Game List by Subject

Game List by Subject

ELA

Civilization V( Map Builder)

Make a map of the region described in a book. Write a short story and build a map of your story’s setting.

Minecraft

Same map building capabilities as Civ V but with more control and versatility. Can build houses, farms, cities, anything really.

Limbo

Great for tone. Can be used as a standalone game or with a brighter game for comparison. Super Mario Galaxy and Little Big Planetare a couple of good games to use for comparison.

Portal 2

Influence of setting on characters. Lesson plan available at

ELA is perfect for a game-based curriculum. Any lesson where students were asked to read a book can be altered to use a story based video game instead.Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, Bioshock, The Last of Us, and most games by Bioware are good examples games with solid stories.

MATH

Minecraft

Perimiter, Volume, Area, using simple blocks. The sky is the limit with this software package and there is a great deal of support and premade content available for free online.

The Math Mage

Mobile App - Use addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division to cast spells which defeat monsters and save your village.

Wuzzit Trouble

Mobile App - Build children's number sense, problem solving and creative and critical thinking skills.

Kerbal Space Program

Lots of calculations introduced with harsh learning curve. Great for Pre-cal or Calculus. I suggest playing first and seeing what you can use from it.

Portal 2

Calculations, geometry, graphing, etc. Ready to use lesson plans are available at

SCIENCE

Civilization V (Map Builder)

Build a biome or map of a region

Kerbal Space Program

Use physics to launch rockets into space!

Universe Sandbox

Great for modeling astronomy. Can alter gravity, switch stars and planets around, view accurate models of solar systems and galaxies, or even create your own.

Spore

Create a creature in the creature builder. Great for sections on evolution, adaptation, and natural selection.

Minecraft

Build and label cells or chemical compounds

Minechem mod

Science Experiments in a Virtual World :

Portal 2

Great physics engine built into the game. Map builder is excellent and you can set up experiments by manipulating different variables. Ready to use lesson plans are available at

Also check out this blog for more ideas and lesson plans:

Foldit

Protien folding puzzle game. Its surprisingly fun and the data you generate is actually used for solving real proteins’ crystal structures.

SOCIAL STUDIES

Civilization V (Map Builder)

Create a historically accurate map of a region.

Civilization V/Rise of Nations/Age of Empires III

Great project ideas here:

Minecraft

Build maps

Virtual tours:Pyramids of Giza, Temple of Artemis, Laxmi Vilas Palace to name a few. These are ALREADY built. Don’t worry about having to try to build these yourself (people most likely put hundreds of hours into making these).

Assassin’s Creed

OTHER CONTENT AREAS

Minecraft

Check the sites on this page for examples and ideas for using minecraft in your classrooms. They are organized by subject: Can also be a great way to make digital art.

Civilization V (Map Builder)

Create a historically accurate map of country (foreign language courses).

Limbo/Super Mario Galaxy

Use of color palettes in art courses

These are just a few examples of games and how they can be used. There are hundreds of games out there that can be used for educational purposes.Feel free to email me at any time if you want help finding a game to fit your lessons. I’m always willing to assist in any way possible.

Eric Rosales

Astronomy and Chemistry Instructor

Early College HS – Harlingen

Email: