The National Conference of State Legislators is sharing one of their newer relaunched features which is called The American Democracy Game. This game is meant to be a way for children in middle school to put themselves in shoes of a lawmaker and find out what it is like to deal with public policy issues.

There are multiple levels and you choose the issue that you want to start with.  The game I played was to create a dog park (because in my town that is an issue).  The simple interactive game has the player role-acting in different settings.  You are the legislator, the constituent, and the legislative aide.  You are gathering information and answering questions relating to Bill 377, creation of a dog park.  There are some critical thinking junctures where you must decide what your opinion is.  Do you gather more information or let your constituents dictate their opinions. The goal really is to collaborate and make an informed decision that would make everyone happy.  In this game, this can be accomplished.  There is reading, decision making, public policy, and fun of course.  There are also links to teacher resources and hopefully, this can be a fun resource for your students!