Socially-based Curriculum Unit

In this unit developed for the course ENG2D (English, Grade 10 Academic), students will explore digital game literacy and the possibilities of creating and using digital games as a means of fostering social advocacy and change. To that end, students will research a social issue (either local or global) of their own choice, and attempt to use the digital game medium as a means of educating and/or informing a wider audience about that issue.

By the end of this unit students will:

• Understand digital game literacy, especially as a means to promote awareness of social issues;
• Understand the moral implications of reducing social issues into a “gaming” framework, as well as the larger implication of consuming social issues through the lens of mass media;
• Know how to use print and/or electronic technology for research purposes, including electronic databases;
• Use their own imagination, informed by research, to invent creative applications to raise awareness of social issues;
• Be able to communicate with confidence and clarity their own ideas to a wider audience;
• Understand the difficulty—but necessity—to inspire active participation in social justice issues.