Level: Grades 7 to 9
Overview
|
This lesson and all associated documents (handouts, overheads, backgrounders) is available in an easy-print, pdf kit version.
To open the lesson kit for printing, click here.
To print only this page, use the "printable version" link at the top of the page. |
This lesson introduces students to the issue of violence in video games and helps them understand the effects that these games have on their own feelings and attitudes towards violence. Students begin with a discussion on the appeal of video games and complete a self-survey on their video game habits. This is followed by class discussion about stimulus addiction and rating systems for video games. Student activities include a case study about video game violence; deconstruction of video game ads and a short opinion piece on whether or not video games promote violence among young people.
Learning Outcomes
Students demonstrate:
- an understanding of the debates surrounding the influence of violent video games on young people.
- an understanding of the connection between violent video games and stimulus addiction.
- an awareness of the different types of violence found in some video games.
- a knowledge of the classification systems that govern video and computer games.
- an understanding of their own reactions to video games.
Preparation and Materials
The Lesson
For many teenagers, video games are an enjoyable and popular pastime. In approaching this topic in the classroom, teachers should encourage students to explore their own attitudes towards the issues surrounding the games that they play - without condemning the games themselves.
Guided Discussion
Video games have come a long way since the creation of Pong in the early 1970's. Pong was a form of table tennis and it could only be played in video arcades. The graphics were (gasp!) black and white and, compared to today's games, it was very easy to play.
Nowadays, there are thousands of games to choose from, and every day the technology becomes more and more sophisticated. Companies like Nintendo and Sony can now bring games into your home with arcade-quality graphics and virtual reality home systems are just around the corner.
- Ask students how many of them play video games.
- Ask students what it is about video games that appeals to them.
On the overhead, place The Lure of Video Games and discuss these attractions with students.
Activity One
Distribute Video Game Survey to students. Ask them to complete questions one to six only.
Once students have completed the six questions, take up their responses as a class. Select two students to fill in their responses on the board under the headings of Girls and Boys.
Survey the boys in the class regarding the time they spend each week playing video games and record the totals. Then do the same for the girls. Ask students to compare game-playing habits:
- Who plays more often? Boys or girls?
- Most computer and video game buyers are young males. Why do you think this is so?
List the favourite games of students on the board (you might want to make a third column for games that both sexes enjoy). Discuss the genres of the games that are listed. Is there a difference between the games preferred by boys and those preferred by girls? Ask your students
- What kinds of games attract female players? Do many such games exist?
- Young males are the main target group of video game manufacturers. How are these games designed to appeal to young men?
Ask students
- Which of the games listed on the board do you consider to be the most violent?
- What types of violence exist in these games? (Besides the more obvious answers of blood, gore, high body counts, etc., ask students to focus on the roles played by women and minorities in these games and how these depictions might also be interpreted as a form of violence.)
- What messages do violent video games send players about how problems are solved? (List student responses on the board.)
Activty Two
Ask students to complete the remaining questions in their survey. (These questions are intended to help them to explore their video game playing habits and their feelings towards the games they play.) Discuss responses.
Distribute Violent Video Games and Stimulus Addiction handout to class. Discuss with students. Do they agree with the points made about problem solving and video games? Have any students had their own experiences with "stimulus addiction"?
Rating systems classify violence, nudity, and language in video games. However, these classification codes don't always prevent children from accessing violent games. Place Video and Computer Game Rating Systems overhead onto the projector and discuss with class.
Activity Three
Distribute Video violence too close to real thing and ask students to complete the questions that accompany this newspaper article. Discuss answers with class.
Activity Four
Video Game Magazine Analysis
Divide the class into small groups and give each group a video game magazine.
- Ask the members of each group to count the advertisements that appear in their magazine according to genre (ie: horror, puzzle, fantasy, action etc.).
- Have students tally their results and list the genres, listing the most common types of games advertised, to the least common.
- Ask students to select the two ads from their magazine that they consider to be the most violent. They are to discuss:
- what makes these ads violent?
- who are these ads targetted at?
- what is the "message" of each ad?
- Each group will present their findings to the class.
Activity Five
In a short opinion piece, ask students to answer the following questions:
- Are violent video games just harmless escapism or are they something more sinister?
- Do you think that playing violent video games can make an individual more violent in real life?
Evaluation
- Individual newspaper article assignment
- Individual short opinion piece
- Group video game magazine presentation
