The Game of Life and Death

This article describes a self-guided, story-like game with creative drawing for grades 3-5 that teaches the evolution concepts of adaptation, natural selection, ecosystem dynamics, inheritance, and mutation following the "Next Generation Science Standards" ("NGSS"). Drawing reinforces concepts through emphasis on students' hands-on interaction with the material and games result in greater retention of concepts because students are more engaged. Elementary school students are especially receptive to games as a non-traditional teaching method because their generation has grown up with a saturation of technology and gaming. The overall goal for this game was to expose students to the key elements of evolution by natural selection: variation, inheritance, selection, and time.