The theme park in Taiga provides both content and game support to teachers.

Well, now you can!   We’ve recently introduced our PD theme parks, areas in Teacherville to help teachers experience an abridged version of the Unit while learning how to best support their students’ use of the curriculum.  Each theme park will allow teachers to try out a special Mission based on the Unit where they can learn about the narrative, the most consequential student moments, as well as gain insights into how to best support students in their understanding of the material.  Teachers can try the Unit on for size, literally, as they put on a  Native American outfit in Mesa Verde or try on the campaign hat in the statistics Unit.  How fun would it be to join your students in the 3D space wearing a Native American outfit as a teaser?  Seeing your teacher wearing a news reporter hat or a squash blossom necklace might be just the ticket to generating a little more excitement about an upcoming QA Unit.

Teachers can submit exemplary Quests to share with others

More importantly, teachers get a full understanding of the Unit in a VERY short time!   These new PD missions take only 20-30 minutes to experience, but are chock full of teacher tidbits, videos and content.  In the theme park itself, we’ve even added additional supports, such as teacher forums where teachers can share insights from their use of the curriculum, examples of exemplary Quests and other background materials to fully prepare you for teaching the Unit.  We encourage teachers to post on the forums or submit these example Quests — either Quests that were wonderful from the start, or Quests that became wonderful after feedback.  This is one way teachers can share their successes with others in the QA community, as well as develop an idea of what kind of work can result from these Units.

A short immersive experience…additional resources…community support…the price of this ticket could be extravagant, but you’ll be admitted for free upon entering Teacherville!  These theme parks are always open, and after jumping a board to take the ride, teachers may find themselves better prepared to support their students in their exploration of the curriculum. 

Cotton candy is optional.

Let’s take a quick look at the possibilities afforded by one QA Unit—our newest release, Virtual Mesa Verde (VMV).

A review of the Unit Guide shows standards alignments for the main subject area covered in the Unit—social studies— addressing geography and world history concepts like the balance of resources with human needs and the characteristics of civilization.

But there is a lot more content that can be mined for standards correlations in many other subject areas. Although you won’t find these standards listed in our Unit Guide (we can’t show correlations based on what a teacher MIGHT do with the content), additional standards addressed in these Units is limited only by the teacher’s imagination and need.

For example, every QA Unit is narrative-based, and the storylines and characters are designed as interactive novels in which Questers become active characters in the story. Think of the language arts content standards that you can cover by examining the characters (motivations, personalities); plot (conflict and resolution, climax and anticlimax); author’s purpose, tone, and craft; and the characteristics of fiction, science fiction, and fantasy! And that’s not all—each Unit also has unique “mini-lessons” that can enhance instruction in many other disciplines. VMV affords possibilities in:

• Science: The VMV Unit is filled with possibilities for science exploration, from agricultural science (the three-sisters gardening process favored by many native cultures and dryland irrigation techniques) to the study of the effects of wildfires on ecosystems and wildfire recovery science, and even more possibilities too numerous to outline here.
• Language Arts: The Unit’s main character, Lorisa, tells Questers a simplified version of the Hopi creation story. Why not compare that story with creation stories from indigenous people in your area or from cultures you’re studying in social studies classes, aligning instruction to comparative literature and mythology standards?
• Math: A technician from CyArk (http://archive.cyark.org/) demonstrates the use of laser technology to create accurate three-dimensional digital measurements (using bearing, inclination, and distance). Students can explore 3D measurements and scale by creating models of cliff dwellings and kivas.
• Social Studies: In addition to the main SS content specified in the VMV Unit Guide, the time travel features of the Unit also lend themselves well to activities in time, continuity, and change. Or expand the storyline with an in-depth study of the importance of primary source materials like artifacts in historical research.
• Art: Ancestral Puebloan (sometimes called Anasazi) pottery is distinctive for its black-and-white geometric designs. Have students create their own pottery and design new variations of this technique. Or plan a lesson on Ancestral Puebloan glyphs and decorations, exploring not only the art but the meaning behind the symbols.

• Health: Lorisa is struggling with peer pressure that is affecting her behavior and her health. Use her problems as a springboard for discussions on the influences of personal beliefs, culture, mass media, and other factors on health and self image as well as ways to communicate care, consideration, and respect for self, parents and family, and the diversity of others.
• Careers: Explore the career possibilities in national parks services, including park rangers, archaeologists, and anthropologists.

The suggestions above are just a small sampling of the standards correlations possible through a theme-based implementation of VMV. An exploration of your own content standards will spark ideas unique to your curriculum. As you can see, rather than a drain on your valuable instructional time, the QA Units can help you cover MORE content standards while engaging your students in transformational learning activities that build skills they can use for a lifetime.

Next time you’re browsing through the Quest Atlantis curriculum, check out the possibilities!