OverviewBuySchool

Kinect in education: Bring lessons to life with gesture-based learning

Students playing Kinect in the classroom

Get Students Engaged: Learning through
Motion with Kinect for Education

Easy to use and instantly fun, Kinect gets students’ whole body—and attention—into learning fun. Students can use their arms as the hands on a clock to form the correct time, or play a game where they read “red” on the screen then vigorously pop all the red balloons. Students can even collaborate on projects using avatars.

For more than 100 classroom and after-school activities, click the School activity plans tab on this page.

Learn more

Hear from K-12 Institutions on how they are using Kinect in Education at their schools.

Watch the webcast: Bring learning to life with Kinect webcast	Watch the video: Blended Learning with Kinect for XBOX 360

Read the Learning through motion brief (Portable Document format, 148 KB) from the Center for Digital Education and learn more about immersive technology for education.

"When I used Kinect in my Algebra class, students began asking questions that went far beyond the curriculum requirements. This was a huge success, as it got students thinking about applying the content in a real-world context."

— Johnny Kissko, Secondary Math Teacher, Frenship High School, Texas

Foster learning, social development, and collaboration with these games

Bring distance learning and collaboration alive with Avatar Kinect

Animate distance learning, project collaboration, and socializing among classrooms by using Avatar Kinect* to turn ordinary video calls into a fully virtual environment. Avatar Kinect uses motion tracking in Kinect plus facial recognition to give each student his or her own avatar, a real-time on-screen representation of the student, which mimics the way that the participant smiles, nods, speaks, and gestures.

As many as eight people can connect in different physical locations.
Using Avatar Kinect for tele-presence requires much less bandwidth than regular video calls, and it takes little more than the bandwidth of a voice call to completely animate the avatars in real time.

Avatar Kinect is now available as a free download on Kinect Fun Labs.

Energize physical education

Redefine PE while helping meet national standards for motor skills and fitness. Set up station rotations in the gym for physical exercise while reinforcing respectful social behavior through highly immersive exergames, allow students self-expression, social interaction, and creativity. Check out Kinect Sports demo.

Put the "active" back in after-school activities

Foster social development and collaboration with games like Kinect Adventures, Kinect Fun Labs, Disneyland® Adventures, and many more. Get kids engaged in fun and safe activities while keeping them up and moving.

Learn more about Kinect in education

You'll learn about new volume license offers and programs available on the Kinect when you sign up for the Microsoft Education Newsletter.

* Playing Kinect online or accessing Xbox LIVE requires a Windows Live ID, Xbox LIVE account, and acceptance of Xbox LIVE terms of use, available at http://www.xbox.com/en-US/Legal/LiveTOU. Children 17 and younger cannot create an account for Xbox LIVE without parental consent. The Microsoft Online Privacy Statement applies to data Microsoft collects as part of the Xbox LIVE service.

** Xbox 360 Kinect Sensor requires 190 megabytes (MB) of storage; subject to change with system updates. Only movies from Zune Marketplace are available with Kinect voice and gesture controls.

Documents and Downloads

Videos and Webcasts

School activity plans

More than 200 ready-to-go activity plans are available to help you bring Kinect to the classroom, physical education and after school programs! Use the filter on the left side of the page to find activities based on subject, age, or Kinect game. For more ideas, visit the Kinect for Education Facebook page.

