Lucas Learning - Math - Star Wars Math: Drawing on Timeless Classroom Math Activities

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Star Wars® Math: Jabba's Game Galaxy™:
Drawing on Timeless Classroom Math Activities

Lucas Learning®'s challenge to our staff was to create a math game for young students that would be equally entertaining and educational. Before beginning, we reviewed many products developed by others to see how they approached this. We learned that activities in these products usually focused on drill and practice or on critical thinking-few attempted to do both. We observed that some games gave kids practice with memorized facts, while others developed number sense using electronic versions of the math manipulatives often used in classrooms. We watched kids play some of these games and saw instances where some set the options to the least demanding skill level and focused only on the "entertainment". Others seemed to enjoy math for its own sake and took pride in coming up with correct answers, even when there was little additional "entertainment" in the game.

Out of this research and our discussions with math educators, Star Wars Math: Jabba's Game Galaxy was born. Three criteria set the tone for the product's development.

• The product should be mathematically sound and entertaining in order to engage as many students as possible.
• The activities should be a mix of both problem solving and skill development.
• Whenever possible, electronic manipulatives should be present to help with problem solving when needed and to develop understanding of the underlying principles of computation.

With this in mind, we began the design process using familiar Star Wars characters and settings to create a motivating environment for practicing math skills. For the activities themselves, we took the advice of experienced math educators and turned to timeless math activities used in classrooms for years. A familiar classroom game often called "Pig" was the inspiration for Dueling Dice. This game helps develop skill in mental arithmetic and estimation as students compete against each other or against Sebulba, a racing foe of Anakin Skywalker. Jabba the Hutt challenges students to a game of Holochex based on a centuries old strategy game from Spain. In Digotto, our designers used another familiar classroom game to teach place value and build number sense as students place digits to try to create a number that comes closest to the changing rule.

In creating these activities, we tried to go beyond simply moving a physical game to the computer. We looked for ways to provide students additional tools and support systems for solving problems in the game. In Ratts' Race randomly generated problems are presented to students as they advance around the gameboard. Unlike games in which students must rely on algorithms alone, Ratts' Race provides electronic manipulatives to aid the beginning student in finding the correct answer to each problem. Even the game's reward system integrates activities that develop money sense and promote an understanding of value and exchange.

At Lucas Learning, the "recipe" for a great math game begins with an understanding of the students, the ways in which they learn, and timeless learning activities. "New" technologies and "old" math games make a great combination.

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