Hi Education Legends! Welcome to our October curriculum update! We’re excited to share this monthly collection of new science games, carefully crafted to support your teaching goals and boost student achievement.

Transform your science classroom with these engaging new tools!

If you missed last month’s new games, take a look at September’s update here.

New Science Games in October

Get ready to engage your students with exciting new adventures and hands-on learning experiences.

Grades 3-5

• Bloom Haven: Run your farm and follow the development cycle of plants and animals over time.
• Speed Surge: The Quest For Energy: Drive and conquer every track to learn more about speed and energy.
• Food Frenzy: Prepare yourself for a thrilling runner adventure, where you can explore new environments and interact with creatures to learn about energy flow.
• Crumbling Structure: Join this magical crew and explore the effects of weathering and erosion in various environments to learn how these natural forces shape the world!

Grades 6-8

• Laser Lab Simulator!: Beat every mini challenge to learn how reflection, absorption, and transmission of light work.
• Balance Keeper – LIFE: Take on the role of Biome Keeper, balancing flora, fauna, climate, and water. Make crucial decisions to keep the biome thriving and avoid collapse.
• Think Titans: Solar System Origins & Gravity: Join Loopy as he learns about the Solar System’s origin with the help of Professor Hoo. Together, they’ll create their mini solar system!
• Light Wave Party Pop: In this fun educational game students control a photon to learn about light and waves through colorful puzzles, making complex concepts accessible and engaging!
• Fun System: Reference Frames: Team up with our friendly characters to explore different apps while searching for a friend, learning about acceleration, velocity, and reference frames along the way!
• Planet Populators Inc.: In this game about artificial selection, manage a breeding farm on Mars to create quirky aliens by fulfilling customer requests and selecting specific traits!

October Featured Games

Bloom Haven — Elementary Science 

Game description:

Farm Life Cycles: Biology in Action

Transform your science classroom with this engaging farming simulator where students discover biology through hands-on virtual farming!

Try Bloom Haven NOW!

Key Features:

• Explore plant and animal life cycles in real time
• Witness metamorphosis and reproduction stages
• Manage farm resources and make strategic decisions
• Learn through guided, interactive tutorials

Students will:

• Master biological concepts through practical application
• Develop critical thinking skills via farm management
• Connect science curriculum to real-world scenarios

Watch as your students bloom from curious observers into confident young biologists, eagerly cultivating their understanding of life science!

Speed Surge: The Quest For Energy — Elementary Science

Game Description:

Students race into physics education with this thrilling 3D arcade game that transforms abstract energy concepts into high-octane learning adventures!

Game Scenario: On the eve of the Robo League championship, our robot hero must step in as an emergency test driver. With malfunctioning vehicles and untested courses, players become crucial troubleshooters in this physics-powered adventure!

Learning in Motion:

• Master concepts of kinetic and mechanical energy
• Experience physics principles through dynamic vehicle control
• Apply real-world physics in exciting challenges
• Test and analyze vehicle performance across 4 unique tracks

Challenges Include:

• Performing physics-based stunts
• Calculating optimal speeds for tasks
• Bowling with vehicle momentum
• Testing energy conversion in action

Educational Benefits:

• Hands-on exploration of motion concepts
• Real-time visualization of physics principles
• Engaging narrative that drives learning
• Perfect blend of entertainment and education

Turn your classroom into a physics testing ground where students eagerly race to understand energy and motion! Try Speed Surge NOW!

Laser Lab Simulator! – Middle Science

Game Description:

Illuminating Optics Through Interactive Discovery

Transform your physics curriculum with this engaging virtual laboratory where students master light and energy concepts through practical experimentation! Check Laser Lab Simulator NOW!

Key Learning Features:

• Hands-on manipulation of optical tools (lasers, filters, mirrors)
• Progressive challenges reinforce core physics concepts
• Real-time visualization of light behavior and energy transfer
• Problem-based learning through laboratory puzzles

Educational Outcomes:

• Deep understanding of light reflection and refraction
• Critical thinking through experimental design
• Scientific problem-solving in a risk-free environment
• Application of physics principles to achieve measurable goals

Perfect for middle and high school physics classes, Laser Lab Simulator turns abstract optical concepts into tangible, engaging experiments that spark scientific curiosity and foster analytical thinking.

Have you missed last month’s new games? Take a look at September’s update here! And don’t forget to keep an eye out for more exciting game updates coming your way soon.

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Are you new to Legends of Learning and eager to try these games? Sign up now and embark on an educational adventure!

Have questions? Reach out to us at support@legendsoflearning.com

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Don’t miss out on our latest posts!