Title and description	Subject, Age range, and Kinect game title
Science#14-18#Kinect_Adventures Where is my Chopin Liszt? Playing games in Kinect Adventures while listening to music provides students the opportunity to practice physical skills and to improve auditory acuity, auditory recall, and memory. Bring a music player pre-loaded with music that is familiar to the class. Students play the games and name the pieces of music and their composers, concurrently. Now have students listen to different music and answer different questions without playing the game. Discuss as a class: What was it like to have two tasks to complete at once? How does this compare with school life? Ask students which activities in their lives (like clubs, studies, or social events) compete for their attention? Additional activity Have students write about or discuss multitasking. Have them answer: Is it truly possible? When they do more than one thing at one time, do they do one thing better than another? Does multi-tasking increase their chances for making errors? Can they get more done? Common Core connections This activity relates to Speaking and Listening 6–12 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 14-18 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Language_Arts#11-13#Yoostar_2 Hollywood rehearsal Play Yoostar 2 in Kinect to help students express and communicate their emotions. In Yoostar 2, select Quick play, choose Hollywood Sets, and then pick a movie. Click More, and then click Scene info. Students read the scene, discuss the background, and explore the characters’ perspectives. Play the scene repeatedly so that students can practice their lines. Have them pay attention to details, such as body language, facial expressions, and movement on the “set." Students perform the scene for the class. Discuss as a class how the students communicated content, intention, and mood. Additional activity Students perform the same scene, with one or two altering their body language or perspective. Discuss the effect. Common Core connections This activity relates to Speaking and Listening 6–12 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Yoostar 2
Language_Arts#11-13#Yoostar_2 Hollywood ad-lib Students play Yoostar 2 in Kinect to improve communication skills. In Yoostar 2, select Quick play, choose a movie, click More, and then click Scene info. Students read about the scene, discuss how the characters feel toward each other, and how the background scenery and action affect the characters. Click Perform, and then click Adlib. Students perform an improvised representation of the scene based on the information they had. As a class, discuss the effectiveness of the decisions, interpretations, and improvisations made by the student actors. Additional activity Students view the scripted version of the scene and then compare and contrast the actual scene with the one they improvised. Common Core connections This activity relates to Speaking and Listening 6–12 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Yoostar 2
Language_Arts#11-13#Yoostar_2 Oral report Helping students to develop verbal communication skills is essential to language arts competency. By playing Yoostar 2, students can create informative and fun oral reports. Oral reports also provide an alternative method to assess student learning. Using the backgrounds available in Yoostar 2, provide a list of topics students may research. Each student chooses a topic to research, following the assignment requirements. Students prepare notes and practice speaking the information they have learned to a partner who gives them feedback on how they can improve. In Yoostar 2, select Quick Play and then select Video Backgrounds. Students practice delivering their reports against the appropriate background, using their voices, bodies, and interaction with the video environment. After they’ve mastered their presentation, they can perform it live for the class or record and play it. Additional activity Each performer can assess with their partner how much their recorded performance improved from the practice session. Common Core connections This activity relates to Speaking and Listening 1-5 Standards and Writing 6-12 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Yoostar 2
Language_Arts#14-18#Yoostar I spy a community hero Many people who serve their communities may be overlooked, especially those who are old, very young, or differently abled. Adolescents can visit community programs to identify some of these unlikely heroes and use the game Yoostar to create a performance depicting heroes who challenge common conceptions. The educational performance can be their way of serving the community. Students visit community programs to observe and interview heroes. They write a song or scene introducing the heroes. In Yoostar, they practice and perform the song or scene. After watching the performances, discuss as a class: What assumptions do we make about others? How does it feel to see a nontraditional hero? Have your perceptions of others changed as a result of these performances? How? Additional activities Implement a larger service learning project in which teens help their community while challenging people’s assumptions. Hold a community resource day, planned and implemented by students. Common Core connections This activity relates to Speaking and Listening 6–12 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 14-18 Kinect game Yoostar
Language_Arts#0-5#Sesame_Street:_Once_Upon_a_Monster Dress Marco Students learn how to dress Marco according to his clothing preferences by playing Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster. This exercise prepares children to pick out their own clothes and to dress themselves. Group student into pairs so that two students can play at the same time. In the game, Marco shows an image of what he would like to wear. Students move the clothing racks to identify the items and place them on Marco. Cut out different pictures of clothing from magazines, and then ask students to find articles of clothing in Marco's wardrobe which are the same color as those in the magazine picture. Additional activity Bring clothing to school so students can play dress up and practice their color recognition. Common Core connections This activity relates to Speaking and Listening 6–12 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 0-5 Kinect game Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster
Science#0-5#Sesame_Street:_Once_Upon_a_Monster Clean up It's never too early to learn about recycling. Young students match the trash with the same color trash can in Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster. Group students into pairs. Two students can play at the same time. Have students throw red trash balls into the red trash can and throw green trash balls into the green trash can. Bring in different types of recyclable and non-recyclable materials. Discuss what is and is not recyclable. For recyclable materials, explain why paper needs to be separated from other materials, like glass and plastic. Show an item, and ask students whether it is recyclable. If it is, ask them which bin it would go into in the game. Additional activity Student practice their skills by recycling material around their home or in the school. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects K–5 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 0-5 Kinect game Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster
Language_Arts#5-10#Sesame_Street:_Once_Upon_a_Monster Acting out emotions What are different ways children can let others know what they're feeling? Young students can practice non-verbal communication skills by acting with Seamus the Brave in Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster. Play Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster. Cookie Monster calls out an emotion and shows the body movements that go with the action. Students mimic his movements. Later, ask students to demonstrate the movements associated with the different emotions. Have students suggest alternative movements or facial expressions. Make a game of it by having a student act out an emotion and having their classmates guess what it is. Additional activities Have students act out emotions that haven't been shown to practice their non-verbal communication skills. Demonstrate an emotion. Then help the class guess what the opposite emotion is and act it out. Common Core connections This activity relates to Language K–5 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster
Science#5-10#Sesame_Street:_Once_Upon_a_Monster The forceful competitor We apply force in everyday activities, yet we rarely reflect on how force works. What exactly is force, and when is understanding it relevant? Playing Trash Can Basketball in Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster gives students an opportunity to experiment with force, create their own definition, and improve their understanding of the concept. Students individually play Trash Can Basketball. (For large group settings, randomly select a few students to play.) While playing, students experiment with different ranges and forces. They journal their observations and reflections and create their own definition of force based on their experience in the game. Students share their notes and definitions with one other. As a class, discuss what force is and develop an accurate definition in student-friendly language. Explain the properties of force and how it is calculated. Additional activity Draw analogies between the abstract interpretation of force and its practical application to promote cross-curricular relevancy. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects K–5 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster
History#5-10#Sesame_Street:_Once_Upon_a_Monster Dressing and guessing historical figures By dressing up a monster in Dress Up in Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster as an historical figure and asking their partners to guess who it is, students can review and reinforce their historical knowledge. Create several flash cards, each with the name of an historical figure the class has studied. In pairs, students play Dress Up. The student playing selects a card at random and then dresses up their monster to resemble their selected character. The observing student guesses who the monster-historical figure is. Their partner times how long it takes them make a successful guess. After the figure has been successfully identified, both students discuss the significance of this historical figure. Additional activity Use this same sequence for characters in stories or books the class has been reading. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects K–5 Standards.	Subject History Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster
Science#5-10#Kinectimals Food chain jumble Capture students’ interest in science by using Kinectimals to examine how energy moves through a food chain. Make a 5-by-7-inch note card for the four animal cubs in Kinectimals. Create a food chain for each cub (using plants and animals). Create a note card for each link of the food chain. Divide class into four groups to play Kinectimals. Assign each group an animal cub. Have each group randomly draw three cards from their cub’s food chain options. Have students line themselves up in the proper order of energy that flows toward the cub (example: grass>rabbit>tiger). Give examples of incorrect energy flow within a food chain, and have students correct them. Additional activities Brainstorm other habitats (examples: ocean, desert, savanna), and list animals and plants that live in those habitats. Create a food chain for each chosen habitat. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects K–5 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinectimals
Language_Arts#5-10#Kinectimals X marks the spot A child often memorizes his or her address without truly understanding the concept or meaning. Using Kinectimals as an impetus, students can learn about their location in the world and the importance of directions. Let the class play Kinectimals up until the point they can see Captain Abel’s treasure map. Look over the captain’s map, and discuss all the important details to consider when creating a map. Distribute to the class a basic map of the neighborhood surrounding the school. Have students find a partner and take turns explaining how to get from a nearby landmark to the school. Make students write their instructions down in complete sentences. Encourage students to use adjectives to help with their descriptions. Students can also include drawings of different landmarks within the directions when writing their work down. Additional activity Let students hide a treasure in the classroom and then design their own treasure map. Common Core connections This activity relates to Language 1–5 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinectimals
Geography#5-10#Kinectimals No place like home Home means different things to different cultures. Use Kinectimals to help children learn about the diversity of the world they live in. Have the class play Kinectimals. Stop the game at the pirate’s home. Discuss how the pirate’s home is similar to or different from their own homes. Brainstorm the different types of homes that exist in the United States. Divide class into groups. Assign each group a region of the United States. Have each group explore types of homes in their assigned region, taking note of shapes, windows, and materials. Have students share their findings (including pictures) with the class. As a class, discuss the reasons behind the diversity in houses, such as climate, topography, and location. Additional activities Assign different countries to each group, and have the groups research homes from their assigned countries. Create a class book that highlights each group’s work and illustrations. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects K–5 Standards.	Subject Geography Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinectimals
Geography#11-13#Kinectimals Wandering the wild Do you know your biome? With Kinectimals, teachers can open the door for students to explore the different geographical areas on the planet. Divide students into four groups. Assign each group one cub from Kinectimals. Have each group play the game, taking note of the ecosystem around their cub. Let students research and explore their cub’s biome. Give students the assignment to discover and choose another type of animal from their biomes. Have each student create a narrative story, written in first person, of a day in the life of that animal and how it interacts with its environment. Students could mention terrain, daily activities, predators, and prey. Additional activities Have each student make a poster of his or her animal in its natural habitat with examples from the story. Play a version of “Charades” where students have to guess each others’ animal and biome. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects K–8 Standards.	Subject Geography Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinectimals
Language_Arts#5-10#Kinectimals Zany behaviors in the world What animals make good pets? Use Kinectimals to introduce young students to the differences between wild and domesticated animals, and then have the students describe characteristics of each type of animal. Have two or three students in the class play Kinectimals for 15 minutes. Instruct the rest of the class to create a list of cub behaviors they observe while watching. Discuss additional wild animal behaviors that students may have witnessed at the zoo, read about, or watched on television. Divide students into groups to brainstorm characteristics they see with their own pets. To compare and contrast the behavior of both types of animals, have the students make Venn diagrams for each group. Additional activity Students create a short story in which they choose one person (from a book, movie, or family member) and compare him or her to a wild or domestic animal. Each comparison should include five to eight behaviors and the reasons why that person is or isn’t similar to the animal. Common Core connections This activity relates to Language K–5 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinectimals
Science#5-10#Kinectimals Pet careers Playing Kinectimals can help students' critical thinking skills as they make the leap from learning about the care and feeding of their cubs to how to care for animals in general. Teach the class about how to treat animals, and discuss animal rights. One at a time, have each child in the class play Kinectimals. Each student chooses a cub and learns about the care and feeding of the cub. Discuss these questions with the class: How do you feel about animals? Could you see yourself working with them? What skills and knowledge would you need? How can you get experience in the field? Additional activities Take a field trip to a petting zoo, humane society, or other animal-related business. Invite a professional to speak with the class. Have the students pose questions prompted by what they've learned from the game and the class discussion. Common Core connections This activity relates to Speaking and Listening 1–5 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinectimals
Science#11-13#Kinectimals Bear-sitting Learning to see the needs of others and to take care of others are fundamental social skills. Playing Kinectimals: Now with Bears enables students to practice empathy and caretaking skills. It can also help to develop cooperation skills. Divide students into small groups of caretakers. Walk them through the steps of naming, feeding, and caring for the bears they will be responsible for in Kinectimals. Discuss how they will have to cooperate to take good care of their bears’ needs. Have them play Kinectimals over a week or more of program time. Discuss as a class: What was it like to take responsibility for a small being? How did it feel to have another being’s welfare in their hands? Additional activities Discuss as a class: How is this like babysitting for children? How is it unlike babysitting? What did you learn about taking care of little ones? Students journal and reflect on their experience and how it changed them. Common Core connections This activity relates to Speaking and Listening 6–12 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinectimals
Language_Arts#0-5#Kinectimals Afternoon adventure Understanding the key elements of stories and writing stories is essential to reading comprehension and writing. Writing a story about how they would spend an afternoon with an animal they played with in Kinectimals can give students fun practice in these skills. Students play Kinectimals. Review the key elements of story: Setting, character, and plot. The class brainstorms aloud about the setting. Keep a list of the words students use to describe the various settings in the game. Create one list for characters and one for plot. Draw a few graphics to illustrate some of the words (to help them read the list). Students use these word lists creatively to write an adventure story about how they would spend an afternoon on the island with their chosen pet. Select a few students to share their adventures with the class. Additional activities Post their adventures on the Kinectimals bulletin board. Ask students to illustrate their stories. Common Core connections This activity relates to Language K–5 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 0-5 Kinect game Kinectimals
Science#0-5#Kinectimals Introduction to Kinectimals Learning to identify and distinguish different members of the same biological family (genus) is an important skill both for biology and for the development of critical thinking. Students are introduced to this skill and can practice it by playing Kinectimals. Introduce the concept of biological families, explaining that all family members share certain characteristics, while other characteristics, like eye color or size, may differ. Use the example of cats, because students encounter feline cubs in Kinectimals. Draw two columns on the board: “Similar” and “Different.” Tell the students to look for how the Kinectimals cubs are similar and different. Play Kinectimals. Discuss what they observed, filling in the “Similar” and “Different” columns. Review the concept of biological families. Have students name other biological families, and list what each has in common and how members differ. Additional activity Create a bulletin board with different biological families and have students bring in pictures of different members of that family. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects K–5 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 0-5 Kinect game Kinectimals
Science#11-13#Kinect_Sports:_Season_Two Tennis spin How do tennis players make the ball bounce high with one swing and low on another? By playing Tennis in Kinect Sports: Season Two, students learn how spin factors into tennis and explore the physics concepts of rotation and friction. In pairs, students play a Tennis match. As they play, students examine the effect of swinging in a high-to-low motion versus a low-to-high motion. Low-to-high motion creates topspin and makes the ball bounce higher. High-to-low motion creates backspin (slice) and makes the ball bounce low. Students research the physics of spinning spheres, answering the following questions: What is rotation? Friction? How do the angle at which the ball’s surface is hit and friction create topspin? How do the angle at which the ball’s surface is hit and friction create backspin? Additional activity Students hypothesize and then research whether it would be easier or harder to hit topspin and backspin with a ball that had less tennis fuzz. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects 6–8 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinect Sports: Season Two
Math#5-10#Kinect_Sports:_Season_Two Scoring darts Math is everywhere! Students can practice their addition, subtraction, and multiplication skills and see how these skills combine while playing a friendly game of Darts in Kinect Sports: Season Two. Pairs of students play a Darts game. While they play the game, students observe the scores being tallied and displayed and try to figure out how the score is being calculated. What combination or sequence of addition, subtraction, and multiplication is the game using to arrive at the score? Assess their skills by giving them darts-based scoring scenarios and having them determine the final score using the combination of addition, multiplication, and subtraction they uncovered. Additional activity Students create their own system for scoring darts using a combination of multiplication, subtraction, addition, and division. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 1–5 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Sports: Season Two
Science#11-13#Kinect_Sports:_Season_Two Baseball batting physics How do baseball players direct a baseball with their bat? Isn’t it hard enough just to make contact? By playing Baseball in Kinect Sports: Season Two, students learn how timing a bat swing properly can direct a ball. Students play Baseball in Kinect Sports: Season Two. They experiment with directing the ball to left field and to right field by making contact with the ball early and late. Have students use their own words to hypothesize why the timing of the shot might affect the direction the ball moves. They can reenact the hitting of the baseball in slow motion to support their reasoning. Additional activity Take the lesson outside and have them try to direct real baseballs by changing the timing of their swings. It’s a lot harder to do in real life! Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects 6–8 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinect Sports: Season Two
Math#11-13#Kinect_Sports Exploring equality What does it mean to say that two things equal each other? Playing Darts in Kinect Sports: Season Two gives students practice with equations and reinforces the concept of mathematical equality. In pairs, students play Darts. The goal is to obtain a score of 0 by subtracting points gained from 501. Partners set up an equation starting with 501 and set it equal to the number of points gained per attempt. Partners document the results of each attempt for the player. When double or triple points are earned, students reflect this in their equations: For example, 48 points earned in one attempt may be written “2(24)”. Repeat until the score is 0. After each student in the team plays, confirm that both sides of the equation equal 501 and interpret the results of each attempt. Additional activity Discuss how equality relates to balance. Explore where the principle of balance can be found in objects that students are familiar with (such as see saws). Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–5 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinect Sports
Math#11-13#Kinect_Sports Knocking down numbers Mathematics and sports fit together like a hand in a glove. With Kinect Sports, teachers can use bowling to illustrate and review the relationship between numbers and how numbers form fractions. Review the basic rules of bowling, along with scoring guidelines. Divide the class into groups. Let each group take turns playing Bowling in Kinect Sports. Within each group, let students take turns bowling frames until they complete the game. While one student bowls, have the other students in the group record the score for that frame. After the group finishes, have students write all 10 frames as fractions. Introduce the concept of equivalent fractions by multiplying the numerator and denominator of the original fraction by various numbers. Show the class how to reduce fractions to their lowest forms. Additional activities Have students rewrite their fractions as percentages. Show the class how to write bowling scores as decimals, and have the students practice. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 6–8 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinect Sports
History#0-55-10#Kinect_Sports Scavenger hunt Playing games, such as Soccer, in Kinect Sports provides many opportunities for students to practice and improve physical skills and to learn about teamwork. Group students into teams, and tell them that they’re on a scavenger hunt. A team earns one clue for each successfully completed Kinect Sports game. Adjust the number of clues and complexity based on the age of the students. After a team earns three (or more) clues, they receive a badge or points (if playing a longer game, over time). As a class, discuss how hard is it to wait earn what you want. Ask students how they'd improve their play and help their teammates in the next game. Invite students to consider whether they played cooperatively. On their own or as a class, discuss how, historically, cooperation and individualism has affected obtaining goals. Additional activity Students write about their team experience, reflecting on whether any of their perceptions or thoughts has changed. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects K-5 Standards.	Subject History Age range Ages 0-5, Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Sports
Science#14-18#Kinect_Sports Race to the spinach The exciting games in Kinect Sports provide many opportunities for students to learn about health and to improve their critical-thinking skills. Teach the class about food groups and good eating habits. Students form teams by “food group.” Teams compete and receive extra points for figuring out how many calories are burned in any game in Kinect Sports. As a class, discuss what students learned about sports and food (for example: the best food choices to make for the greatest stamina). Ask how they would counsel a younger sibling, relative, or friend about healthful eating. Ask students to imagine being marooned on a desert island, and then have them determine which foods would help them live longer. Additional activity Students consider how to choose foods for lunch and how their choices affect their short-term and long-term health. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects 6–8 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 14-18 Kinect game Kinect Sports
Science#5-10#Kinect_Sports Puzzle me this Playing Soccer or Boxing in Kinect Sports provides many opportunities for students to practice their physical skills and to learn about teamwork. Tell the students that they're going to solve a puzzle by playing games. Divide the class into teams of three. When each team successfully completes a game, they earn one puzzle piece. You can adjust the number of pieces and complexity based on the age of your students. After a team earns three (or more) puzzle pieces, they can try to solve the puzzle. As a class, discuss how difficult it is to wait for what you want. Discuss different strategies that students can use to improve their scores and to help their teammates. Invite students to consider how playing cooperatively affects their game. Additional activity Ask students to write about how the experience affected them or modified their thinking. Common Core connections This activity relates to Speaking and Listening 1–5 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Sports
Physical_education#14-18#Kinect_Sports I could have been a contender Kinect Sports provides many opportunities for students to practice physical skills and hand-eye coordination. It also enables students to develop coaching skills by helping those who are strengthening their physical skills. They can use this coaching experience to consider a sports-related career, such as an athlete, a coach, a physical education teacher, or a physical therapist. Discuss with potential coaches: How do you feel about sports? Can you see yourself playing or coaching? What skills and knowledge would you need? How can you get experience in the field? Invite athletes or sports professionals to speak, or take a field trip to a stadium or a sports rehabilitation facility. Coaches-in-the-making can interview the athletes and professionals. Assign coaches to players. Coaches keep a journal of the coaching sessions. Additional activity New coaches can add to their journal reflections on the service experience from the point of view of the players (thinking outside themselves). And they can add their own reactions, thoughts, and aspirations. Common Core connections This activity relates to Speaking and Listening 6–12 Standards.	Subject Physical education Age range Ages 14-18 Kinect game Kinect Sports
Language_Arts#14-18#Kinect_Adventures I’d love to be a teacher Kinect Adventures include many opportunities for students to practice academic skills. It also enables students to develop teaching skills by tutoring those who are strengthening their academic skills. They can use this tutoring experience to consider a career in education, such as a teacher, an educational technology specialist, or a librarian. Discuss with potential tutors: How do you feel about children? Could you see yourself working with them? What skills and knowledge would you need? How can you get experience in the field? Bring in teachers or tutors to speak, or take a field trip to a different school or a tutoring center. Potential tutors can interview the teachers. Assign tutors and tutees. Tutors keep a journal of the tutoring sessions. Additional activity Tutors add to the journals their reflections on the service experience from the point of view of the tutees (thinking outside themselves) and consider their own reactions, thoughts, and aspirations. Common Core connections This activity relates to Speaking and Listening 6–12 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 14-18 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Math#11-13#Kinect_Sports:_Season_Two The team statistician Sports announcers often highlight a team’s “good” statistics. Playing Kinect Sports: Season Two, each student becomes a sports announcer who uses statistics to “sell” his or her team’s results. In pairs, students each play one inning of baseball. While one plays, the other records the score, base hits, home runs, pitches per batter, and other relevant stats. Students track the score, but do not include this in their class report. At the end of the two innings, each student creates a stats report for their team using the data their partner collected. They may include percentages, ratios, duration of each inning, or other information. Still in pairs, students read their stats reports to the class. The class votes for the team they think won based on the reports. After the vote, reveal the final scores. Discuss how numbers can be both accurate but also skewed to emphasize a certain interpretation. Additional activity Discuss real-world cases where numbers may be accurate yet skewed. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 6–8 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinect Sports: Season Two
Math#14-18#Kinect_Sports:_Season_Two Ski for success with scatter plots Professional skiers need every edge they can gain to win a race. Using math, these athletes can gain an advantage over their competitors. Playing Skiing in Kinect Sports: Season Two gives students an opportunity to use, analyze, and apply scatter plots to a real-world situation. Review scatter plots. On a large piece of graph paper, each student creates a scatter plot, with the x axis labeled “Attempt Number” and the y axis labeled “Time.” In pairs, students play Skiing. After every run, they document the on-screen results in the coordinate plane. After every student has participated, each one draws a trend line through their points. They determine the slope, y intercept, and function rule. As a class, interpret these results―both mathematically and in real-world terms. Discuss how the knowledge gained from the scatter plot can help improve performance on future attempts. Additional activity Discuss the mathematical relationship between gates missed and overall results. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 9-12 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 14-18 Kinect game Kinect Sports: Season Two
Geography#5-10#Kinect_Sports:_Season_Two Skiing (and listening) for success Imagine traveling alone, blindfolded, and without directions. You probably wouldn’t get very close to your destination! By playing Skiing in Kinect Sports: Season Two blindfolded, with a seeing partner calling out directions, students can explore the value of attentive listening, precise directional words, and collaboration. In pairs, students play Skiing. Each student takes their first run blindfolded, with no assistance from their partner. On their second run (still blindfolded), they receive verbal assistance from their partner (such as “Jump,” “Lean right,” or “Lean left.”). Students compare the results of each of their runs. Second-run scores should show improved performance. Partners reflect on the experience and what they can do to improve their listening skills and their communication skills. As a class, discuss the necessity for using precise directional words, developing listening skills, and cooperating. Additional activity Students describe how each of the five senses helps us navigate the world and how we adapt if one of these senses is not present. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects K–5 Standards.	Subject Geography Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Sports: Season Two
History#11-13#Kinect_Sports:_Season_Two Can we learn from the past? History may be destined to repeat itself if it’s not well understood. How do we learn from the past? Playing the tennis game Mascot Mashing in Kinect Sports: Season Two gives students an opportunity to explore this question, because they must analyze their results to foster progress in future attempts. This activity may be integrated with any history unit. In pairs, students play Mascot Mashing. They document the score of each attempt, reflect on how they can increase their score, record their observations, and share them with each other. They make several more attempts. Scores should increase with every attempt, because many “tricks” can be learned that improve results. When the game ends, each pair reflects on what happened. How much progress was made? Why was it made? What would have happened if they had not aligned future attempts with prior reflections? Additional activity Discuss with students how learning from past mistakes is integral to success in academic settings and beyond. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects 6-8 Standards.	Subject History Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinect Sports: Season Two
Math#14-18#Kinect_Sports:_Season_Two Assessing risk and reward What does high risk, high reward mean? Students can use math to figure it out when they play Football in Kinect Sports: Season Two. In pairs, students play Football. They play three series. Within each series, they must choose exclusively from short, medium, or long-range passes (for example, short passes in the first series, medium passes in the second, and long-range passes in the third). Partners document the results of each attempt for the player on an x–y coordinate plane. The x axis identifies the attempt number. The y axis identifies yards earned per attempt. They create three lines―one for each series. After both students have played, they analyze the results. Which series had the most consistent gains? Which had the most fluctuations in yardage gained? Students share their observations with the class. Additional activity Discuss with students the relevance of risk and reward and how to assess risk and reward in contexts beyond the classroom. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 9-12 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 14-18 Kinect game Kinect Sports: Season Two
Language_Arts#11-13#Kinect_Sports Comparing and contrasting What does it mean to compare and contrast? When asked, students often provide a definition for each individual activity. By playing two distinct yet similar games, Table Tennis in Kinect Sports and Court Tennis in Kinect Sports: Season Two, students can deepen their comprehension of this concept and learn how to apply it. In pairs, students play Table Tennis and Court Tennis. Partners observe each other playing both games, recording notes about the commonalities and differences between the two sports. Each pair reflects on their notes, coming up with a clear definition of the concept compare and contrast. Select pairs share their results and reflections with the class. Based on the students’ findings and reflections, provide insight and direction. Conclude with formal instruction about comparing and contrasting relevant to the content at hand. Additional activity Discuss the relevance of comparing and contrasting in everyday contexts, such as grocery shopping or making apparel purchases. Common Core connections This activity relates to Speaking and Listening 6–12 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinect Sports
History#11-13#Kinect_Fun_Labs Animated history If historical characters were alive today, what would they say? How would they talk? How would they dress? Playing Build-A-Buddy in Kinect Fun Labs with characters they create, animate, and act out, students can reinforce their historical knowledge while engaging their creativity. Using classroom supplies, students create paper 3D models resembling historical figures. Each student writes a 20-second script for their character. Students animate the model and record the character acting out the script in Build-A-Buddy. As a bell-ringer activity, play one recording daily. Students write down the character they believe is being described. Share results as a class. After sharing, discuss the historical significance of the character, along with any other relevant information pertaining to the unit you are covering. Additional activity Instead of animating historical characters, animate geographical locations and follow the same process. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects 6–8 Standards.	Subject History Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinect Fun Labs
Geography#11-13#Kinect_Adventures You CAN get there from here Playing games in Kinect Adventures in concert with a map challenge allows students to practice physical skills and develop travel skills. Ask students to become familiar with a bus or subway route in your neighborhood. Post a copy of the route on the wall. Students play games in Kinect Adventures and, as they reach a certain time or score, they move their marker along the map from point A to point B. Those with higher scores/lower times might get more moves on the map. Discussion prompts: What were you surprised to learn about your town? How do you feel, now that you know how to travel more independently? How would you compete differently next time? Additional activity Students discuss or write about how mobility affects them and their lives. You could talk about after school employment, weekend recreation opportunities, and more. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects 6–8 Standards.	Subject Geography Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Science#5-10#Kinect_Adventures Whose generation? Playing games in Kinect Adventures with the elderly provides students many opportunities to practice physical skills and to learn what it’s like to collaborate. Take an Xbox and Kinect to a local senior center. Group elders with students so that they can compete together as pairs. Teams play Kinect Adventures. Discussion prompts for entire group: How did you and your partner work together? What different skills did you and your partner have to contribute? What is it like to be on a team with a student or elder? How would you compete differently next time? Additional activity Invite students to consider how teamwork affects society and how we can open avenues so everyone can contribute. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects K–5 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Science#0-5#Kinect_Adventures Which way works best? Students playing Reflex Ridge in Kinect Adventures can earn points through a series of trial and error challenges and can reflect on which actions met with success. One student plays Reflex Ridge while the others watch and observe what is needed to be successful. After the first game, elicit student responses and make a list of their observations. Students brainstorm about various solutions they need to be successful, such as “lean more to the left” or “jump higher." Let some students try their ideas in games, while others watch to see if the solutions worked. Have a group discussion about which methods met with the most success, and talk about how they figured out the best solutions. Additional activities Group students to try working in teams. Relate this lesson to other settings, such as learning how to hit a baseball or solving a math problem. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects K–5 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 0-5 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Science#11-13#Kinect_Adventures Pounds of garbage Kinect Adventures enables students to practice and improve their physical skills while taking care of their environment. Students pair off and take a “green walk” to pick up garbage. The team that collects the most trash gets to select the game. All other teams must play the same game as the first, and compete for points, badges, or “bragging rights" As a class, discuss what surprised them about their local environment. Ask was it like to look at their surroundings with a “green” eye. Talk about how they'll look at protecting their neighborhood and less populated areas in the future. Students discuss how the environment affects society. Additional activity Ask students to write about how they can contribute to conservation. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects 6–8 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Science#0-5#Kinect_Adventures Stop those leaks! Play 20,000 Leaks in Kinect Adventures. Students work in pairs to figure out the best way to stop the water leaks. Students also learn to collaborate. Students work in pairs to play one game of 20,000 Leaks. As a class, discuss the problems the students needed to solve in the game. Talk about how they could have worked together to come up with possible solutions. Have partners act out how they think they could solve the problems they encountered during the game. Ask a few pairs to play another game to implement their solutions. Students discuss how their solutions worked and talk about things that affected their solutions. Additional activity Students extend their lessons about cooperation to other activities they do together, like jumping rope or playing ball. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects K–5 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 0-5 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Science#14-18#Kinect_Adventures Photo finish Kinect Adventures provides many opportunities for students to practice physical skills, including visual acuity and a sharp sense of timing. Teach students how to play a game, such as River Run in Kinect Adventures. Tell them they must reach a designated base score for their turn to count toward points, badges, or other incentives. Students need to make at least one image in the three photos that the system takes (for example “the letter A” or “a sad face”). Score extra points for the image being clear and understandable. As a class, discuss the results of the game, relating it to multitasking in the students' daily lives. Additional activity Have students write about their experience and whether any of their views have changed as a result. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects 9–12 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 14-18 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Science#0-5#Kinect_Adventures Moving water While playing 20,000 Leaks in Kinect Adventures, students can learn about how water moves. Drop objects into a fish tank full of water, and ask students to describe how the water moves as a result. Students watch other students play 20,000 Leaks and pay attention to how the water moves. Have students think about why the water moves as it does. Then have them share their opinions and back them up with what they've learned in class or observed in the game. After students play, let them use the game screen and the tank of water to describe the ways water moves. Compare and contrast water in the leaks to the water in the larger tank. Repeat this process to allow them to expand upon their observations. Additional activity See if various objects float or sink. Students make predictions before placing the objects in the water and describe their observations. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects K–5 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 0-5 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Science#0-5#Kinect_Adventures Moving in space Space Pop in Kinect Adventures helps young students imagine what it would be like to go into space and experience zero gravity. Ask students what an astronaut is and does. Show a video clip of astronauts floating in space, and lead a discussion about why they can do that. Have students pair off. Ask students to imagine what it would be like to float around in the room as the astronauts do. Partners share what they would do and how it would feel. Organize students into groups of three. Students play Space Pop, in which they can explore how they might move about in a weightless environment. Encourage them to observe how each group is able to move and to work together to figure out the best way to pop the bubbles. Additional activity Blow bubbles in class and let students move around to pop them. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects K–5 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 0-5 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Math#0-5#Kinect_Adventures Let’s count the rallyballs! Playing Rallyball in Kinect Adventures gives students practice counting and following left/right directions while giving them an action break! Review left and right. Review counting basics. Throw tennis balls to several students and ask the other students to keep track of how many you throw. Have them toss the balls back, again counting the balls. While one student plays Rallyball, another counts the “A” balls that fly out, keeping a running tally on the board. The remaining students help the player by calling out the direction the player should move to hit the ball flying out. Count the total number of “A” balls. If you play more than one game, have students identify which game had the most balls thrown out, and compare and contrast the numbers of balls. Additional activity Reinforce counting and one-to-one correspondence skills by giving students regular opportunities to count, such as when they get in line, hand out snacks out, or turn in worksheets. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–5 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 0-5 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Geography#0-5#Kinect_Adventures Keeping in ship shape! Students can practice learning directions, such as left, right, and back and forth, and they get a chance to move their bodies by playing 20,000 Leaks: Ship Shapes in Kinect Adventures. This practice in a basic geography skill makes a great transition activity or movement break. Explain that the goal is to stop the leaks as the fish hit the water tank’s wall. While two students work together in front of the sensor, another gives them instructions, calling out which direction the students should move to stop the leaks. For example, one student will say, “Left hand,” “right foot,” or “move forward.” Allow the students who aren’t playing or giving instructions to move their bodies in the directions that the student calls out or in the direction that they think they should move to stop the leak. Additional activity Use direction words and instructions often in daily class activities to assist students in gaining a sense of directionality in terms of moving their bodies in space. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects K–5 Standards.	Subject Geography Age range Ages 0-5 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Language_Arts#11-13#Kinect_Adventures Heroes for a day We can learn from our past mistakes, and some people study history for this very reason―to help prevent tragedies or to minimize their predicted effects in the future. Using 20,000 Leaks in Kinect Adventures, students can step back in time to solve past disasters with present-day logic. Divide the class into groups. Let each group take a turn playing 20,000 Leaks. While one student plays, have other group members shout out helpful directions. As a class, discuss the challenges that each person faced as he or she played the game. Assign each group an infamous water disaster, such as Japan’s tsunami or the sinking of the Titanic. Have each group research the disaster and propose ways in which it could have been averted. Let each group present their results in first-person essay form, as if they are at the event and become heroes by saving the day. Additional activity Assign real-world problems and have the class brainstorm ways in which to solve them. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing 6–8 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Math#11-13#Body_and_Brain_Connection What’s your angle? We may not always realize that we live in a world of geometry and angles. With Traffic Control in Body and Brain Connection, teachers can provide a powerful introduction for children to the concepts of angles and how they form shapes. Divide students into groups. Have each group play Traffic Control. As one student plays, the other students draw stick figures to represent the player’s movements. Have students measure the angles between the arms of each figure they draw. Write down the results. Tell students to categorize their answers as acute, obtuse, or right angles. Let students walk around the classroom and schoolyard to find other examples that represent each type of angle. Have students bring in magazine ads that show angles. Have students guess the angles within the picture and then see how close their guess is to the actual measurement. Additional activity Have students write down the steps needed to properly measure angles. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 6–8 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection
Geography#11-13#Body_and_Brain_Connection Transportation Destination Are there better ways that people could travel? Use Traffic Control in Body and Brain Connection to explore modes of transportation and the best options for different circumstances. Divide the class into groups. Have each group take turns playing Traffic Control. Discuss how people travel within the game. As a class, list examples of modes of transportation within the United States. Assign each group three or four modes of transportation. Have the groups brainstorm three advantages and three disadvantages of each transportation mode. Share the answers aloud as a class. Additional activities Assign each group a country. Have students research modes of transportation in that country and then bring in information, pictures, or drawings to share as examples. Have groups create an advertisement promoting a mode of transportation from their assigned country. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects 6–8 Standards.	Subject Geography Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection
Math#5-10#Body_and_Brain_Connection Paper plate shuffle Math means more than numbers; math serves as a language of patterns. Use Perfect 10 in Body and Brain Connection to teach children how to look for mathematical patterns and for the relationships that numbers hold to one another. Write out the four basic mathematical signs and the equal symbol on separate paper plates. Have children play Perfect 10. Divide students into small groups. Pass out blank paper plates. Have students use markers to write digits from 0 to 10, one number per plate. Write a number between 0 and 99 on the board. Have each group explore possible equation options that equal the number on the board. Start by using only addition, move to subtraction, and then move to combinations that include multiplication and division (if possible). Additional activities Add exponents to the game. See which groups can come up with the longest and the shortest equations. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 1–5 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection
Science#11-13#Body_and_Brain_Connection Don’t burn my pizza pie Recent research indicates that student brain activity is jump-started by the physical movement involved when playing games like Pizza Catch in Body and Brain Connection. Game results can be combined with lessons about plotting data. Place students in small groups of four or five. Students use their reflexes to catch the pizza boxes by moving their arms. They let the burnt pizzas fall. Students create data sheets to collect scores to share with their classmates. As accuracy improves, the game increases speed and pattern complexity. Students can view the results on data sheets. Students practice plotting and presenting data to measure growth for individuals and groups. Additional activity Students discuss or write about how physical ability affects their feelings of self-worth, sense of identity, and empowerment. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects 6–8 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection
Physical_education#11-13#Kinect_Sports Play-a-thon Students playing games in Kinect Sports, such as Boxing or Beach Volleyball, have many opportunities to practice and improve their physical skills. Organize students into small teams of two or three to compete against each other in a selected number of Kinect Sports. Ask each group of students to identify a cause for which they would like to raise funds. Have them study these causes and discuss why they chose them. Begin playing the games. Winners are those who both finish the gauntlet of games with the best scores and who raise the most money (adjust to suit local conditions and players). As a class, discuss what players would want to tell other teams about playing Kinect Sports. Did they have the stamina to finish? If not, why not? Did competing for a cause affect their performance? How? Additional activity Students write about how competing for a cause can be different from straight competition. Common Core connections This activity relates to Speaking and Listening 6–12 Standards.	Subject Physical education Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinect Sports
Physical_education#0-5#Kinect_Sports Let’s move! Children learn about cooperation and following directions by playing the exciting volleyball game Body Ball in Kinect Sports. Group students into two teams. Each student plays one game, hitting the ball with the part of their body the game directs them to use. Have children try different individual and team strategies. For example, team members can call out which body part their teammate should use. As a class, have students reflect on successful strategies. Students play another round using the strategies they developed. After the second round, share again, but this time focus on how students might cooperate as team members to be more successful. Additional activity Children focus on cooperation and following directions while engaging in other activities throughout the day, such as playing outdoors and helping each other read aloud. Common Core connections This activity relates to Speaking and Listening 1–5 Standards.	Subject Physical education Age range Ages 0-5 Kinect game Kinect Sports
Math#0-5#Kinect_Sports Let’s jump! Playing Long Jump in Kinect Sports helps children learn the concepts of distance and sequences. Students try the standing long jump outside. Encourage them to focus on running to a certain point before they jump. In the class, play Long Jump. Write each student’s distance on a sticky note. Ask each child to put their sticky note on the board. Have them place the sticky notes in order of length jumped, with the shortest distance first. Additional activity Talk about how the score numbers go from the shortest to the longest jump. Ask children how they knew where to place their numbers, and help them to put misplaced numbers in the correct order. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–5 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 0-5 Kinect game Kinect Sports
Science#11-13#Kinect_Sports:_Season_Two The physics of skiing What does it take to be a championship skier? Find out and learn the fundamental physics concepts of drag, velocity, and aerodynamics by playing Skiing in Kinect Sports: Season Two. Students play Skiing in pairs, competing against each another. While playing, students experiment with different skiing positions, and they observe what happens when they ski upright and when they ski crouched. After the game, students hypothesize why crouching increases a skier’s speed. Discuss the concept of drag (air resistance), velocity, and aerodynamics, and how the three are related to each other: How the less surface area a moving body exposes to the air, the more aerodynamic it is and the faster it goes. Additional activities Study the advanced technology that goes into ski suits and swim suits, all in attempts to minimize the effects of drag. Have students design an aerodynamic ski suit or swim suit. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects 6–8 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinect Sports: Season Two
Science#14-18#Kinect_Sports:_Season_Two The physics of golf The game of golf can take a lifetime to master, but using Kinect to understand the relationship of contact angles, trajectory, and distance can take just one lesson. Students can develop or reinforce their understanding of the physics of projectile motion by playing Golf in Kinect Sports: Season Two. Teach or review with students how launch angles affect the parabolic path of a projectile’s motion. Students play a round of Golf. While playing, they hit the ball with different clubs, observing and recording how different clubs are marked for different distances, how each club face has a different angle, and how the different clubs affect the trajectory and distance of each shot. Students research the physics of golf, answering these questions: What is a contact angle? Trajectory? How does the contact angle affect trajectory and distance? Additional activity Outside, students hit real golf balls. What other real-world factors affect the path and distance of the ball? Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects 9–12 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 14-18 Kinect game Kinect Sports: Season Two
Science#11-13#Kinect_Sports:_Season_Two Tennis swing How do tennis players hit the ball across the court with one swing and direct the ball straight down the line on another swing? Playing Tennis in Kinect Sports: Season Two can help students understand fundamental concepts in physics: How the contact angle of an applied force (racquet face) affects the direction the object (ball) moves in. In pairs, students play Tennis. As they play, students experiment with hitting the ball straight or at an angle, recording the effect the different angles at which the racquet hits the ball has on the ball’s path. Students research the physics of tennis swings, answering these questions: What is applied force? Friction force? What effect does the racquet’s contact angle have on the direction the ball moves in? How does the timing of a swing affect the direction the ball takes? Additional activity Students practice controlling their timing by aiming for the white lines. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects 6–8 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinect Sports: Season Two
Science#14-18#Kinect_Sports:_Season_Two Physics of pitching Baseball pitchers use a complex motion to create a certain momentum and trajectory before releasing the ball. Playing Baseball in Kinect Sports: Season Two and reflecting on the physics of pitching can help students understand basic concepts in physics. Play Baseball. Students throw different pitches and examine the effect that different motions have on the momentum and the path of the ball. Students study the way real pitchers throw fastballs and curveballs. What body movements do pitchers use to create momentum and a curving trajectory? Students research and record the answers to the following questions: What is momentum? What is friction? How does air friction slow fastballs down? What is trajectory? What is Magnus force (the spin force that creates a curve ball)? How does it work? Additional activities Outside, students throw fastballs and curveballs. They might discover how hard it is to change the speed and direct the path of objects. Investigate the physics of a “sinker” pitch. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects 9-12 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 14-18 Kinect game Kinect Sports: Season Two
Physical_education#5-10#Kinect_Sports Age and ability—what’s the relationship? When family members join their children after school to compete together as a pair in a Kinect Sports game, students have an opportunity to learn collaboration, reflect on how age relates to ability, and learn new things about family members. And everyone gets exercise and a chance to develop physical skills! Invite family members to play a Kinect Sports game after school with their students. Pair each family member with his or her child so that they can compete as a pair. Play a Kinect Sports game. Reflect together on the experience: What were you surprised to learn about your family member? What is it like to be on a team with your student/child or your family member? How would you compete differently next time? Does age affect ability? How? How do you feel about your partner after working on a team together? Additional activity Students journal and reflect on their teaming experience with their family member. Common Core connections This activity relates to Speaking and Listening 1–5 Standards.	Subject Physical education Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Sports
Language_Arts#11-13#Kinect_Sports Sportscaster Visualizing is an important comprehension skill for reading. Equally important skills include listening comprehension and oral expression. What happens when you combine oral language practice with listening comprehension practice—while playing a video game? Engagement! Watch your students put their brains to work to follow a sporting event in Kinect Sports. Listen to recordings of sportscasters covering games. Discuss the language of the sports and what makes listening to the games interesting (even though the listener cannot see the events). Select a sport from Kinect Sports. While one student plays the game, another acts as the sportscaster. The rest of the class (unable to see the screen) visualizes the event by listening to the sportscaster. Additional activities Record the sportscaster for playback and peer review. Discuss the oral expression techniques that increase listening comprehension and visualization, and develop a list of the effective characteristics of an interesting sportscaster. Make a sports dictionary of vocabulary related to the games in Kinect Sports. Common Core connections This activity relates to Language 6-8 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinect Sports
Science#5-10#Kinect_Sports Healthy heart Teaching children to take care of their bodies can be interesting and fun. When you add video games to study the effects of exercise on the heart, engagement skyrockets! Teach students about the heart, heart rates, the effect of exercise on the health of the heart, and the long-term effects of little or no exercise. Students practice checking heart rates—first on themselves and then on a partner. Create a two-column chart: “Heart rate before exercise” and “Heart rate after exercise.” Students play active games in Kinect Sports. They measure and record their heart rate—before and after the game—to see the impact of exercise on their heart. Additional activities Test to see how long it takes the heart to return to a resting rate, and record that data in a third column. Play the game several different times, and record the results. Graph and compare the results for each game. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–5 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Sports
Math#5-10#Kinect_Sports Classroom Olympics Most children find the Olympic Games to be quite interesting. Now you can bring them to the classroom by playing the track and field events in Kinect Sports. Students can use the scoring in the events to practice math and to win medals. Introduce each track and field event. Explain the scoring method for each one. Organize students into teams that represent various countries in the Olympic Games. Teams compete and record their scores. Practice math comparisons and calculations with the scores. Award medals for scores and speed of calculations. Additional activity Include classrooms in other locations by playing the game online. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 1–5 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Sports
Geography#5-10#Kinect_Sports Choose your nation Learning about the nations of the world can be fun and motivating when combined with a sporting competition using Kinect Sports. Group students into teams of three to four. Ask each team to choose a country to research. Each team will learn its country’s location, flag, popular foods, dress, and some simple phrases in the local language. Drawing on their new knowledge about the country, each team creates a name for its group and enters a competition with other teams in the class. Teams compete in Kinect Sports events. Before every round of competition, each team teaches the other teams something new about the country that it represents. Additional activity Post a large world map, and have each team create a display to represent its country. Award medals for the displays. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects K–8 Standards.	Subject Geography Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Sports
Science#5-10#Kinectimals Who is your parent? In science, young children learn that, in the plant and animal world, offspring resemble their parents. The captivating cubs of Kinectimals provide an opportunity for young children to reinforce this learning. Students play Kinectimals. After playing the game, students create pictures of the cubs from the game and collect a photograph of an adult feline that matches each cub. Mix up each set of images and ask students to match each cub to the correct parent. Discuss how they know which one is the correct parent. Ask them to describe the characteristics of the cubs (and the parents) that helped the students pair them. Is fur color or eye color always a good way to match parents and offspring? Give examples of how these can differ in animal parents and offspring. Additional activity Compare and contrast the cubs and then the adults. Ask them to identify the characteristics that are the same and those that differ. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects K–5 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinectimals
Math#5-10#Kinectimals Collecting and comparing data Predicting outcomes and collecting and analyzing data are basic mathematical skills. By creating a “real” version of a virtual game, playing both games, recording the two sets of data, and then comparing them, students can practice these skills. Several games in Kinectimals involve throwing an object to knock over pins. Have students create a similar game with real objects. Ask them which game they predict will be easier to play for most students. Students take turns playing the virtual game, recording how many throws it takes to knock over the pins. Students play with real items and record that data. They compare the two sets of data to determine which game is easier, and they relate their findings to their original estimate. Additional activities Create real versions of some of the other virtual games in Kinectimals, and collect data for those. Discuss how students arrived at their original prediction and what the data taught them. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–5 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinectimals
Language_Arts#5-10#Kinectimals How many verbs? Increasing the verb vocabulary of students can help make great improvements in their writing. It is easy for students to generate verbs when they’re describing the actions in the virtual pet game, Kinectimals. Introduce verbs to the class. Brainstorm as many as you can think of, and write them on a chart. Play Kinectimals with the class. After playing for a while, stop and ask students to recall all of the actions in the game. Add the game verbs to the chart. For each subsequent session of the game, ask students to list new verbs for actions they saw in the game and to generate a list of verbs for actions they expect to see. Additional activities Create a class verb dictionary using verbs from Kinectimals. Have students write directions for the games using interesting verbs. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing K–5 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinectimals
Science#5-10#Kinectimals Force and motion Playing Kinectimals in Science class helps children expand their knowledge about the application of force and motion—while engaging in a fun and high-energy game. Introduce the concepts of force and motion to students. Students play Kinectimals to experiment with force and motion. Students encounter many opportunities to throw and kick objects. The objective is to knock over targets. As players move to the right and left, and as they vary the amount of force that they use, they can direct objects at the targets. Students use the vocabulary of science as they explore which type of force is most effective in winning the game. Additional activity Hold discussions about strategy. Decide as a class what is the most effective, and conduct repeated experiments with the same games. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects K–5 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinectimals
Language_Arts#5-10#Kinectimals Attention to detail Students are frequently asked to recall details when they write, but they often need help learning to gather details. By playing Kinectimals, students can become more proficient at noticing little things—gathering details—that they might otherwise miss. Students start playing Kinectimals. Stop the game, and ask students recall details that they noted. Each student should try to find at least one detail that he or she thinks other students might miss. Students write their detail in the form of a question to pose to the class. Students test the observation skills of the class by asking the questions. The teacher shares details that weren’t already noted. Additional activities Ask students to write about the game, including the rich details they gathered by playing. Go to the playground, and play the game again, gathering details about playground activities. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing K–5 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinectimals
Language_Arts#5-10#Kinectimals Adventure journal Teach children how to organize thoughts and record events for future recall by writing a journal. Kinectimals inspires children to use their imagination while they journal about their adventures in the virtual world of Kinectimals cats. Demonstrate how to create journal entries in a notebook, while providing pertinent examples. Introduce Kinectimals to students, and have them play for a specified time. Have students write about the adventures in their journals. Add new entries each time the game is played. Periodically reread the journals and relive the adventures with a friend. Additional activities Have students learn more about writing dates and recording events chronologically. Teach the concept of first person. Read a diary aloud to the class, and use it to demonstrate how personal reflections and feelings can be added to entries. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing K–5 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinectimals
Language_Arts#5-10#Kinect_Adventures Stretch it Sentence fluency is an important part of writing. Students delight in creating a variety of sentences as they write about their adventures in Kinect Adventures. Teach students a variety of sentence forms, from simple to complex as appropriate. Teach them to stretch a simple noun and verb sentence into one that tells: Who did what, where, when, and why. Play one of the games in Kinect Adventures. After playing, students work in teams to write increasingly more complex sentences describing the game. For example, in River Rush in Kinect Adventures, the sentences may progress from: “People ride on a raft” to “Two adventurous people ride on a raft down a river on a Saturday to collect coins” to “While lightning flashes, two adventurous young souls ride swiftly down a raging river on an autumn Saturday, avoiding obstacles and striving to collect a fortune in coins.” Additional activity Have students design game packaging for each individual adventure, using the most creative descriptions from the lessons. Common Core connections This activity relates to Language K–8 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Language_Arts#5-10#Kinect_Adventures Alliteration Alliteration can be both fun and challenging, especially when it's combined with writing about video game situations in Kinect Adventures. Teach students about the benefits and uses of alliteration in writing. Find and explain examples of alliteration in literature. Have students practice making alliterations about things in the classroom. Play Kinect Adventures. Divide students into work groups to develop alliterations. Describe each individual adventure. For example, Space Pop could be described as “boys blissfully bursting bouncing bubbles.” Additional activity Challenge students to think of multiple alliterations for each game using different letters. Common Core connections This activity relates to Language K–8 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Math#5-10#Body_and_Brain_Connection Stick to the math facts Students can increase their fluency with math facts while playing Which is Bigger? in Body and Brain Connection. Teach students about using symbols for greater than and less than. Students play the action game Which is Bigger? Students use their arms to indicate which sum is bigger in two equations. While one student plays, other students can quickly write down their answers to test their own fluency. Additional activities Students call out the answers to the equations as they create the symbol with their arms. Pass out paper symbols, and ask the rest of the class to hold up the answer as one student plays the game. Group students into teams of four to help increase motivation. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 1–5 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection
Language_Arts#5-10#Kinect_Adventures,_Body_and_Brain_Connection Following directions Learning to listen and follow directions is a major goal for young students. Often children take action before they hear all the directions. By playing Flag Frenzy in Body and Brain Connection, they can practice and build listening skills while they try to improve their score. Talk to students about good listening skills, and have them practice following simple directions. Play “Simon Says” to demonstrate these skills. Give each student a pair of paper flags―one white and one red. One student plays Flag Frenzy, while the rest of the class plays along in the background. Students raise and lower their flags based on color cues. This requires them to listen carefully to all of the directions before acting. Additional activity Students take turns giving directions to the class. Common Core connections This activity relates to Speaking and Listening 1–5 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game
Math#5-10#Body_and_Brain_Connection Fast facts Math fact fluency is key to math success for children. Students can increase their fluency by practicing these facts while playing the fast-paced game, Meter Reader, in Body and Brain Connection. Teach students mental strategies for quickly adding numbers together into the teens. Students play the game Meter Reader. Students quickly compute sums and lean their bodies to indicate whether the answer is less than, equal to, or greater than 10. While one student plays the game, the rest of the class can practice writing down the sums as quickly as possible to test their own fluency. Additional activities Students call out the answer as they lean. The class counts the number of problems that can be solved by using specific math strategies such as “fast nines,” “doubles,” “neighbors ” or “neighbors plus one.” Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 1–5 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection
Math#5-10#Body_and_Brain_Connection Visual discrimination Even very young children can find pictures of two shapes that are exactly alike. Playing the game Match Maker in Body and Brain Connection takes that activity to a new level, however, as an increasingly larger number of images is displayed for matching. Teach students about geometrical shapes, flips and turns, and symmetry. Practice matching shapes that are exactly alike. Play Match Maker, and watch students gain skills in visual discrimination as they learn to look closely to find exact matches. Additional activity Ask students to create examples of matching shapes and of shapes that don’t match. Have them compete to see whose pair of non-matching shapes can fool the most people. Common Core connections This activity relates to Language K–5 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection
Language_Arts#5-10#Body_and_Brain_Connection Read carefully Reading words that describe colors is a skill usually learned at a young age. What happens, however, when color words are written in different colors on different colored backgrounds? Students must pay careful attention to make sure they are reading the word carefully. Prepare students by making sure each child can read the words red, blue, and yellow. Play the game Pop ‘Til You Drop in Body and Brain Connection. Students pop balloons based on the word displayed. They must ignore the color of the word and the background and focus on the word itself. Pass out red, yellow, and blue paper balloons to the rest of the class. The students can hold up the one to be popped as one classmate plays the game. Discuss what made this activity challenging. Did the color the word was printed in or the background color fool them more often? What strategies did they use to read carefully? Additional activity Create similar games using other colors. Common Core connections This activity relates to Language K–5 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection
Math#5-10#Body_and_Brain_Connection Least to greatest Ordering numbers from least to greatest is a common skill for young children learning number sense. Balloon Buster in Body and Brain Connection is an engaging game in which students can practice their ordering skills. After students can count and recognize numbers from 1 to 100, they can play the game Balloon Buster. They read a series of numbers on balloons and pop them in order—from least to greatest. The game is timed, requiring students to make decisions quickly. Additional activity Teach students about place value, and ask them to order the numbers in place value blocks. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 1–5 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection
Math#5-10#Body_and_Brain_Connection Greater than or less than Comparing numbers is an important skill for young children learning math. The concepts of greater than and less than become fun to learn when they are part of a video game called Which Is Bigger? in Body and Brain Connection. Teach students about the concepts greater than and less than. Introduce the symbols > and <. Play Which Is Bigger?, a game that requires students to use their arms to make the appropriate symbols (> or <) as they work to answer as many questions as possible in a certain amount of time. Watch students’ number sense grow as they race to improve their scores, either by themselves or in teams. Additional activity Give students the opportunity to work up from beginner status to higher levels of difficulty. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 1–5 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection
Math#5-10#Body_and_Brain_Connection Follow the pattern Children can easily learn to follow and extend a pattern, and they can hone their skills even further by Playing Off the Radar in Body and Brain Connection, where parts of the patterns are hidden from sight. Students practice making patterns and extending them. Teach the class about a compass and how its needle moves. Students play Off the Radar, where they watch the needle on a compass move in a pattern. The players concentrate to visualize the continued movement when the needle disappears. Students use their arms to show where the needle ends up. Additional activity Make other patterns that cover a set number of elements, and ask students to identify what comes next in the pattern. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–5 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection
Math#5-10#Body_and_Brain_Connection Do what I say Math is filled with symbols, and students can make errors when they fail to focus on them. For example, adding when there's a subtraction sign is a common error. By playing Follow the Arrows in Body and Brain Connection, students learn the importance of paying close attention to math symbols. Teach students to solve problems using the symbolic form. Introduce the arrow symbols in Follow the Arrows. Students play Follow the Arrows, read the symbols, and then place their hands in the proper positions. Additional activity Have students solve problems in a game in which the instructor displays two numbers and then holds up a symbol. See which students solve the problems first. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 1–5 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection
Math#5-10#Body_and_Brain_Connection Countdown race Counting down or backwards is a critical skill for number sense and math fluency. While playing Time Bomb in Body and Brain Connection, students practice their counting down and number comparison skills. Students practice counting down from 100 to 0, starting at random numbers. Reinforce lessons about greater than and less than. Students play Time Bomb. The bombs all start at the same number and begin counting down at different rates. Students must, as quickly as possible, decide which bomb is moving the fastest and will reach zero first. Additional activities Group students into teams, and hold countdown races. Start at random numbers, and ask students to write down the numbers counting backwards as quickly as they can. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 1–5 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection
Geography#0-5#Kinect_Adventures Combinations for 10 Young children can build stronger math skills with facts for the number 10. Just have them play Perfect Ten in Body and Brain Connection. Create combinations for the number 10 using traditional math exercises. Students play Perfect Ten. From a group of four, select two numbers that total 10. Working in teams, students use their arms to match the two chosen numbers. As they work to improve their scores, teams and individual students will be highly motivated to memorize the facts for instant recall. Additional activity Increase game difficulty by working from beginner skills to increasingly advanced levels. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–5 Standards.	Subject Geography Age range Ages 0-5 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Language_Arts#11-13#Yoostar Modern Shakespeare Shakespeare meet Shrek! With Yoostar, teachers can provide students with a deeper and more relevant understanding of Shakespeare by having them use Shakespearean language within a scene from a modern movie. Have students read writings of William Shakespeare and study the language of his time period. Have students pick a scene from a movie they are familiar with. Invite students to use Yoostar to scan themselves in, and have them perform the scene with Shakespearean language. Evaluate their language choice and usage. Additional activities Have students act as a specific Shakespearean character. Discuss what it would be like to have Hamlet play in an ‘80s John Hughes teen movie. Have students do a report on a technology device from the device’s perspective, using Build a Buddy in Yoostar. Common Core connections This activity relates to Speaking and Listening 1–5 and 6–12 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Yoostar
Physical_education#5-10#Kinect_Sports Pin down, score up (for teams) Playing Bowling in Kinect Sports teaches physical and interactive skills associated with sports activities.Teams bowl for prizes. The event lasts a week or longer. Teacher posts team-best scores, so that all teams may experience success as their skill level increases. Teacher posts competitive best scores against other teams in their age bracket. Additional activities Have students learn about mathematical averages by keeping a running tally of their scores divided by the number of games played. Create team competitions based on different age brackets. Have students track their individual progression on a chart. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–8 Standards.	Subject Physical education Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Sports
