places and times, and people with different values and customs

5d) to make real choices and decisions

Information about landmines here .

Children can send an e-postcard to President Bush, asking him to sign up to the Ottowa Treaty here .

Stories about children caught up in conflict here .

Stories about refugee children here .

Homework Help topic on refugees here .

Relevant Planet Teacher topics on peace and refugees .

Game:

Carpet Kids

Set in different locations in India, players have to free children who have been kidnapped and forced to weave carpets. The game reflects the reality of child labour and rescue missions carried out to free children from carpet sheds.

2e) to reflect on spiritual, moral, social, and cultural issues, using imagination to understand other people's experiences

2h) to recognise the role of voluntary, community and pressure groups

3b) to think about the lives of people living in other places and times, and people with different values and customs

5d) to make real choices and decisions