• Legends of Learning has Upgraded the Teacher Experience
• Key Qualities of Legends of Learning’s Adaptive Technology for Grades K-8 Math and Science
• Legends of Learning Awakening: Version 7.6 Is Here!
• Spooky Fun: New Math Games to Energize Your October
• Spooky Fun: New Science Games to Energize Your October

Hi Legends! Welcome to another exciting update from our Learning Universe: check the new science games in August 2024!

This August, we’re thrilled to introduce you to the latest additions to our growing array of science classroom games, designed to engage while enhancing your students’ test scores.

Did you miss last month’s new games? Take a look at July’s update here.

New Science Games in August 2024 🧪

Get ready to engage your students with exciting new adventures and hands-on learning experiences.

Grades K-2

• Lovely Planet: Create the world of your dreams and see how plants and animals interact with their environment on our lovely planet Earth.
• Buddy Care: Take care of our little friends, a bird, and a plant,  to learn more about their processes of growth and development.

Grades 6-8

• Angry Birds: Return Home: Join our Angry Birds friends in their mission to send Ice Bird back to his home planet  Cold Cuts. Use your knowledge of gravity to sort all the obstacles!
• Fury the Capybara: Help Fury,  a grumpy movie director,  create his next show while learning more about plate tectonics. 
• Captain Kipper’s Current Quest: Travel across the ocean without a working propeller! Yes, only use the ocean currents and your guts to avoid enemies! 
• Think Titans: Solar System Explorers: Explore our universe with Loopy and Prof. Hoot in their spaceship. You’ll learn more about the planets, stars, and celestial bodies in your travels.

A Closer Look at Featured Games

Lovely Planet — Elementary Science Game 

Game Description:

Create a beautiful forest and a coral reef.

Discover how humans affect the environment with a memory game and paint a better city.

Angry Birds: Return Home — Middle Science Game

Game Description:

We need to help Ice Bird on his mission to get back to his home planet.

To accomplish that, we will have to defeat the space pigs of every planet. 


Join us on this awesome trip and you will learn about the solar system and the concept of gravity.

Fury the Capybara — Middle Science Game

Game Description:

Fury the Capybara is a movie director with a particular personality; he’s grumpy.

Players have to buy props for Fury’s next show while learning the plate tectonics characteristics and playing multiple minigames.

The game offers two modes: Story Mode, where you will be lectured about plate tectonics and play fun minigames. Practice Mode, where you can go directly to have fun while recapitulating the main topics with the summarized activities.

Keep an eye out for more exciting game updates coming your way soon.

Have you missed last month’s new games? Take a look at July’s update here! And don’t forget to keep an eye out for more exciting game updates coming your way soon.

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Are you new to Legends of Learning and eager to try these games? Sign up now and embark on an educational adventure!

Have questions? Reach out to us at support@legendsoflearning.com

---

Don’t miss out on our latest posts!

• Legends of Learning has Upgraded the Teacher Experience
• Key Qualities of Legends of Learning’s Adaptive Technology for Grades K-8 Math and Science
• Legends of Learning Awakening: Version 7.6 Is Here!
• Spooky Fun: New Math Games to Energize Your October
• Spooky Fun: New Science Games to Energize Your October

Hi Legends! Welcome to another exciting update from our Learning Universe! This July, we’re thrilled to introduce you to the latest additions to our ever-expanding array of Science classroom games, designed to engage while enhancing your students’ test scores. If you missed last month’s new games you can take a look at June’s update here.

New Science Games in July 2024 🧪

Get ready to engage your students with exciting new adventures and hands-on learning experiences.

Games for Grades K-2

• Light Labs: Help our little robot friend find hidden objects using your knowledge of light and its behavior in different materials. 
• Day on the Farm: Join Charlie and learn how chemical reactions are involved in day-to-day tasks. 
• Magic Map: Tiny will teach you how to use the maps to explore, find locations, and help your peers!

Grades 3-5

• Fossil Finders: Collect fossils to reveal Earth’s ancient past!

Grades 6-8

• Angry Birds: Kinetic Power: Join our Angry Birds friends and learn more about the relationship between mass, velocity, and kinetic energy.
• ChemCraft Arranger: Balance the chemical reaction by rearranging its reactants and products!
• Balance Keeper – Earth: Help Jenna to approve or deny action cards to bring balance to our planet!
• Micro Adventure: Travel to the microscopic world and learn about cells and their organelles!
• Camp Star: Play different mini-games and read interesting facts to mimic the movement of the stars and planets.
• Animals in the Ecosystem: Play as an elephant, dolphin, and cheetah to learn and understand how individuals live in an ecosystem.
• Sun School: Prepare your sunglasses! Because this game will illuminate the photosynthesis process!