Language_Arts#5-10#Kinect_Adventures Recipe for success Students play the game called Go for It in Kinect Adventures. Students pair off to play this game several times. While one student plays, the other keeps score and writes down observations about technique. Afterward, hold a class discussion, asking students open-ended questions about the game: What are the different kinds of movements required to play this game (for example, side-to-side or jogging in place)? Which of the movements might be more effective than the other? Why? Is there something the winners did—besides possessing skill or talent―that you think led to their success? When you lost, what could have helped you succeed? What are some lessons people learn from losing or winning a game? Additional activity Show the class pictures of six well-known people who may or may not fall under the average person’s definition of successful. Discuss different criteria for equating success or lack of success. Common Core connections This activity relates to Language K–5 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Math#14-18#Body_and_Brain_Connection Mayhem, mayhem everywhere The object of Mouse Mayhem in Body and Brain Connection is to kill the mice by hitting them and leave the gremlin-like creatures. As students play, the game keeps score. Students use critical-thinking skills to discover the formula that the game uses to derive the score. Groups students in threes. One student plays the game, while the other two keep track of the score. Discuss the concept of reverse-engineering and various ways to determine which formulas are being used to calculate outcomes. Groups work together to determine how the score is being derived. Encourage them to use trial and error to reverse-engineer the score-keeping formulas to estimate how the game is calculating the score. There are multiple ways to determine this. Students will have to work together and devise a strategy. This promotes collaboration and critical thinking. Additional activity When discussing reverse-engineering, have the students identify other situations in which this concept is applied. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 6–12 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 14-18 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection
Geography#11-13#Kinect_Sports It's a colorful world Play Soccer in Kinect Sports, and research various elements of the game. After playing the soccer game, students go online to research one country where soccer is a popular sport. Have students find answers to questions such as: What percentage of people in your country plays soccer? How many fans can the stadium hold? What is the average age and height of the soccer players on the team? How long do players tend to play this sport professionally before retiring? What customs surround the game of soccer in your country? How do these customs and rules affect the players and the fans in a positive or negative way? Additional activity Write a persuasive paper about why soccer is the most popular sport around the world. Use specific facts to persuade someone young to choose to start playing soccer instead of another sport. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 6–12 Standards.	Subject Geography Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinect Sports
Math#5-10#Body_and_Brain_Connection Ordering numbers with Balloon Busters Playing Balloon Busters in Body and Brain Connection can help students develop a sense of the magnitude of numbers in relation to one another. This critical-thinking skill is necessary for developing number sense. Group students in threes. Give each student two sheets to record numbers. One student plays the game, while the other two record the numbers in the correct mathematical order. Students rotate until everyone has an opportunity to play and record two sheets of numbers. Students put a > sign or a < sign in each set of numbers to create accurate mathematical statements. Review each problem, check answers, and discuss why certain signs are used. For example, if students wrote 2 < 6 > 3, discuss why, no matter what order the balloons appear in, the correct mathematical statement is 2 < 3 < 6. Additional activity Do this as a whole class exercise, with one student playing the game and the class recording and ordering the numbers. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–6 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection
Physical_education#5-10#Kinect_Adventures Leaky fish tank (for pairs) Kinect Adventures enables players to practice individual physical activity in pairs, such as plugging leaks from inside a fish tank, so they can learn the physical and interactive skills associated with adventure-based activities. In this activity, pairs of students play 20,000 Leaks in Kinect Adventures to plug holes made by fish who hit the glass inside a tank. Player pairs try to get high scores for recognition and prizes. The after-school program staff introduces the activity as a competitive pair event that can take place over a week or longer. This activity can be played both for best scores by pairs—so that all players may experience success as their skill increases—and for competitive best scores against other pairs in their age bracket. Additional activity Program staff can create a board that shows the weekly leaders and tracks scores by pairs. The display can help acknowledge pairs as they improve their scores and their standings. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K-2 Standards.	Subject Physical education Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Math#Higher_Education#Kinect_Sports Managing involvement Some lesson activities allow only a few students to directly participate simultaneously. What do the other students do while waiting their turn? Skillful teachers know how to keep an entire classroom engaged, even in these situations. Imagine a scenario where students must take turns playing a learning game like Javelin, Long Jump, or Discus in Kinect Sports. The teacher must decide how to structure the activity so that the students who are not directly participating in the game are still involved in the learning process. Ask participants to brainstorm ideas with a partner and agree on one to share with the group. Each team presents its strategy, the group as a whole role-plays the scenario, and then the group discusses the strategy’s effectiveness. Additional activities Discuss which of the strategies worked best to involve all students. Explore other educational experiences that can benefit from a strategy to promote direct and indirect involvement. Explain the difference between productive involvement and busy work.	Subject Mathematics Age range Higher Education Kinect game Kinect Sports
Physical_education#5-10#Kinect_Adventures Leaky fish tank (for individuals) Kinect Adventures enables players to practice individual physical activity, such as plugging leaks from inside a fish tank, so they can learn the physical and interactive skills associated with adventure-based activities. In this activity, students play 20,000 Leaks in Kinect Adventures to plug holes made by fish who hit the glass inside a tank. Players try to get high scores for recognition and prizes. The after-school program staff introduces the activity as a competitive solo event that can take place over a week or longer. This activity can be played both for best scores by players—so that all players may experience success as their skill increases—and for competitive best scores against other players in their age bracket. Additional activity Program staff can create a board that shows the weekly leader and tracks scores by player. The display can help acknowledge players as they improve their individual scores and their standings. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K-2 Standards.	Subject Physical education Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Math#0-5#Kinectimals Just a minute Playing a timed video game can help students develop a better sense of time, especially for durations such as seconds and minutes. Let students play a timed Kinectimals game. Tell students to watch the clock hands and count down seconds and minutes. After students understand the amount of time in each Kinectimals game, have them use the same time limit to perform other tasks. For example, spend one minute writing their name or making stars. When time runs out, have students count the names or stars (in groups of 10s, followed by the remaining ones). Additional activity Have students cover their eyes and put their heads down on their desks. Challenge them to estimate 60 seconds by sticking up a thumb when they think one minute has passed. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K-5 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 0-5 Kinect game Kinectimals
Math#14-18#Body_and_Brain_Connection Angles and the unit circle Playing Off the Radar in Body and Brain Connection can help students develop geometry and precalculus skills by giving them hands-on practice with angles, rotation, and unit circles. Group students in threes. Students create a three-column chart: “Final Position,” “Rotation,” and “Direction." While one student plays the game, the other two record: The final position of the radar hands. The amount of rotation on each turn of the hands. The direction the radar is turning. Each group plays the game three times, rotating turns. Each group analyzes the data to determine: The angle of rotation from the starting to the ending position. The angle of each turn of the hands. The ending position angle on the unit circle in degrees and radians. Students hand in their data and analysis sheets. Additional activity Try creating other graphs or chart to reflect the data gathered. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 6–12 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 14-18 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection
Language_Arts#5-10#Kinectimals Choosing the perfect pet Choosing the perfect pet can be difficult, especially when it involves a group decision. Participating in shared research, elementary students gather information about five types of feline cubs before selecting one as a virtual pet for the class. Identify the five cubs in the game Kinectimals, and demonstrate how to search online for information. Provide an assortment of books and magazines for reference, as well. As a class, create a list of important details to discover about all five animals, such as diet, habitat, behavior, shelter, and defense. Working in collaborative groups, students gather the information on the list from a variety of resources about one type of wild cat. Each group shares its research findings with the class. After learning facts about the various cubs, the class votes for their favorite. Additional activity Assign written or digital reports about the cats. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K-5 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinectimals
Geography#11-13#Kinect_Adventures Water, water everywhere! Students play the game River Rush in Kinect Adventures, inwhich they ride a raft through very fast-paced curves with rushing rapids. Divide the students into groups of four or five. Give each group a current atlas, a world map, and a U.S. map. Students play River Rush. When all students finish playing, discuss the game and talk about other sports students have enjoyed in natural bodies of water. Using only the atlas and maps to draw conclusions about each of the seven continents, each group answers the questions that follow. Discuss each group's answers as a class. What is the longest river found on each continent? What is the highest waterfall? Deepest lake? Coldest lake? Lake with the most volume of water? In the United States, which state has greatest number of miles of shoreline? Additional activity Pass out graph paper, and have students make bar graphs depicting the information about all seven continents. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 6–12 Standards.	Subject Geography Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Science#11-13#Kinect_Sports Exploring the scientific method Students use the scientific method to formulate a hypothesis about the influence that velocity has on distance in the long jump. Each student develops a chart consisting of two columns: "Time" and "Results." Students may include a third column: "Miles per hour (mph)." Using a stopwatch, and assuming 45 meters for the runway, record the amount of time it takes for each student to jump. Students document the time and results on their charts. At the conclusion of the jumps, students use the scientific method to accept or reject the hypothesis. In small groups, have the students share their results with each other. You may formatively assess their progress or have all students turn in their completed work at the end of the period. Additional activity Discuss independent and dependent variables and mathematical concepts relating to conversions. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects 6-12 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinect Sports
Math#11-13#Body_and_Brain_Connection Constructing inequalities We know that equal means equivalent, but does inequal simply mean not equal, or is there more to discover? By “becoming” the inequality symbols, students develop their comprehension of inequalities. Students play the inequality game by acting one at a time. As each student actively demonstrates a symbol, the nonparticipating students document the symbols the acting student makes. You should also document their results to assess the accuracy of the students’ responses. At the conclusion of each game, every student writes numbers on the opposite side of each inequality symbol to make the statement true. In small groups, students share their results and the inequalities they developed, checking for accuracy. Students turn in their results, or you may formatively assess by monitoring progress. Additional activities Increase the rigor by exploring more complex inequalities, such as linear inequalities. Ask students to apply the concept of inequalities to basic concepts, like timelines, or to more advanced concepts, like statistical analysis. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 6-12 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection
Science#11-13#Kinect_Sports Olympic strength Students play Javelin Throw in Kinect Sports to gain a better understanding of energy transfer. Prepare students by talking about the history of the Olympic Games. Discuss the different games played over the years, how important track and field has been from the start, and what games exist today. Explain the roles of kinetic and potential energy by giving two examples that relate to Olympic events. Have students break off into groups of three or four, and give them cards with the name of a track and field event or that of another Olympic game. Students draw a picture of an athlete and explain the process of energy transfer as the athlete competes in the event. Additional activity Students create world maps, marking each of the locations where the Olympics were held in the twentieth century. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 6–12 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinect Sports
Math#11-13#Kinect_Adventures Muscle mania Students play two rounds of Reflex Ridge in Kinect Adventures. A small group can play the obstacle course game, or the entire class can play. Students track: The length of time it took them to complete each game. The total number of points they received. As a class, review the data for all the students. Find the mean, median, and mode for the class. Plot the statistics (length of time and total points) on a line graph. Ask the students these questions: Is there anything you notice about the relationship between time and score? What sorts of things did you pay attention to more during the second round? How did this make a difference in your final score? What muscles were you using while playing this game? Additional activity Give students a simple drawing of the human body. Have them color and label the muscles used in the obstacle course. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 6–12 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Math#14-18#Kinect_Sports Exploring unit rates and conversions How fast can your avatar run? Have students create a chart with two column headings: “Distance” and “Time.” Students participate individually in the track-running game. To save time, students may participate concurrently in groups of two. After every race, each class member documents the results on the chart. Students use the results from the game and appropriate conversions to assess how fast their avatars are (in terms of miles per hour). At the conclusion of the activity, have students compare their results amongst their peers and then turn in their work. Additional activities Assess the theoretical results of improving performance by a certain percentage (for example, “How many miles per hour would you travel if your speed increased by 10 percent?”). Students should record their work as they progress. Assess the independent variables that influence results, such as height, leg length, and athletic history. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 6-12 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 14-18 Kinect game Kinect Sports
Science#11-13#Kinect_Adventures A bubble’s eye view In the game Space Pop, where there’s no gravity, students can think about the world from an entirely new perspective. Discuss gravity and its effects, mass versus weight, and how astronauts prepare for trips into space. Students play Space Pop. They flap their arms to fly within the confines of a spaceship and try to pop as many bubbles as possible in the space chamber. After everyone has played the game, brainstorm about what the world might look from the perspective of an astronaut in space or a floating bubble. Additional activities Review the water cycle. Talk about how bubbles are formed and how your perspective of the world would change if you were a bubble. Students write a fictitious story from the first person perspective of a bubble. Describe what the bubble sees, hears, touches, and smells as it undergoes different processes, such as evaporation and condensation. Common Core connections This activity relates to Reading for Literacy in History/Social Studies 6–12 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Science#Special_education#Kinect_Fun_Labs Technology speaks Using Build a Buddy in Kinect Fun Labs, students write a report about a technological device from the perspective of the device itself. Students scan their technological devices into the game. Students use movements and voice to bring the devices to life. Have the students explain what the device does, how it works, how it was made, what it is made from, and how it impacts society. Additional activity Students describe similar devices as if the device were a family member or close friend. For example, “My brother, a toaster, gets really hot…” Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects 6–12 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Special Education Kinect game Kinect Fun Labs
Language_Arts#11-13#Kinect_Fun_Labs Sports show Ever wondered what it would be like to be a sports anchor? Playing Avatar Kinect in Kinect Fun Labs gives you the desk and the camera. All you have to do is create some news. Students work in groups of two to four. Focusing on one or two sports, each group writes a skit for a sports news broadcast. Students can also play sports athletes being interviewed. Evaluate the students on their use of sports terminology. Additional activity Students read from cue cards. Instead of a paper copy of the skit, have students rely on poster boards that other students are holding next to the display. (Make sure the poster boards are not in front of the camera.) Try this with other subjects, too, like history or science. Common Core connections This activity relates to Speaking and Listening 1–5 and Standards and to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects 6–12 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinect Fun Labs
Language_Arts#5-10#Kinect_Adventures Undersea stories Creative writing is easy for some students, but making up stories can be more difficult for others. Provide the class with experiences on which to base their creative writing by playing an action-packed game that takes place deep beneath the surface of the sea. Teach students about the parts of a story―such as characters, setting, problems, and resolutions. Students play 20,000 Leaks in Kinect Adventures, a game that requires them to plug rapidly appearing leaks. Fish create these leaks when they bump into the glass of the underwater observatory. Ask the students to use their knowledge about the parts of a story to write one of their own about their adventure under the sea. Watch the details develop as they base the tales on their game experiences. Additional activity Ask the students to think of new problems that might arise in their underwater observatory, and discuss possible resolutions. Common Core connections This activity relates to Language K–5 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Language_Arts#5-10#Kinectimals Treasure map Children love to search for treasure, and playing Kinectimals inspires students to create their own treasure hunts. Students play Kinectimals, gathering treasures and collecting the Kinectimals in a special treasure cabinet. As students navigate the island, they unlock new parts of the map that lead to more treasure. After the game, teach the students how to write riddles to solve and use as clues. Show them how to make a map of the classroom. Form groups to create treasure maps of the classroom, school, or playground. Each group hides a treasure and writes riddles to go along with their map. Groups exchange maps and then follow the clues to find the hidden treasure. Additional activity Take the class on a neighborhood treasure hunt to teach problem-solving skills as the students follow your clues to a surprise location. Common Core connections This activity relates to Language K–5 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinectimals
Language_Arts#5-10#Kinect_Adventures Statue tunes Writing creative pieces using rhythm and rhyme is challenging for young students, but by writing songs for their “living statue” in Kinect Adventures, the task becomes personal and fun! Working as a class, write a few celebratory songs using poetic devices that the students learned. By preparing a few songs, you are ready to sing (and let the students dance) when a class member succeeds in the game. Next, students take turns playing Kinect Adventures where they earn “living statues” for their successes. During this time, the class members who are not playing develop their celebratory songs and dances. When a student succeeds, the game prompts them to celebrate by singing their song and dancing. Additional activity Write poetry, encouraging cheers, and chants to go along with the games. Common Core connections This activity relates to Language K–5 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Science#11-13#Kinect_Sports Spin Table Tennis is all about spin! But what is spin? How do you create it? What's really happening? In pairs, students play Table Tennis in Kinect Sports to experiment with their backspin and topspin. To create a backspin, students hit the ball with a forward-to-down chopping motion. When the student generates the backspin correctly, the ball has a blue glow, bounces low, and moves slowly. To generate a topspin, students hit the ball with a forward-to-high sweeping motion. When done properly, the ball glows red, bounces high, and moves quickly. After the game, hold a class discussion about how air friction and a downward force cause the ball to bounce high or low, depending on how the ball rotates. Additional activity Students explain how spin plays a role in other sports. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 6–12 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinect Sports
Language_Arts#5-10#Kinect_Adventures Preposition practice The prepositions over, under, around, and through come to life when students play Reflex Ridge in Kinect Adventures, a fast-paced obstacle course game. Prepare the class by teaching them the propositions used in the game. Practice giving directions that the students to follow. One at a time, the students play Reflex Ridge and they jump over, duck under, and swerve back and forth to avoid obstacles. While one student navigates the course, the rest of the class practices their prepositions and helps the player by calling out instructions. Additional activity Graph the scores of the students. Place the scores in sequence. Take the lesson into the math arena, and have the students calculate the mean, median, and mode of the scores. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–12 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Language_Arts#Special_education#Kinect_Fun_Labs Speech Giving a speech can be a scary proposition for some students, but when they use a virtual avatar to perform before their classmates, public speaking can become much more fun. Students prepare a speech. In the game, students select an appropriate stage or background for their speech. Students perform the speech with their avatar. By looking at their avatar, students will feel more comfortable in front of their audience. Evaluate students on their clarity, organization, and use of facial and hand expressions. Additional activity Have students record their speech to analyze their performance later. Have them write about ways they can improve. Common Core connections This activity relates to Speaking and Listening 1–5 and 6–12 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Special Education Kinect game Kinect Fun Labs
Geography#11-13#Kinect_Adventures Mapping the course Learning mapping skills is fun, especially when mapping the landscape of a video game. Students practice making simple maps of the classroom, school, and neighborhood. Working in teams, students play River Rush to visualize and learn the landscape and features of the course. Each team creates a map of the river course, labeling important obstacles and land features. Additional activities Create new courses for the game. In a flat box, build a three-dimensional model of a river and manipulate a marble through the course. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–2 Standards.	Subject Geography Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Math#5-10#Kinect_Sports Long jump Young children need time to develop a sense of measurement. An inch, a foot, and a yard are difficult concepts to learn, but when paired with a track and field video game, the measurements become real and relevant to the students. Prepare students to play Track and Field in Kinect Sports by exploring units of measurement. Discuss the rules of the long jump, and ask students to make predictions about how far they can jump. Play the game in the classroom. Record the length of the jumps. Use measurement tools to mark the distances on the classroom floor. Additional activities Measure actual jumps made by students on the playground. Mark off random distances, ask the students to estimate the lengths, and then measure the lengths to check their assessments. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–2 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Sports
Language_Arts#Special_education#Kinect_Fun_Labs Reading expressions Avatar Kinect in Kinect Labs simplifies facial expressions and body movements to make them more obvious to students who have difficulties reading these types of cues in real life. Divide students into pairs. Create groups of two pairs each. Within each group, have one pair of students talk to the other pair. Have the listening and watching pair of students focus on the speakers facial expressions and body language. Record the conversation. Reverse the roles of the talking students and the listening and watching ones. Have students discuss what expressions and movements they saw and how they interpret them. Have students watch their own recordings to see if their expressions and movements reflected what they were feeling. Discuss traditional expressions and what they normally mean. Additional activity Have students practice facial expressions and body movements that accompany specific feelings. Common Core connections This activity relates to Reading for Literacy in History/Social Studies 6–12 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Special Education Kinect game Kinect Fun Labs
History#11-13#Kinect_Fun_Labs Mount Bobblehead Students research Mount Rushmore and learn why four American presidents were chosen for the monument. Students determine their own best historical figures to represent a certain time period or event. Have students research the purpose for Mount Rushmore and the reasons why George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln were chosen. Divide students into groups of four. Assign students a historical event or time period to commemorate. Have each group decide what key figures represent that event or era. Make students in each group pose as Bobbleheads. Have students record the name of the person they each represent. Ask the students to write a paragraph explaining their choice of historical figures. Additional activity Have students research the history of other famous monuments. Common Core connections This activity relates to Reading for Literacy in History/Social Studies 6–12 Standards.	Subject History Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinect Fun Labs
Math#14-18#Kinect_Adventures Exploring 3D coordinate systems Playing 10,000 Leaks in Kinect Adventures can help students think about 3D graphing and the coordinate plane. Divide students into groups of three to five. Tell students that the lower-right corner of the front of the fish tank is the coordinate 0,0,0, with the x axis extending right, the y axis extending straight out, and the z axis extending to the top. Each axis ranges from 0 to 10. One student plays the game, while the other two record: Estimates of the position of the player’s hands, head, and feet when the game begins. Estimates of where the coordinates of the leaks are as the game progresses. In reviewing their recorded data, students examine concepts of estimation, graphing 3D coordinate systems, and measurement error. Additional activities Have students determine a better method of sampling to get a more accurate estimation of coordinates, and discuss inter-rater reliability of sampling. Brainstorm why there are leaks only on the front and bottom of the tank. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 8–12 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 14-18 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Math#11-13#Body_and_Brain_Connection Don't play in traffic The object of the game Traffic Control in Body and Brain Connection is to get the correct color vehicle on the correct platform. This requires paying attention both to what is coming next and what is currently on the platform. Playing the game strengthens students’ attention to detail and their ability to track two sets of information simultaneously. Group students in threes. One student plays the game, while the other two record data. Students can rotate who is playing. Students recording data should note: The color of the car as it comes out. Whether the car makes it to the platform. Whether the car makes it to the correct level on the right side. After the game, all students calculate: The fraction of each color released. The fraction that fell off on the left. The fraction that made it to the correct level on the right. Additional activity Try creating graphs or charts to reflect the data gathered in the game. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 6–12 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection
Math#11-13#Body_and_Brain_Connection Rate of change In Time Bomb in Body and Brain Connection, numbers count down at different rates of change (equal increments). For example, the numbers start at 48 and 45, but 48 is subtracted by 2, and 45 by 1. Thus, each time the bomb ticks, 48, 46, 44 (and so on), and 45, 44, 43 (and so on) appear. The object is to select the number that will reach zero first, that is, the one with the fastest rate of change. Group students in sets of three. The student playing the game may not move until his or her teammates say what the rates of change are. One of the other two students calculates the rate of change on the left, and the other calculates the rate on the right. Together they tell the player which one to choose. Additional activity Discuss the ways in which the mathematics in this activity are foundational for understanding the slope of a line as a rate of change. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing 6–12 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection
Physical_education#5-10#Kinect_Adventures Body smashing In Kinect Adventures' Rally Ball, players use their bodies to propel red balls forward to reveal and capture purple diamonds for points. Specific goals are posted. This kinesthetic game encourages players to consider how to compensate for various parts of their body when they are restricted. Organize a series of rounds of play among groups. For example: First round: Nothing on the body is restricted. Second round: Tie one arm behind the back. Third round: Use only the left leg. Fourth round: Use only one side of the body. Each player records their varying scores in order to develop self-awareness about physical strengths or weaknesses and mind-body connections. Additional activities Discuss what it feels like to have the use of only one arm or one leg. Apply these physical limitations to everyday activities, like walking to a friend’s house, playing soccer, riding a bike, and cooking. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 6–12 Standards.	Subject Physical education Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Language_Arts#Special_education#Kinect_Fun_Labs Express yourself Practice verbal and non-verbal communication skills. With Avatar Kinect in Kinect Fun Labs, students create a virtual avatar that they use to project their facial expressions and body movements. Create a list of emotions. Have students work by themselves or with partners. Announce an emotion, and have students act out the emotion using their avatar. Emphasize effective uses of facial expressions and movements that students use to represent the emotion. Record the session for further review and entertainment. Additional activity Have students pick an emotion and act it out for the class. Similar to charades, their classmates can guess the emotion. Common Core connections This activity relates to Speaking and Listening 1–5 and 6–12 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Special Education Kinect game Kinect Fun Labs
Language_Arts#5-10#Kinect_Fun_Labs Career day With Kinect Me in Kinect Fun Labs, students have the chance to act as their future selves in their chosen career and to explain that career to their peers. Have students dress up as a professional in a chosen career. Help students create an avatar version of themselves using Kinect Me. Have students give an explanation of their career as their grown-up selves. You can restrict the students to a certain field of study, such as science, engineering, or medicine. Make them be specific by highlighting the differences between careers in the chosen field. Additional activity Remotely connect to real-life professionals, and hold a career panel hosted by a teacher or student. Common Core connections This activity relates to Language K–5 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Fun Labs
Math#5-10#Body_and_Brain_Connection Tick tock In What Time Is It? in Body and Brain Connection, the player converts time from a digital display to an analog display. Students observe the digitally displayed time and move their arms into the position which the hands appear on an analog clock face would appear. As the levels become more challenging, the format changes from standard to military time. Group students in threes. Give students blank clock sheets to record the digital times and convert them to analog times. One student plays the game, while the two others record the times and draw the digital times on the clock faces. Students rotate being the player and using the paper clocks to convert the digital time. Discuss what the students found challenging and helpful about the exercise. Additional activity Discuss how the brain perceives numbers in a digital and analog display. Which is easier for them to comprehend? Why? Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–6 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection
Language_Arts#14-18#Kinect_Fun_Labs Who's that on the screen? Many students prefer a visual learning environment to a spoken one. By using Avatar Kinect to design their own avatar, students can use their creativity to bring a figure to life which they can then use to discuss different aspects of literature. Have students create their own avatar. Students then use their avatar to solve teacher-directed language arts tasks. Additional activities Have students develop relationships with their peers by using their avatar to brainstorm writing activities. Guide students in a debate or hold a mock trial about a character or an incident that occurs in a book. Common Core connections This activity relates to Speaking and Listening 1–5 and 6–12 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 14-18 Kinect game Kinect Fun Labs
Math#5-10#Body_and_Brain_Connection Which number is larger? Teach children the value of numbers, and build effective strategies that help them compare numbers to one another. Which is Bigger? in Body and Brain Connection helps students actively learn about numerical values. Teach students about the mathematical concepts of greater than and less than. Introduce the symbols > and <. Divide class into teams. Have students play Which Is Bigger?. Add up each team score, and present an award to both teams. Additional activities Have students practice building up their skills from beginning levels to higher ones. Present the same type of equations but in written form so students can practice writing what they visually discover. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–6 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection
Math#5-10#Body_and_Brain_Connection Pairs to 10 In playing Make 10 in Body and Brain Connection, students look for patterns of number pairs that add up to 10. This builds children’s number sense and teaches them to compose and decompose numbers that add up to 10. This lays the foundation for mental arithmetic. Group students in threes. Give each student a sheet with the numbers 1–9 and a blank sheet for recording the correct pair that equals 10. One student plays the game, while the other two record data. Each group plays three times, with each student recording twice and playing once. When the game is over, ask the students to reflect on their experience in the game and on the data they recorded to determine if there is a pattern in the pairs that add up to 10. Additional activity Do this as a whole class exercise, with one student playing the game and the class recording the numbers and accuracy. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–6 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection
Math#5-10#Body_and_Brain_Connection Patterns and prediction Can you predict the future? You can if you know how to analyze patterns and make predictions. Students play Off the Radar in Body and Brain Connection, in which they observe a sequence of movements, identify a pattern, and extrapolate the next movements. Relate the students’ experiences in the game to other patterns and predictions. Brainstorm with the class what sequential patterns they see in nature, and ask them to predict what will happen next after one event occurs (such as a bird laying an egg). Introduce number sequences and patterns. Students analyze number patterns as a class and individually and then predict what numbers come next in the sequence. Additional activities Students create their own number patterns and see if their partners can find the patterns they created and predict what comes next. Ask students whether there are patterns in history that repeat themselves. Discuss how prediction differs from estimation. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–8 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection
Math#5-10#Body_and_Brain_Connection Reading the meter for accuracy Playing Meter Reader in Body and Brain Connection can help students develop a sense of the magnitude of numbers in relation to 10. This develops number sense and gives practice with quick mental arithmetic. Group students in threes. Give each student two handouts for recording data. One student plays the game, while the other two record the two numbers in the box and whether the player answered correctly. Students rotate until everyone has played and each student has two sheets of recorded numbers and accuracy data. Students write a number sentence between the paired numbers to make an equation or inequality related to 10. For example, 6 + 5 > 10. Students use the accuracy data to determine the percent correct for each student. Challenge them to find the player with the highest percentage. Additional activity Do this as a whole class exercise, with one student playing the game and the class recording the numbers and accuracy. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–6 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection
Language_Arts#11-13#Body_and_Brain_Connection Deceptions In playing Pop ‘til You Drop in Body and Brain Connection, the player punches the balloon that is the same color as the written word that appears on the screen. Although this may seem too easy to preteens, it is surprisingly challenging because of the way our brains work. For example, if the word yellow appears in red-colored font, the brain is likely to punch the red balloon even though the word is spelled out yellow. Students play the game, observing what challenged or misdirected them. After the game, students discuss what made it challenging and why. Students create (or research) other scenarios in which the brain are deceived by something that isn’t really as it seems. Students research popular advertisements to find examples of these hidden “deceptions” and write about them (or present them to the class). Additional activity Research and discuss the differences between visual and verbal misdirection or deception in advertising. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–12 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection
Geography#5-10#Kinect_Adventures Which way do I go? River Rush in Kinect Adventures provides students with the opportunity to interactively learn about topography. While one student in a group takes a turn playing the game, the other students take note of the overall topography and use the information to design their own maps. Place students in pairs or groups of three. Let the first group take their turn. Have players take note of the different topographical details, such as wetlands, mountains, or ravines. Keep rotating groups until every group has had a turn. Have each group develop a map with the appropriate compass points, map key, and scale. Additional activities Have students call out details of the game on their map, such as areas with lots of pins, danger spots, or pirate ships. Have groups pool their information and work as a class to create an oversized master map and legend. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 1–5 Standards.	Subject Geography Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Math#5-10#Body_and_Brain_Connection Where is my match? In Matchmaker in Body and Brain Connection, players use their bodies to connect matching shapes. The goal is to help students develop matching skills and an understanding of spatial relationships and to practice problem-solving. Students use their left and right hands to connect matching shapes. Each game is timed to make the puzzles more challenging. Additional activities Chart progress of students’ matchmaking capabilities. Compare this activity with traditional fine-motor matching of 2D and 3D objects. Explore how the variables of timing can affect performance. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 1–5 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection
Math#5-10#Kinect_Sports Konversion Meters. Centimeters. Feet. Inches. Why are there so many units of measurement for distance? How are they different? Students play distance-related games to help them learn how to convert units within the metric and English systems and between the two systems Organize students into teams. Each team creates a four-column chart: “Feet,” Inches,” “Meters,” and “Centimeters.” Teams compete in the games Javelin, Long Jump, or Discus in Kinect Sports and record their measurements in the “Feet” column. Introduce the relevant conversion formulas, and ask students to enter them at the top of their charts. Students convert their recorded distances in feet to distance in inches and record it on their charts. They also convert the distance in feet to meters, and distance in inches to centimeters. Students reverse the process, converting meters to feet, and so on. Additional activity Discuss which countries use metric versus English units. Have students pick a system and defend their choice. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–8 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Sports
Science#14-18#Kinect_Adventures Where is my fish from? Have students play Leaks on Leaks Ahoy in Kinect Adventures, taking notes about the different aquatic species in the game to help learn more about the ocean environment. Place students in pairs or in groups of three. While one student in a group plays, have the others identify the fish species (such as blowfish or hammerhead shark). If the species is unknown, have students collect information to help them identify the species later. When a team has identified the required number of species, have team members use reference materials to determine whether each species is presented accurately in the game. Additional activities Have students create their own ocean environment using similar species. Have students reflect on the differences and similarities between a simulated ocean environment and a real environment. What are the benefits and drawbacks? Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects 6–12 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 14-18 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Language_Arts#11-13#Kinect_Adventures Kooperation in motion How do teams cooperate and how does cooperation affect their success? River Rush in KInect Adventures requires two players to work together to direct a raft down a river and around obstacles. Students learn how to communicate their intentions and synchronize their movements. Pair the students, and demonstrate the game. Teams discuss how to cooperate with one another. Have teams compete on the same level to get the highest score. Students reflect on their experience by creating a graphic organizer describing the characteristics of effective and ineffective cooperation. Relate the activity to cooperation during a sport, discussing how lack of cooperation can lead to a negative outcome (and vice versa). Students compare their experience with other activities that require cooperation. They can also describe professions that require a high degree of cooperation. Each student writes a self-assessment of how he or she can improve their cooperation skills. Additional activity Use this game as an icebreaker to introduce students to one another. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–12 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Physical_education#11-13#Kinect_Adventures Kooperation What does it mean to cooperate, and how does cooperation affect the outcome? River Rush in Kinect Adventures requires two players to work together to direct a raft down a river and around obstacles. Students learn how to communicate their intentions and to synchronize their movements. Pair the students, and demonstrate the game. Start the game. Halfway through the game, students can jump into another raft to work with a different partner. Students reflect on both of their team experiences by creating a graphic organizer that describes the characteristics of effective and ineffective cooperation with each partner. Relate the activity to cooperation during a science lab, and explain how a lack of cooperation can lead to a negative outcome (and vice versa). Discuss as a class how cooperation enhances scientific research. Students write self-assessments of how they can improve their cooperation skills. Additional activity Use this game as an icebreaker to introduce students to one another. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–12 Standards.	Subject Physical education Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Language_Arts#14-18#Kinect_Fun_Labs Setting the stage With Kinect Sparkler in Kinect Fun Labs, students capture images of themselves and their friends that they embellish, using finger-sensitive technology, to match time periods or characters from literature. By doing this, students illustrate an understanding of the book they are reading. Students select a character from a novel. Using Kinect Sparkler, students select the appropriate dress and style to define the character. Students add details and attributes to make the image recognizable to those familiar with the novel. Additional activities Students write an explanation of attire and other details in relation to the character. Students use the images they create as a way of retelling particular scenes or of providing a summary of the novel. Common Core connections This activity relates to Speaking and Listening 6-12 and Writing 6-12 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 14-18 Kinect game Kinect Fun Labs
Physical_education#5-10#Kinect_Adventures Ride the rails (for individuals) Kinect Adventures enables players to practice individual physical activity, such as riding an open rail car, so they can learn the physical and interactive skills associated with adventure-based activities. In this activity, individual students play Reflex Ridge in Kinect Adventures to negotiate a course of obstacles while riding a rail car to get high scores for recognition and prizes. The after-school program staff introduces the activity as a competitive solo event that can take place over a week or longer. This activity can be played both for best scores by players—so that all players may experience success as their skill increases—and for competitive best scores against other players in their age bracket. Additional activity Program staff can create a board that shows the weekly leader and tracks scores by player. The display can help acknowledge players as they improve their individual scores and their standings.	Subject Physical education Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Geography,_Physical_education#5-10#Kinect_Sports Kickin' goals Playing Soccer in Kinect Sports teaches physical and interactive skills associated with sports activities. Players score goals for team/bunk recognition and prizes. The event lasts a week or longer. Teacher posts team-best scores, so that all teams may experience success as their skill level increases. Teacher posts competitive best scores against other teams in their age bracket. Additional activities Have students paint/design a leader’s board, including team logos and colors for their team. Create an individual competition for different age brackets Have students create a cheer for their team that they can shout out before their turn. Have students develop their physical skills by practicing scoring with their non-dominant foot and with headers. Track their progression on a chart as they hone their skills. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–8 Standards.	Subject Geography, Physical education Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Sports
Physical_education#5-10#Kinect_Sports Kickin’ goals after school Playing the game Soccer in Kinect Sports teaches physical and interactive skills associated with sports activities.Teams score goals for recognition and prizes. The event lasts a week or longer. Teacher posts team-best scores, so that all teams may experience success as their skill level increases. Teacher posts competitive best scores against other teams in their age bracket. Additional activities Have students learn about mathematical averages by keeping a running tally of their scores divided by the number of games played. Create an individual competition for different age brackets. Have students track their progression in scoring on a chart. Partner an older student with a younger one as a means of building a mentoring and friendship program. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–8 Standards.	Subject Physical education Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Sports
##Kinect_Sports Kickin' (for individuals) Playing Kinect Sports Soccer teaches physical and interactive skills associated with sports activities. Students score goals for individual recognition and prizes. The event lasts a week or longer. Teacher posts personal best scores, so that all players may experience success as their skill level increases. Teacher posts competitive best scores against others in their age bracket. Additional activities Create a team competition that partners an older student with a younger one as a means of building a mentoring and friendship program. Have students develop their physical skills by practicing scoring with their non-dominant foot and with headers. Track their progression on a chart as they hone their skills. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–8 Standards.	Subject Age range Kinect game Kinect Sports
Language_Arts#0-5#Kinectimals Pick a pet In Kinectimals, when Bumble leads the cubs to Lemuria, it's time for each student to choose their pet. Children can pet each cub, which facilitates eye-hand coordination and a sense of pleasure. Selecting from available options helps with decision-making skills. Naming their cubs furthers the decision-making practice because each child is drawing from their own creativity. Hold a group discussion. Ask the class such questions as: Who has pets? What kind of personality does your pet have? How does your pet make you feel? Has anyone ever chosen a pet? How do we greet strange animals safely? Additional activities Take a field trip to a petting zoo. Create animal masks from paper plates. Common Core connections This activity relates to Reading for Literacy in History/Social Studies 6–12 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 0-5 Kinect game Kinectimals
Physical_education#5-10#Kinect_Adventures My body does not like to move that way In Space Loot, players use their bodies in a simulated zero-gravity environment to pop bubbles. This bodily kinesthetic activity requires counterintuitive motions to propel the avatar to pop all the bubbles. Group students in pairs. While one student plays the game, the other observes and records the patterns of movement. Students record other patterns, such as: At what points does the player adapt to the counterintuitive moves to pop more bubbles? How does increased bubble popping or increased speed change the pattern of bubbles? How do the lights predict the number, speed, and locations of bubbles? Additional activity Have each student keep a journal in which he or she writes about styles of learning and pattern development. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 1–5 Standards.	Subject Physical education Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Physical_education#11-13#Kinect_Sports Knocking them down Playing Kinect Sports Bowling teaches physical and interactive skills associated with sports activities. It can also serve as a social activity to bring people together. Players bowl for team/bunk recognition and prizes. The event lasts a week or longer depending on the discretion of the staff and on program parameters. Teacher posts team-best scores, so that all teams may experience success as their skill level increases. Teacher posts competitive best scores against other teams in their age bracket. Additional activities Have students paint/design a leader’s board, including team logos and colors for their team. Create an individual competition for different age brackets. Have students track their progression in scoring on a chart. Have students create a cheer for their team that they can shout out before their turn. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–8 Standards.	Subject Physical education Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinect Sports
Physical_education#5-10#Kinect_Sports Left from right Bowling in Kinect Sports can be used as a bodily kinesthetic activity to promote learning of left and right and to develop mind/body connections. Group the class into pairs. One team member bowls, and the other calls out directions. As the game starts, the child who is not bowling calls left or right in a random pattern. The caller notes (formally or informally) whether the player used the correctly called arm to bowl. As the player knocks down more pins, the game accelerates, so the callers increase the rate at which they call the directions. Additional activity Instead of calling out directions, call out colors (each bowling ball is a different color). Ask the player to reflect on their feelings. As the caller gave directions, did the player feel anxious, nervous, excited, resentful, annoyed? You can also use this activity to help the students reflect on their self-monitoring skills. Common Core connections This activity relates to Language 1–5 Standards.	Subject Physical education Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Sports
Math#5-10#Body_and_Brain_Connection Kick my math! Playing Math Jock in Body and Brain Connection is a bodily kinesthetic activity to practice math skills and to help develop gross motor processing skills. During the game, the player is given simple math equations with a missing variable. Two possible answers are at foot level. The player kicks the correct answer and is awarded a point. The game’s speed increases with the player's accuracy, further building mind-body connections. Play Math Jock over the course of a unit, a term, or even a school year, storing the data for each student. Comparing traditional math-solving assessments (without the bodily kinesthetic component) with scores from Math Jock can provide insight into each individual's learning style. Additional activity After playing the game, ask each player to reflect on their personal strengths and weaknesses in response to their bodily kinesthetic movements. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 1–5 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection
Language_Arts#0-5#Kinectimals How does it feel? Knowing how to identify and express feelings is an important element of developing creativity. Talk with the class about key feelings. Model what feelings look like by showing illustrations of facial expressions, and ask the students to identify the feeling that corresponds to the expression. As a group, watch the introduction to Kinectimals, in which Bumble leads the cubs to Lemuria. The cubs are very facially expressive. After watching the introduction, ask the children to identify how the cubs are feeling. Have the students show facial expressions that reflect what how they feel when they're happy, sad, surprised, or frightened. Additional activity Review the introduction with the class. Ask the children questions, such as: What are the cubs doing? Who is Bumble happy to see? Who needs someone to play with? Common Core connections This activity relates to Reading for Literacy in History/Social Studies 6-12 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 0-5 Kinect game Kinectimals
Physical_education#5-10#Kinect_Sports Pin down, score up (for individuals) Playing Bowling in Kinect Sports teaches physical and interactive skills associated with sports activities. Students bowl for individual recognition and prizes. The event lasts a week or longer. Teacher posts personal best scores so that all players may experience success as their skill levels increase. Teacher posts competitive best scores against others in their age bracket. Additional activities Have students learn about mathematical averages by keeping a running tally of their scores divided by the number of games played. Create a team competition that partners an older student with a younger one as a means of building a mentoring and friendship program. To encourage ambidexterity, track scores attained by students using their non-dominant hand. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–8 Standards.	Subject Physical education Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Sports
Language_Arts#5-10#Kinect_Fun_Labs Flipbooks for novels In Kinect Me in Kinect Fun Labs, players’ images are captured in various poses and then viewed in sequence as a flipbook. Playing the game helps deepen students’ understanding and appreciation of historical figures. Individual or grouped students select a significant historical figure and research that figure. In Kinect Me, students select outfits and props and develop poses to emphasize various attributes of their character. They access the flipbook of images and present it to the class. The class discusses the accuracy and effectiveness of the dress, props, and poses of each flipbook character. Additional activities Students write an introduction to their historical figure and his or her relevance to accompany the flipbook. Students can exchange flipbooks with students from other communities or cultures, paying attention to the different figures chosen and how they are presented. Common Core connections This activity relates to Reading for Literacy in History/Social Studies 6–12 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Fun Labs
History#5-10#Kinect_Fun_Labs Flipbooks for historical figures In Kinect Me in Kinect Fun Labs, players’ images are captured in various poses and then viewed in sequence as a flipbook. Playing the game helps deepen students’ understanding and appreciation of historical figures. Individual or grouped students select a significant historical figure and research that figure. In Kinect Me, students select outfits and props and develop poses to emphasize various attributes of their character. They access the flipbook of images and present it to the class. The class discusses the accuracy and effectiveness of the dress, props, and poses of each flipbook character. Additional activities Students write an introduction to their historical figure and his or her relevance to accompany the flipbook. Students can exchange flipbooks with students from other communities or cultures, paying attention to the different figures chosen and how they are presented. Common Core connections This activity relates to Reading for Literacy in History/Social Studies 6–12 Standards.	Subject History Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Fun Labs
Geography#0-5#Kinectimals Design your room Playing Kinectimals engages students’ decision-making skills and encourages creativity. It can also help them learn where things are in relation to one another and how to read maps—two fundamental skills that will develop their comprehension of geography. Players rearrange or remove and add furniture and decorative items inside Bumble's home. Students make choices about how to organize and use the space. There are shelves to store items collected during adventures in Lemuria, a place for a butterfly collection, and a map to study and plan the next exploration. Additional activity Have students build 3D representations of a room with blocks and talk about how the classroom or their room at home is organized. They can then experiment with different arrangements of items in the room and discuss which arrangement is more efficient, more attractive, or more inviting—and why. Common Core connections This activity relates to Reading for Literacy in History/Social Studies 6–12 Standards.	Subject Geography Age range Ages 0-5 Kinect game Kinectimals
Physical_education#5-10#Body_and_Brain_Connection Color car crash! In playing Traffic Jam in Body and Brain Connection, the player must adjust arm movements to correspond with a colored vehicle crossing a colored “bridge,” which is the player’s body projected on the screen. The game’s speed increases with player accuracy, further building mind-body connections. This kinesthetic activity helps promote learning color and shape matching. The activity is introductory and can be adjusted for individuals, teams, and even larger groups. Additional activity Players outline their bodies in various poses to create individualized physical maps (to explore blood flow, body flexibility, and self-awareness). Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 1–5 Standards	Subject Physical education Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection
Physical_education#0-5#Kinect_Adventures Zero G In the game Space Pop in Kinect Adventures players to learn and practice individual physical activity skills associated with adventure-based activities. Have students negotiate a Zero G chamber to pop bubbles for recognition and prizes. The event lasts a week or longer depending on the discretion of the staff and on program parameters. Teacher posts team-best or personal-best scores, so that all players and teams may experience success as their skill level increases. Teacher posts competitive best scores against other teams in their age bracket. Additional activities Have students learn about mathematical averages by keeping a running tally of their times divided by the number of games played. Have students track their progression in scoring on a chart. Award bonus points to any student who comes back with information about Zero G science. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–2 Standards.	Subject Physical education Age range Ages 0-5 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Physical_education#5-10#Kinect_Adventures Smashball (for pairs) Kinect Adventures enables players to practice physical activity in pairs, such as hitting a handball toward targets, so they can learn the physical and interactive skills associated with adventure-based activities. In this activity, students play Rallyball in Kinect Adventures to negotiate a handball court in pairs to get high scores for recognition and prizes. The after-school program staff introduces the activity as a competitive pairs event that can take place over a week or longer. This activity can be played both for best scores by pairs—so that all players may experience success as their skill increases—and for competitive best scores against other pairs in their age bracket. Additional activity Program staff can create a board that shows the weekly leaders and tracks scores by pairs. The display can help acknowledge pairs as they improve their scores and their standings. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–8 Standards.	Subject Physical education Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Physical_education#5-10#Kinect_Adventures Smashball (for individuals) In this activity, individual students play Rallyball in Kinect Adventures to negotiate a handball court to get high scores for recognition and prizes. The after-school program staff introduces the activity as a competitive solo event that can take place over a week or longer. This activity can be played both for best scores by individuals—so that all players may experience success as their skill increases—and for competitive best scores against others in their age bracket. Additional activity Program staff can create a board that shows the weekly leader and tracks scores by player. The display can help acknowledge players as they improve their individual scores and their standings. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–8 Standards.	Subject Physical education Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Physical_education#5-10#Kinect_Adventures Rafting in pairs Kinect Adventures River Rush enables players to learn and practice individual physical activity skills associated with adventure-based activities. Students pair off into teams and ride rafts for prizes. The event lasts a week or longer depending. Teacher posts team-best scores, so that all teams may experience success as their skill level increases. Teacher posts competitive best scores against other teams in their age bracket. Additional activities Have students learn about mathematical averages by keeping a running tally of their times divided by the number of games played. Create an individual competition for different age brackets. Have students track their individual progression in scoring on a chart. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–2 Standards.	Subject Physical education Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Physical_education#5-10#Kinect_Adventures Rafting (for individuals) Kinect Adventures River Rush game enables players to learn and practice individual physical-activity skills associated with adventure-based activities. Students ride rafts for prizes. The event lasts a week or longer depending on the discretion of the staff and on program parameters. Teacher posts best scores, so that everyone may experience success as their skill level increases. Teacher posts competitive best scores against other teams in their age bracket. Additional activities Have students learn about mathematical averages by keeping a running tally of their times divided by the number of games played. Have students track their individual progression in timed results on a chart. Have students look online to search for different techniques to help them improve their times. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–2 Standards.	Subject Physical education Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Language_Arts#5-10#Kinect_Fun_Labs Character creation Animations can enhance student learning about people or periods in history. In the game Googly Eyes in Kinect Fun Labs, a 3D object is captured in an image. Kinect adds googly eyes to the image, places it in a setting, and allows the player to record a message for the animation. Students create a 3D sculpture to represent a character, theme, style, or period of history. They capture an image of the sculpture on Googly Eyes, which animates it. Students generate and record a list of relevant phrases that enhance the animation. Students present their animations to the class, asking them to guess what they represent. They then identify the animation and explain how and why they chose the visual and audio details they did. Additional activities Students create animations of various emotions and discuss the differences and how to recognize them. Students create animations of gender, race, age, and ability and then discuss their accuracy, effects, and role in the culture. Common Core connections This activity relates to Speaking and Listening 1–5 and 6–12 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Fun Labs
Language_Arts#11-13#Kinect_Adventures Instruction zone Procedural writing can be tedious for students―unless they're writing about something they love to do, such as playing video games. Teach your students to write "how-to" papers in a way that's fun and engaging. Play and write about Kinect Adventures. Give the students time to play a specific adventure game so they can learn the skills and rules required. Teach the mechanics of procedural writing to the class. Using appropriate technical language, each student writes instructions for their selected game. Additional activity Ask the students to create a new adventure for the game. Have them design, draw, and create instructions. Common Core connections This activity relates to Language K–12 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Language_Arts#5-10#Kinectimals How to care for a pet Caring for a pet provides children with a sense of responsibility. The tools they use for grooming, teaching, and playing―and the training process and daily routines―provide wonderful subject matter for procedural writing. Playing Kinectimals provides a virtual experience of caring for a cub. As the game progresses, players earn toys and tools for their cubs. After gathering tools for food, grooming, play, and other care, students can apply their virtual experience to the job of caring for a live pet. Prepare the students for the game by identifying and discussing the needs of pets. Relate those needs to the cubs they're caring for in the game. Teach the mechanics of procedural writing. Students will then implement the mechanics to write procedures that explain how they care for their virtual cubs in Kinectimals. Additional activities Create a brochure. Set up a pet store in the classroom that sells supplies for pet care. Use math skills in the store for managing money. Common Core connections This activity relates to Language K–5 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinectimals
Science#5-10#Kinect_Adventures Gravity deprivation research Teach your students about gravity by playing Space Pop in Kinect Adventures, a game that takes place in a gravity-free room. Introduce the concept of gravity, and then have your students generate questions to research. When your students complete their research, explore the role of gravity in space travel by discussing what they've learned. Have your students play Space Pop, where the idea of the game is to navigate space to pop bubbles as they appear. After the game, assign a project to your students in which they demonstrate what they've learned about gravity through writing and illustration. In their projects, students incorporate their research findings and personal experiences playing the game. Additional activity Create science experiments and projects to explore gravity, while playing Space Pop in Kinect Adventures. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects 6–12 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Science#0-5#Kinectimals Caring for others In Kinectimals, players adopt a feline cub. They reflect on what their cub needs as they scroll through a toy box and select the necessary care-giving items. Playing this game helps students develop self-care skills, nurturing, awareness of others, and empathy as they explore feeding, brushing, and playing with their cub. Students adopt a cub singly or in groups and care for it. Discuss caretaking as a class. Whom do you take care of? Pets? Siblings? Grandparents? How do you feel taking care of another being? How does the one you’re caring for respond? Who takes care of you? How does it feel to be cared for? Additional activities Students post photos of the people and creatures they help take care of at home on a “Caretakers” board. Students make up a story about their cub’s life before they began caring for it. If the class has a pet, talk about caring for it.	Subject Science Age range Ages 0-5 Kinect game Kinectimals
Language_Arts#5-10# Games, please Kids love to play games, but can they tell adults why they should be allowed to play them? Here's an assignment to help students learn the art of persuasive writing. It's an assignment you can introduce as a game. After you teach the class the mechanics of persuasive writing, ask them to compose a letter presenting you with an argument for more play time. When the students finish writing their letters, share them with the class and discuss the written arguments. Reward the students who complete the task successfully with game time. Additional activity As a class, decide upon a few strong arguments from individual letters. Write a persuasive letter to the principal explaining why video games should be allowed in the school. Invite the principal to your class so your students can present their argument. Then have the children ask the principal to play the game with them. Common Core connections This activity relates to Language K–5 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game
Math#5-10#Kinect_Sports Facts for 10 Playing a virtual bowling game can provide many opportunities to calculate math facts for 10—facts which are critical in many math settings. Prepare the students by discovering combinations of numbers that equal 10. Demonstrate the game of bowling, calling attention to the 10 pins to knock down. Before the game begins, provide each student with a marker board and pen or other writing tools. After a student rolls the first ball, the class determines how many pins were knocked over and how many remain. Students take turns bowling. After each turn, the students record an addition fact for 10. Additional activities Extend the activity by writing a fact family for the results after each turn. Challenge students to illustrate all the possible pin combinations for each fact for 10. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–5 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Sports
Math#5-10#Kinect_Adventures Developing spatial sense Up, down, forward, backward, right, and left seem like simple concepts, but what happens when you must use them to pop a series of quickly disappearing bubbles in a gravity-free space? Combine the game Space Pop in Kinect Adventures with a lesson about the structure of a cube to help develop spatial sense in young children. Prepare students by exploring the structure of cubes. Students create 3D cubes using straws and marshmallows. Students attach another marshmallow to a toothpick and maneuver it inside their cube, following directional instructions (for example, “Attach it on the right.”). Relate the model of a cube to the classroom space. Have students manipulate objects in the room following directional instructions. Have students play the game to provide them with an opportunity to use the spatial sense they have been exploring. Additional activity Teach science lessons about bubbles. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–5 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Physical_education#5-10#Body_and_Brain_Connection Which way is up? In Arrows in Body and Brains Connection, players use their bodies to direct arrows so that they correspond to the direction of the illuminated arrow. This kinesthetic activity helps students explore anticipated reactionary responses. The game requires the player to accept the counterintuitive inclination to point in the expected direction. Playing this game helps students redefine neural pathways and enhance certain visual processing skills. Additional activities Collect long-term data for players to monitor game improvement and to develop reflections on their styles of learning. A unique attribute of this game is the counterintuitive nature of the expected response. Use this activity in a psychology class to explore how the brain adjusts to counterintuitive demands. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 1–12 Standards.	Subject Physical education Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection
Language_Arts#5-10#Kinectimals Describe your pet Lessons in descriptive writing are an important part of early writing instruction. Using virtual creatures as a subject for description engages young children and expands their vocabulary. Show students the five feline cubs in the game. Prepare them by brainstorming words to describe each of the cubs. Encourage them to use specific descriptive words and interesting details. Introduce new vocabulary, as appropriate. Students play Kinectimals, each student adopting one of the cubs. Using the virtual sense of touch, combined with their visual and auditory experiences, students incorporate their observational skills and expanded vocabulary to include relevant descriptive details. When the game is over, have each student write a description of the adopted cub. Additional activities Teach about simile, metaphor, or other poetic devices. Have students write poems based on the descriptions, illustrate their descriptions, or turn their descriptions into riddles. Common Core connections This activity relates to Language K–5 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinectimals
Math#5-10#Kinect_Adventures Data diving Playing in teams of two, a classroom of students can generate data in the form of scores for rafting trips in River Rush in Kinect Adventures. The data can be used for a variety of mathematical lessons. Prepare the class by teaching specific mathematical skills, such as graphing, mean, median, mode, sequencing, place value, addition, and subtraction. Students team up to play River Rush in Kinect Adventures, a fast-paced rafting game in which players collect coins to determine their score. As teams play the game, their scores are recorded. After the game has ended, students graph, compare, and sequence their scores. Calculation skills are reinforced as teams evaluate the difference in their scores from day to day. Additional activity Investigate the element of strategy in the game. Are scores higher when the most direct route is taken or when players navigate ramps and jumps? Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–5 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Language_Arts#11-13#Kinect_Adventures Adventure inspirations: Storytelling In Kinect Adventure, players go on a rafting adventure, collecting points through a kinesthetic challenge. Review the nature of story and the importance of detail to good stories. An individual player or grouped players go through the Cozy Cavern in Kinect Adventures course three to four times, recording details of the course they find appealing and interesting. Depending on the age group, the facilitator can specify the number of details to be collected. Players create a story incorporating the details. The story should include plot, setting, character development, and the Cozy Cavern course details. Additional activities Students illustrate their stories and present them to the class. Discuss which stories are most effective and why. Elaborate on the various injuries associated with completing the course and add them to the story. Develop a plan for other courses. Write other adventure stories set in the natural world. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing K–5 and 6–12 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Math#5-10#Kinectimals Counting down Counting down numbers is an early strategy for subtraction and a good way to build fluency with numbers. Give students a chance to practice their skills as they count along with the timer during games in Kinectimals. Kinectimals provides many opportunities for students to play timed games. Prepare the students by teaching them to count backwards. Practice starting at different numbers up to 60. Each student takes a turn playing a one-minute game. During the game, the students who are not playing count down with the on-screen timer. As they encourage their classmate to complete the game, enthusiasm will engage and reinforce the counting pattern. Additional activities Explore the length of a minute and a second. Encourage students to look for patterns in the numbers as they count backwards Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–5 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinectimals
Physical_education#0-5#Body_and_Brain_Connection A new way to catch a mouse In Mouse Mayhem in Body and Brain Connection, players use their arms to eliminate gray mice. The goal is to avoid the spiky mice and to eliminate as many gray mice as possible. This is an introductory kinesthetic activity that helps students practice and develop gross motor processing skills. As accuracy and processing time improve, so does the speed of the game. Although simple in design, this activity can be used with a wide variety of populations and learners to promote mind-body processing connections. Additional activity Challenge students to play the game using only their dominant arm, only their non-dominant arm, and both arms. Ask them to describe the different experiences and assess their potential and skill level in each. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 1–5 Standards.	Subject Physical education Age range Ages 0-5 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection
Math#Special_education#Kinect_Sports Duck, duck, jump What’s the best way to deal with negativity? In this activity, students explore the impact of negative influencers and ways to minimize their impact on performance. Have each student find a partner. Have each student play the Duck and Jump game in Kinect Sports twice. During the first attempt, have the non-active student tell the active student to jump when they should duck and vice versa. Document the results. During the second attempt, have both students remain silent. Document the results. Have students change places and repeat the process. Create a colored bar graph showing results for each student. Compare how students did with and without chatter. Additional activity Discuss real-life situations where people say negative things and what strategies students can employ to overcome them. Then have students play the game again, this time making use of the strategies discussed.	Subject Mathematics Age range Special Education Kinect game Kinect Sports
Science#11-13#Kinect_Fun_Labs Rock star scientist Bridge the worlds of music and science by having students integrate music with science concepts. Have students find a partner. Have each group develop a poem, such as a limerick or haiku, or a song that relates to content selected by the teacher. Have students write their lyrics down. Have students act out their song in a concert using the band game. Record the song using the recording option in the game. Try to limit recordings to less than 30 seconds, if possible. Play each recorded concert to the class. Near the end of class, randomly select groups and have them attempt to recite the songs from groups other than their own. Additional activity Discuss strategies for developing songs and poems, such as haikus and limericks. What method is the most effective for retention? Have students share ideas within small groups. Common Core connections This activity relates to Language K–8 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinect Fun Labs
Math#Special_education#Kinect_Sports Scavenger hunt: Where’s the math? In this activity, students “hunt for math” in different Kinect Sports minigames, underscoring the fact that math is found in many things people do. Create a list of five mathematics objectives for students to hunt for. Select Kinect Sports minigames that correspond with your objectives. Have students pair off into groups. Have each student play one of the minigames. As one student plays, their partner should record any observations verbalized by the player. Repeat this process for both students. When completed, engage the class in a discussion about the results of their scavenger hunt. Additional activity Lead the class in a discussion concerning how things are much more obvious when we plan to look for them. Discuss how this knowledge might improve life skills within different disciplines, such as personal finance. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 1–5 Standards	Subject Mathematics Age range Special Education Kinect game Kinect Sports
Language_Arts#14-18#Yoostar The voting polls are open Give students the opportunity to run a mock campaign for a historical figure that includes a political ad for television. Pair students together. Designate one person to be in charge of writing the script and the other person to be the performer. Have each group record their political ad. They can select any scene background that they feel best serves their script. Play each ad to the class. Have students vote on which political candidate they would vote for based exclusively on the ad. Discuss whether political advertisements are effective ways to reach the masses and why or why not. Additional activity Extend learning to mathematics by collecting votes on frequency charts, which students can then use to develop statistics concerning class results. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects 6–12 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 14-18 Kinect game Yoostar
Math#5-10#Kinect_Sports What's your favorite? Most students have a favorite and least-favorite video game. Does favoritism correlate to higher scores? Have students organize into groups of two. Ask them to survey their partner about their favorite and least-favorite Kinect Sports game. Create two charts: One titled “Favorites” and the other titled “Least-Favorites.” Make rows for listing game titles. Label the columns “Results” and “Average Results.” Have each student play their favorite and least-favorite game. Document the results. Discuss and collect the following data as a class: Frequency of titles chosen as favorite and least-favorite Average results Cause of high / low scores Additional activity Explore how frequency charts are used for data collection in other disciplines, such as voting polls. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 1–5 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Sports