A Closer Look at Featured Games

Angry Birds: Kinetic Power — Middle Science 

Game description:
Play with Red and Angry Birds in this fun game and learn how they use Kinetic Energy knowledge to defeat the piggies!

Learn how energy moves among the different systems and how to exploit it.

Academically, students will learn concepts in Kinetic Energy with an Angry Birds gameplay experience they will love. 

ChemCraft Arranger — Middle Science

Game Description:

The game focuses on the fascinating concept of chemical reactions and the arrangement of atoms.

Students will intuitively balance chemical equations by adding and subtracting atoms, reinforcing their understanding of molecular structures.

ChemCraft Arranger makes learning about chemical reactions thrilling and accessible, turning complex science into an interactive adventure.

Balance Keeper – Earth — Middle Science

Game Description:

Step into the role of World Keeper in our captivating strategy game, where each decision shapes your planet’s destiny!

Balance population, science, economics, and resources through turns and dynamic cards. Navigate challenges, foresee consequences, and prevent any pillar from collapsing to ensure a prosperous reign.

Will you rise to greatness or succumb to fate? It’s time to rewrite history!

Have you missed last month’s new games? Take a look at May’s update here! And don’t forget to keep an eye out for more exciting game updates coming your way soon.

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Are you new to Legends of Learning and eager to try these games? Sign up now and embark on an educational adventure!

Have questions? Reach out to us at support@legendsoflearning.com

---

Don’t miss out on our latest posts!

• Legends of Learning has Upgraded the Teacher Experience
• Key Qualities of Legends of Learning’s Adaptive Technology for Grades K-8 Math and Science
• Legends of Learning Awakening: Version 7.6 Is Here!
• Spooky Fun: New Math Games to Energize Your October
• Spooky Fun: New Science Games to Energize Your October

Hi Legends! Welcome to another exciting update from our Learning Universe! This June, we’re thrilled to introduce you to the latest additions to our ever-expanding array of Science classroom games, designed to engage while enhancing your students’ test scores. If you missed last month’s new games you can take a look at May’s update here.

What will you find below? 

Discover June’s highlights! Get to know the new science games and closely examine featured science games.

New Science Games in June 2024 🧪

Get ready to engage your students with exciting new adventures and hands-on learning experiences.

Games for Grades 3-5

• Angry Birds Return Home: Help our Angry Bird friends reach Ice Bird’s home while using gravitational force to defeat the piggies!
• Tiny’s Tale: Join Tiny on a quest to reclaim his treasure from the sneaky mouse using a magnet to move objects and make his way inside the cave!

Games for Grades 6-8

• Repairs On Wheels: Natural Resources: Travel around Barren Town in your truck and learn about natural resources to generate energy.
• Eco Park: Play as different animals to know how the food web is connected in nature and how energy passes through species.
• Elements of Earth: Help Jones in his investigation to find out which chemical elements compose the Earth and the universe!
• Gene Quest: Join Ruby and discover how DNA, genes, and traits work while collecting coins to beat each world in the game.
• Light: House: Learn how light is reflected, absorbed, and transmitted to direct it and bring light back to a dark land. 
• Eco-Trek: Habitat Heroes: Travel through diverse ecosystems and learn how living beings interact with their environment for survival.

A Closer Look at Featured Games

1. Angry Birds Return Home — Elementary Science

Hey there! We need to help Ice Bird on his mission to get back to his home planet! In order to accomplish that, we will have to defeat the space pigs of every planet.

Join us on this awesome trip and you will learn about the solar system and the concept of gravity.

2. Tiny’s Tale – Elementary Science

Tiny cannot walk so he built a wheelchair to move and go through any obstacle on his way.

Apart from the buttons, the mouse has stolen many other objects like iron marbles, wooden sticks, and other things that Tiny can use to go through the mouse house and get back all his treasure, because his wheelchair has a magnet on it, and Tiny knows how to use it to move objects.

3. Repairs On Wheels: Natural Resources – Middle Science

Drive around a village in your car making repairs and helping people while learning about different energies and natural resources.

Keep an eye out for more exciting game updates coming your way soon. New to Legends of Learning and eager to try out these games? Sign up now and embark on an educational adventure!

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to earn reward points by leaving teacher reviews! Your feedback not only helps other educators select the right games but also ensures students have access to the best educational material. Plus, your input guides us in creating more of the games you love. Start earning rewards today and make a difference in the learning journey!

Have questions? Reach out to us at support@legendsoflearning.com.

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Read our latest articles and don’t miss out on fresh news!

• Legends of Learning has Upgraded the Teacher Experience
• Key Qualities of Legends of Learning’s Adaptive Technology for Grades K-8 Math and Science
• Legends of Learning Awakening: Version 7.6 Is Here!
• Spooky Fun: New Math Games to Energize Your October
• Spooky Fun: New Science Games to Energize Your October

Hi Legends! Welcome to another exciting update from our Learning Universe Science Games!

This May, we’re thrilled to introduce you to the latest additions to our ever-expanding array of Science classroom games, designed to engage while enhancing your students’ test scores. If you missed last month’s new games you can take a look at April’s update here.

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We’ve made it to December, the Legendary Season of Giving! While you’re giving your students the gift of engaging science games in the classroom, there may be additional teachers out there who have yet to discover Legends of Learning. Since it is the season of giving, we decided to add to the fun and offer gifts for teachers who refer us.

Between now and December 31, when you refer other science teachers and they start using Legends of Learning*, you’ll receive the following gifts:

• 1 Referral – Gift: Dean Silencio Pez Head (Pez included!)
• 3 Referrals – Gift: LoL T-shirt & Cape set
• 5 Referrals – Gift: Two tickets to Star Wars: The Last Jedi (or a movie of your choice)
• Plus, don’t forget, you also earn 1000 coins for every referral! That’s good for 1000 science games for your students to play.

Give your colleagues the gift of game-based learning and celebrate the Legendary Season of Giving! There’s no better way to liven up a classroom at the end of the calendar year. Start making referrals today! (Not sure how? Find out in the Hall of Knowledge.)

*In order to qualify for a gift, referred teachers need to log in and launch a playlist on Legends of Learning by December 31.

On November 29, STEM Certified leader Richard White delivered a Legends of Learning test prep webinar. Richard is a teacher leader at Griffin Middle School in Cobb County, Georgia, where he has worked for the past 6 years.

With December quickly approaching, many teachers will enter a review period for end-of-year testing. Richard’s webinar provides helpful tips for Legends of Learning teachers to use games for test prep as well as for enrichment, and offers tactics to deploy science games as an engagement technique for distracted students.

View Richard’s test prep webinar and associated PowerPoint presentation below:

Test Prep Webinar Video

Test Prep PowerPoint Presentation

About Richard White

Richard is passionate about teaching and learning, and believes that there is some way to reach every student that he encounters. He has presented professionally at several local conferences, and is responsible for helping to train new teachers at Griffin. Richard joined the Legends of Learning platform in November of last year as an ambassador, and began testing games with his students as soon as they were rolled out. He has also presented on LoL at local conferences.

This November’s STEM Visions Contest featured submissions from teachers across the country, from California to Oklahoma to Massachusetts. All of the entries demonstrated how much these legendary science teachers inspire their students on a daily basis.

The contest was an overarching STEM activity for students. Teachers launched playlists of Legends of Learning science games in class, then asked how students could see themselves pursuing a career in STEM fields. Entries were posted on Facebook (and some on Google Docs).

Students wowed us with their visions for the future. The most popular ideas for future STEM careers were in the fields of veterinary science, astronomy, marine biology, and engineering.

The Winners

With so many thoughtful, creative entries, it was difficult to select the winners. Ultimately, after much deliberation, we had a winning submission: Kimberly King from Green Fields School (Tucson, AZ)! Kimberly submitted 21 students’ STEM visions, showcasing an impressive array of ideas they have for how to impact the world in their future careers. View her entire album of submissions here.

 

For winning the contest, Kimberly will receive a $1000 grant on DonorsChoose.org, along with a full-year license for her school to use Legends of Learning!

Four more of the most impressive submissions were selected as runners-up. View their submissions by clicking the links below:

Veronica Hennessey, Simonds Elementary (San José, CA)
Joy Johnson, Lewis and Clarke Middle School (Jefferson City, MO)
Denise Galiano, Cedar Hill Preparatory School (Somerset,NJ)
Scott Beiter, Rensselaer Middle School (Rensselaer, NY)

Congratulations to our winner, Kimberly, our runners-up, Veronica, Joy, Denise, and Scott, and all of the amazing educators who entered the contest! More importantly, thank you to all of these teachers for investing in the future by inspiring their students every single day.

Game-based learning produces strong performance results and engagement. Playlists help teachers manage and deploy games for their classrooms to achieve those results. They are an incredibly versatile tool that provides strategic lesson plan architecture, real-time data and control, and performance analytics.

To help teachers we’ve compiled a list of the top seven (and a half) ways teachers can use playlists with their students:

1. Introduce science content – LoL playlists can provide a great introduction to new concepts. Each game contains a significant amount of content, so students can visualize new science concepts in a fun, interactive environment before listening to a lecture or opening a textbook.

2. Mid-unit refresh – After a few days of teaching the same topic, it can start to get stale for students. Reinforce and invigorate your lessons by deploying a playlist in the middle of the unit. Keep it fresh with a little fun!

3. Homework – Looking for take-home exercises that don’t involve a worksheet? Now you can build a playlist and set it to launch at a future date, for a set period of time. Your students might even want to do their homework!

4. Monday warm-up – It’s amazing how much students can forget content over the weekend. Use games and quiz questions in Legends of Learning playlists to ease them back into the swing of learning science for the week.

5. Assess progress – One of the best features playlists offer are assessment questions. This item lets you gage student knowledge and progress anywhere in a playlist; before, after, or in between games. You will know whether students are getting the larger lesson or not in real-time.

6. Stations – If your students are rotating through stations, between labs and other activities, playlists are a perfect addition; you can build them to last as little as ten minutes. This is a good option for classrooms that do not have one-to-one device access.

7. Test Review – Study guides, jeopardy, and practice tests help students prepare for tests from many different angles. Playlists add another element, mixing engaging gameplay with strong subject matter review.

7.5. Past unit recall – In that same vein (thus, the 7.5), if your students need to review foundational concepts you taught them months ago, launch a playlist for their blast from the past! This can be particularly useful for highlighting NGSS Crosscutting Concepts (CCC), which you can read about on our blog.

You can learn more about playlists on our help site. Log in today, and create a playlist for your next lesson!

Excerpted from How to Prevent Summer Learning Loss and Close Achievement Gaps. Download it today.

By the end of May, everyone is ready for a break from the school routine. Students stop responding to the usual content delivery methods, and as a result, summer learning loss sets in.

So change up your methods.

Develop summer courses that meet learning needs and curriculum standards while providing fun and engagement. Fun and engagement can take many forms, from project based learning to field trips to digital gaming. For example, Legends of Learning science games provide an interactive learning experience for students with questions aligned to curriculum standards. The teaching methods vary but should be aligned with your district’s overarching academic goals.

To help you get started, here are six quick tips to add a little variety to your summer learning programs.

Six Tips For Your Summer Learning Experience

1) Focus on Individualized, Personalized Instruction. Limiting summer class size allows teachers and students to interact one-on-one more often. As a result, relationships develop; students are encouraged to learn and grow; and teachers guide students toward classroom lessons and activities that fit the individual student’s learning level and style.

2) Take Kids on Field Trips. Teachers demonstrate learning is fun through field trips. Such trips can occur within the community and range from the zoo to a local bottling company. If funds are tight, supplement off-campus field trips with digital ones. Google and Discovery, for example, offer digital field trips that take place in the Sahara, Antarctica, and other locations.

3) Invite Speakers to the School Campus. Students see how curriculum lessons translate to life skills when people talk about their day-to-day work. Teachers could invite civic leaders, parents, and other people into the classroom to talk about their work experiences and background. Microsoft also provides experts for the classroom via Skype. Kids can hear from environmentalists, coastal engineers, and other pioneers in the arts and sciences.

4) Turn Facts into Skills with Hands-On Projects. Students learn what they live, so teachers should find ways to turn basic concepts into practical skills. Some schools facilitate this idea with community projects, such as a garden or recycling center. Some schools, though, involve students in activities like building a greenhouse or small-scale wind farm. Others take their students to community partners where they participate in activities and projects.

5) Keep Kids Engaged Inside and Outside the Classroom with Digital Games. Kids like games. Teachers often do, too. Edgames offer chances to connect with students on their level. Kids play online games all the time, so giving them games that facilitate learning and subject mastery is a no-brainer. Plus, edgames typically allow teachers and district administrators to monitor student progress and, depending on the implementation, keep budget costs low.

6) Test New Teaching Models and Classroom Layouts. Summer provides a perfect time to pilot new teaching models, methods, and classroom layouts, says Gary Huggins, CEO of the National Summer Learning Association. Explore blended learning models, edgames platforms, and other ways to engage students and build digital literacy skills. Assess impact at the end of the summer and expand what works into an official instructional approach.

No matter which method(s) you employ, remember that students are drawn in by new experiences. If you surprise them each day with even a small tweak to your instructional methods you will see a huge increase in student engagement. Try Legends of Learning science games and you will see some very excited looks on students faces. Have a great summer and shake it up!