Math#14-18#Kinect_Fun_Labs Scale drawings Students demonstrate their knowledge of scale factor. Students organize into groups of three. Each group determines one accessible object―such as a shoe, a mobile device, or a backpack― and scans the object into the game. While one student is participating, another student measures, and the other records data. The student being measured stands tall with their arms at their sides. Repeat until everyone is measured. Measure the height of the object in the game. Determine the scale factor for the measurement of each student. Are they similar? Why or why not? Discuss what happens to the scale factor with respect to students’ height. Additional activity Measure students' height when their arms are extended above their head or out to the side. Then measure the scanned object. See if the scale factor is modified. Discuss how scale factor applies to the fields of architecture and geography. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 6–12 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 14-18 Kinect game Kinect Fun Labs
Math#14-18#Kinect_Sports What's in a calorie? Students assess how many calories are burned in a variety of games. Each member of the class needs access to a heart rate monitor to determine the calories burned. If necessary, they may manually track their pulse. Have students create an activity chart that consists of five columns: “Activity,” “Heart rate,” “Time,” “Calories burned,” and “Food equivalent.” Students choose three activities. After playing each one, they assess how many calories they've burned. Use this equation: C = (0.6309 x H + 0.09036 x W + 0.2017 x A -- 55.0969) x T / 4.184, where H represents heart rate, W represents weight, A represents age, and T represents time (in minutes) (Source: livestrong.com) Ask students to locate a food item that contains approximately the same number of calories they burned. Have the class record all data on their activity chart and turn in their chart. Additional activity Have students break down the calories for some of their favoritie foods, and for those that are highly caloric, find more healthful substitutions. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–12 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 14-18 Kinect game Kinect Sports
Science#14-18#Kinect_Sports Exploring range of motion Students explore and evaluate multiple approaches to throwing the javelin. Their goal is to determine if an ideal range of motion exists. Divide the class into small groups. Each group experiments with a variety of different approaches to throwing the javelin to see if an ideal range of motion exists. The ideal approach must be one they can easily teach others. After determining an ideal method, each group discusses the mechanics and anatomy governing the throw. Teachers may choose to assess progress throughout the discussion or to have students draw visual representations of their findings to turn in. Additional activity Have students integrate heat maps with their visual representations to reveal weight distribution behind the ideal throw. These can lead to further discussion about the application of heat maps in other areas, such as meteorology. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–12 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 14-18 Kinect game Kinect Sports
Science#14-18#Kinect_Adventures Exploring weight distribution Most of us understand how a see-saw works, but can we explain it scientifically? Playing River Rush in Kinect Adventures can help students formulate hypotheses about the properties of weight distribution. Students pair off. One pair plays the game multiple times using a variety of approaches. For example, use coin collection as a standard of measurement to determine “ideal” weight distribution. Groups who aren't playing the game collect data from the participants and discuss ideas. Repeat this process until every group has played. Hold an open class discussion about the data collected and the hypotheses developed. Students document their ideas and turn in their work. Additional activities Discuss independent variables that determine the outcome and how they relate to math. Students document the number of coins collected throughout the lesson. This activity promotes mathematical computation, such as the percent of change (increase or decrease) among groups. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects K–5 and 6-12 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 14-18 Kinect game Kinect Adventures
##Kinect_Fun_Labs Digital storytelling In this unit-long activity, students use digital storytelling to reflect their content knowledge. As you progress through a unit, students develop storylines that relate to the content. Then, using Avatar Kinect in Kinect Fun Labs, students bring their stories to life by recording short skits that reflect their storylines. This activity can be adapted to all grade levels and content areas to meet the needs of the class. Additional activities Create a rubric that ensures students cover specific content in their animated short films. Have students use this activity to demonstrate knowledge acquisition at the beginning or end of each class. To promote further dialog, students may invite guests to appear on their shows. Guests would appear via the Internet. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects K–5, 6-12 Standards.	Subject Age range Kinect game Kinect Fun Labs
Geography#11-13#Body_and_Brain_Connection Reviewing cardinal directions How fast can your students recall cardinal and ordinal directions? Participants play the Arrows game in Body and Brain Connection, starting at the beginner level. As arrow combinations appear, students verbalize the cardinal direction. Onlookers provide assistance to peers by calling out more common directional terms, such as up, down, left, and right. Students compare and contrast class results and discuss strategies to improve performances. Within the unit you're teaching, discuss how the skills of comparing and contrasting are vital, from geographical and historical perspectives. Additional activities Discuss problem-solving skills that would improve the players’ performances. Talk about how developing problem-solving skills in one area enhances those skills in other content areas and professions. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects 6–12 Standards.	Subject Geography Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection
Math#Special_education#Yoostar Ready, set, read! Transform your classroom into a virtual green screen, and place students inside popular movies. Students play the role of an actor and read the actor’s lines (or script alternatives provided by the teacher). Choose an appropriate film. As one student participates, the others evaluate and take notes about the performance. Following each student’s performance, hold a class discussion about their results. Talk about the differences between the original actor's performance and the student's performance. Focus on annunciation, pacing, and inflection. Break down the dialogue, and offer ideas for improvement. Students turn in their notes concluding the final performance. Additional activity Build math knowledge by making this a daily activity, regularly documenting students’ points from the game on a bar graph. Each day, have students describe the chart. Provide tangible rewards as positive reinforcement. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–2 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Special Education Kinect game Yoostar
Science#11-13#Kinect_Fun_Labs Exploring the periodic table If the elements on the periodic table could talk, what would they say? Playing Googly Eyes, in Kinect Fun Labs, gives students a chance to bring an element from the periodic table to life. Assign each student an element from the periodic table to research. Students document the properties and characteristics of their element. Students construct a simple 3D paper model of their element. Have them color it and add more features (at your discretion). Students render their 3D paper models as 3D animated models in the game. They record clips of themselves “acting” as their assigned elements during the game. They also describe and record their elements’ characteristics. Show all clips to the class, and have students take notes throughout the showing. Students turn in their notes and/or collaborate with their peers to promote knowledge sharing. Additional activity Explore the effects of combining elements and the new characteristics that would result. Then discuss yielding equations and the mathematical properties governing this process. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–12 Standards.	Subject Science Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinect Fun Labs
Math#14-18#Kinect_Sports Does practice make perfect? Coaches use drills to improve players’ agility. Does extra “practice make perfect”? Review the x and y coordinate plane and how to graph points and relations. For one week (during a limited time in each class period), students play the shoe-dodging mini-game with soccer. This works best as a daily bell-ringer activity and can motivate students to be on time. Create a chart with two column headings: “Attempt number” (representing x) and “Score” (representing y). Have students track their results for the week. At week’s end, students plot their data on graph paper and connect their points to evaluate trend data. Students discuss their results in small groups. Additional activities Discuss intervals where there was an increase or decrease on the graph.Obtain the slope for a given interval. Plot class data on a scatter plot graph to determine the overall correlation. Cross-curricular: Students research range of motion and how agility relates to human anatomy. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 6–12 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 14-18 Kinect game Kinect Sports
Geography,_Language_Arts#Special_education#Yoostar Building social skills Students take a role in a popular movie and “act out” script alternatives that can alter the social interaction of the film. While each student plays the game, the other students cover their ears and focus exclusively on the player's body language. They try to discern the emotional context of player's interaction with the events and actors in the film. Following each student’s performance, hold a class discussion about the player's results. Focus only on the perceived emotional context. When all students complete the game, discuss the differences between the student performances and those of the actor. Break down these interactions to determine whether the player's response was socially appropriate, and offer ideas for improvement. Additional activity Students act out scripts with specific emotional criteria. This will help students learn how to interact appropriately in different real-life circumstances. Common Core connections This activity relates to Speaking and Listening 6–12 Standards.	Subject Geography, Language Arts Age range Special Education Kinect game Yoostar
Math#Special_education#Kinect_Adventures Keep your head above the water! What does it mean to keep your head above the water? In this activity, students draw analogies between the game 20,000 Leaks and real-life situations. One at a time, students play the game. As the virtual water level rises, people typically become frustrated. The frustration influences their performance. While each student plays the game, the rest of the class evaluates the player's performance. When the entire class has completed the game, hold a group discussion. Draw analogies between the results of the game that relate to real-life situations and the circumstances students that face in their daily lives. Discuss how frustration influences behavior and how to minimize its negative influence. Additional activity Make this a daily activity. Continually document students’ progress on a bar graph. Have students describe the graph as they interpret results, such as progress over a segment of time. Provide tangible rewards for positive reinforcement. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–2 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Special Education Kinect game Kinect Adventures
Geography#14-18#Kinect_Fun_Labs Virtual group meeting Technology enables people to connect over long distances. Now people can even use an avatar in place of themselves to make expressions and gestures as if they were actually in the room. By using avatars, students can explore the advantages and disadvantages of technological advancements in communication. This builds critical-thinking skills. The activity can be performed during any group project. Students hold a group meeting in person. Students hold a virtual group meeting with Avatar Kinect, using the same theme, context, and participants as the in-person meeting. Compare and contrast their two experiences. What were the positives and negatives? In what situations is a face-to-face meeting better?When is a virtual meeting better? Reflect on how modern technology has changed human geography. Do people live farther from one another because they can still keep in touch? Are relationships suffering or improving? Additional activity Have the students discuss whether people act differently in a virtual world, and explain the reasons for their answers. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing 6–12 Standards.	Subject Geography Age range Ages 14-18 Kinect game Kinect Fun Labs
Math#11-13#Body_and_Brain_Connection What time is it? Game time! Students learn how to use angle measurements to determine the time. Students create a chart with two column headings: “Clock Time” and “Angle Measurement.” Students use a protractor to measure the angles of five random times on a clock (represented on a handout) and record each time with its corresponding angle measurement on their charts. Students share their completed charts with peers. Select students to play the “Clock Game,” in which they use their arms to imitate the on-screen clock hands. Have students estimate the time and the corresponding angle measurement. Students turn in their completed charts. Additional activities Set up a stationary camera to take snapshots of students as they play. Print the snapshots, and have students use a protractor to determine the angles their arms form. Build connections with geography, science, and astronomy: Discuss how the sun can be a focal point for estimating time. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–5 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection
History#11-13#Kinect_Fun_Labs Talk show Students use avatars to explore historical figures. Ask students, "What would it be like to host a talk show with famous historical figures?" As the talk show hosts, whom would they invite? What questions would they ask? Organize students in groups, with one as the talk show host and the other students as the historical figures. Each group plans a series of questions connected by a common theme. For example, invite Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi to a show about nonviolent resistance. Ask them how they fought the urge to retaliate and whether they ever thought about leaving their nonviolent stance. The group writes a script. Each group plays a game acting out their guests as avatars. They revise the script based on what they discover. Students turn in the script of their show and reflect on what they learned from it. Additional activity Mix historical figures with current figures or students in the class. Common Core connections This activity relates to Language K–5 Standards.	Subject History Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinect Fun Labs
Language_Arts#5-10#Kinect_Fun_Labs Sparkle partners Relationships are often built around shared experiences developed through working toward a common goal. Students partner up and use Sparkler in Kinect Fun Labs to create a design that reflects their common interests. Assign students partners. Each set of partners chooses a method to discover their common interests. For example, students ask each other questions or take turns talking. This builds strategic-thinking and collaboration skills. Students write a list of at least three interests they share and then choose one to focus on. Students discuss how to pose together to represent that shared interest. For example, if they both like basketball, they might act out a basketball game. Snap a picture of their pose. Students then use the sparkler to write messages and designs in the surrounding three-dimensional space. Additional activities Post the pictures in the classroom to foster community. Try the activity as an icebreaker to introduce students to one another. Common Core connections This activity relates to Speaking and Listening 6–12 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Fun Labs
Language_Arts#5-10#Kinect_Fun_Labs Sparkle actors Students earn points for acting out in class. Playing Sparkler in Kinect Fun Labs enables students to create a 3D representation of a scene from a book they are reading. Group students in twos, threes, or fours. Each group selects a scene to act out from a book they are reading. Together they plan how to construct the scene and act it out. Using a set of props or whatever they can find around them, they create the scene. They take a picture of their scene and use the sparkler to write the title of the scene and the book it comes from. Additional activities Students add more messages using the sparkler and save the picture to share it with other classes. Before labeling their scene, the class guesses what it represents and which book it comes from. Common Core connections This activity relates to Speaking and Listening 6–12 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Fun Labs
Math#11-13#Body_and_Brain_Connection Leading the receiver How do you throw a ball to a moving target, like a person running? By the time you throw it to a spot, the receiver is already gone! Throwing requires physical technique and estimation—a mathematical skill. Students play Off the Radar in Body and Brain Connection to observe and extrapolate a sequence of movements, and then they predict what comes next and when. Students apply the estimation, prediction, and timing skills developed in Off the Radar to football. First, they watch short video clips of quarterbacks throwing to their moving receivers. The quarterbacks actually aim their throw for a spot where they anticipate the receiver will be, not the current location of the receiver. Next, they practice this skill on the field. Additional activity Have students play games that involve throwing on Kinect Sports and examine how different throwing techniques affect the accuracy, speed, and power of a throw. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content 6–12 Standards.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection
Physical_education#5-10#Kinect_Sports Track and Field Track and Field in Kinect Sports helps students build their hand, eye, and foot coordination by participating in a series of track and field events including running, hurdles, javelin, discus, and long jump. Let students train and test out the different events. Have students choose which events they want to participate in. Track scores of students versus different virtual opponents. Additional activities Have students form teams, encouraging them to practice and hone their skills together. Create an Olympics scenario in which students form teams, name their country, and try to win medals. The students could also help design flags for their team or, if they choose a real country, learn facts about that country. Make students select their weakest events with the promise of a special medal being rewarded to the one who shows the most improvement.	Subject Physical education Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Sports
Physical_education#5-10#Kinect_Sports Ping Pong Playing Ping Pong in Kinect Sports helps students build their hand and eye coordination while also providing a light physical challenge for them to engage in. Ping Pong also offers students a safe outlet for releasing their energy. Because students challenge a virtual opponent, they can track their progress as they hone their coordination skills. Additional activities Create a weekly leader board reflecting everyone’s win/loss record. Create a tournament with awards based on skill, improvement, and effort. Every participant should end up with some type of reward to encourage their efforts. Create an Olympics scenario in which students form teams, name their country, and try to win medals. The students could also help design flags for their team or, if they choose a real country, learn facts about that country.	Subject Physical education Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Sports
Physical_education#5-10#Kinect_Sports Inside boxing Playing Boxing in Kinect Sports helps students work on their hand, eye, and foot coordination. The use of a virtual opponent also provides a safe venue for students to engage in boxing. Create a weekly leader board reflecting everyone’s win/loss record. Create an Olympics scenario in which students form teams, name their country, and go for medals. The students could also help design flags for their team or, if they choose a real country, learn facts about that country. Provide rewards for students who do research about the sport of boxing. Additional activity Have children practice boxing with their non-dominant hand as a means of building up their dexterity.	Subject Physical education Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinect Sports
Physical_education#5-10#Body_and_Brain_Connection Right on time Body and Brain Connection can help children learn to tell time. The activity involves students reading a digital clock and then using their arms to express that time on an analog clock face. The light physical challenges help build mental faculties, providing a rewarding mental/physical activity and lesson. Have students read the time on the digital clock that the game provides. Have students position their arms to represent how that time would look on the analog clock face that the game provides. Additional activities Hang a chart that shows each student’s progress in improving their time-telling capabilities. Have students partner up and take turns, with one student reading the digital time while the other student, with eyes closed, tries to put his or her arms in the right position, from memory, without the help of a visual guide. Common Core connections This activity relates to Mathematical Content K–2 Standards.	Subject Physical education Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection
Physical_education#5-10#Body_and_Brain_Connection Assess me (for individuals) Body and Brain Connection enables players to assess their individual physical ability (expressed as age) to learn how to keep themselves in better health. Students try a series of activities that test their reflexes, ability to follow directions, visual acuity, and more. Teacher establishes a baseline to help track improvement over the course of a week or more. Additional activities Teacher creates a weekly leader board that recognizes students as they improve their scores. Teacher awards special prizes to students who pursue research projects about the brain and body. Students join up in teams, driving each other to win prizes based on the greatest cumulative score improvement. Common Core connections This activity relates to Writing for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects 6–12 Standards.	Subject Physical education Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection
History#11-13#Kinect_Sports Where the games began Modern sports are familiar to young students, but do students know the origin of these sports? Pair class members to research and share the history of a specific sport. Assign each student certain aspects of the game to study. Students study the history of the sport and present their findings to each other in person or via Skype. The students play the game together on Kinect Live. Kinect Sports provides students with an opportunity to engage in the competitive sports they studied. They can also explore the game to understand a part of their research. Best of all, they can play right in the classroom. Additional activity Create collaborative online books to compare the modern game with the historical game. Common Core connections This activity relates to Language 6–12 Standards.	Subject History Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinect Sports
Geography#5-10#Kinectimals Where in the world? Learning about maps and globes interests young children, and lessons can be even more engaging and memorable when they include baby animals. Playing Kinectimals teaches students about maps, globes, regions, and the conditions in which young animals thrive. Prepare the students for the game by introducing the globe as a map of the earth. Teach landforms, and identify the continents. Play Kinectimals so the students can learn about the different continents, cubs, and the regions in which they live. Young students can then research the habitats of each cub in Kinectimals and mark each environment on a world map. Additional activity Research other animals that are native to each continent. Design a new character, such as a bird, and use it as a future Kinectimal. Create one bird for each continent. Make sure the characters can thrive in their given habitats. Common Core connections This activity relates to Language K–5 Standards.	Subject Geography Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinectimals
Language_Arts#5-10#Kinectimals Verbal directions Put students' communication skills to the test. Kinectimals provides many opportunities for children to play short, timed games that require motor and directional skills. Prepare the students for these games by teaching directional words, such as right, left, lower, higher, backward, and forward. Select a game of skills within Kinectimals. Students select partners for the one-minute games. One partner wears a blindfold, and the other plays the guide. While the blindfolded student tries to knock over objects with a ball or to drive a remote control vehicle, the guide provides verbal directions. Additional activity Play robot on the playground. Write directions to get the robot from one spot to another. Have one student play the robot and the other the controller. Common Core connections This activity relates to Speaking and Listening 1–5 Standards.	Subject Language Arts Age range Ages 5-10 Kinect game Kinectimals
History#11-13#Kinect_Fun_Labs Avatar Students dress up as their favorite historical character and transform them into an avatar! Playing Kinect Me in Kinect Fun Labs helps bring historical figures to life and enriches students’ sense and appreciation of history, understanding of historical figures, and awareness of character. Students choose a famous person from history. They research the life of the person. They prepare a costume similar to what the historical figure wore. Wearing their costume, students pose in front of the camera to create their avatar likeness. While posing, they explain why they chose the figure and the clothes. Then they act out their character, moving and talking as their historical figure. Their historical avatar does whatever they do on the screen. Additional activities Groups of students reenact a famous situation from the life of the historical figure. Students try to guess who the figure is as the scene is acted out. Common Core connections This activity relates to Speaking and Listening 6–12 Standards.	Subject History Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Kinect Fun Labs
Math#11-13#Body_and_Brain_Connection Matchmaker In Matchmaker in Body and Brain Connection, the game player uses cards and points to the two shapes that are symmetrical to each other, are the same color, and point in the same direction. Assign students partners. One partner plays the game, moving only on the command of his or her partner. When a student answers incorrectly, the partner should describe why the two figures don’t match and what made it seem like they should match. Each team of two creates 20 pairs of symmetrical shapes that are very similar to one another. The objective is to make the cards as challenging as possible. Teams exchange sets of cards. Using the cards, students play a match game similar to concentration, where two cards are turned over at a time. Teams exchange cards. Additional activity Identify the most difficult set of cards, and discuss why the matches are so challenging.	Subject Mathematics Age range Ages 11-13 Kinect game Body and Brain Connection

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Where is my Chopin Liszt?

Hollywood rehearsal

Hollywood ad-lib

Oral report

I spy a community hero

Dress Marco

Clean up

Acting out emotions

The forceful competitor

Dressing and guessing historical figures

Food chain jumble

X marks the spot

No place like home

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Pet careers

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Afternoon adventure

Introduction to Kinectimals

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Scoring darts

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Knocking down numbers

Scavenger hunt

Race to the spinach

Puzzle me this

I could have been a contender

I’d love to be a teacher

The team statistician

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Skiing (and listening) for success

Can we learn from the past?

Assessing risk and reward

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Animated history

You CAN get there from here

Whose generation?

Which way works best?

Pounds of garbage

Stop those leaks!

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Moving in space

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Heroes for a day

What’s your angle?

Transportation Destination

Paper plate shuffle

Don’t burn my pizza pie

Play-a-thon

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Tennis swing

Physics of pitching

Age and ability—what’s the relationship?

Sportscaster

Healthy heart

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