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Teaching Guide: Spore Hero 1

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Spore Hero for 7th Grade Life Science

Written by

Godofredo “JR” Ginex-Orinion

October 2010

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Table of Contents

Teaching Guide Overview....................................................................................................................... 3Spore Hero Description................................................................................................................... 4Using Spore Hero in the Classroom.............................................................................................5The Advantages of Teaching with Games..................................................................................5Goals and Objectives......................................................................................................................... 6Grade Level Standards and Content Area..................................................................................7

Evolution..............................................................................................................................................................7Investigation and experimentation..........................................................................................................8

Where the Game fits into the Curriculum.................................................................................9What Teachers Need to Know Before Beginning..................................................................10Hardware Requirements..............................................................................................................10

Lessons Overview................................................................................................................. 11Lesson One........................................................................................................................................ 12

Lesson One Goals and Objectives...........................................................................................................12Lesson One Setup..........................................................................................................................................13Lesson One Activity/Gameplay (Day 1)..............................................................................................13Lesson One Follow-up/Debriefing (Day 2)........................................................................................14Lesson One Extensions...............................................................................................................................15

Lesson Two........................................................................................................................................ 16Lesson Two Goals and Objectives..........................................................................................................16Lesson Two Setup.........................................................................................................................................17Lesson Two Activity/Gameplay (Day 3).............................................................................................17Lesson Two Follow-up/Debriefing (Day 4).......................................................................................19Lesson Two Extensions..............................................................................................................................19

Teacher Resources............................................................................................................... 20

References............................................................................................................................... 21

Appendices.............................................................................................................................. 22Appendix A: Game Control Handout.........................................................................................22Appendix B: Introductory Checklist for Spore Hero Lesson.............................................23Appendix C: Data Table for Spore Hero, Lesson 1................................................................24Appendix D: Debrief for Spore Hero, Lesson 1......................................................................25Appendix E: Data Table for Spore Hero, Lesson 2................................................................26Appendix F: Debrief for Spore Hero, Lesson 2.......................................................................................27


Teaching Guide OverviewEvolution is a major component in the 7th grade science curriculum in California.

Science teachers have developed numerous activities and learning objects through the

years to teach this topic. What if I told you there was a new and innovative way to teach

evolution that gets your students to successfully understand adaptation due to

environmental factors? Imagine teaching this unit by giving the students the opportunity

to understand what it would be like to be able to create your own life form, and be able to

customize and modify its body parts to better suit its needs and survival. Now, imagine

that this teaching unit is actually associated with a video game. If this hasn’t sparked your

interest, I’m confident that your students would definitely be interested in participating in

a lesson that involved playing video games.

Spore Hero is a video game designed for the Wii console that allows the game

player to create, modify, and customize an alien creature’s body to accomplish tasks and

survive in multiple environments. This teaching guide is designed to use Spore Hero as a

learning tool for educators and students to meet California state teaching standards for

Evolution in an innovative, engaging, and creative way. Students can directly apply the

concepts of the scientific method, understand controls and variables in experiments,

receive immediate feedback from their experiments, and make improvements as they

learn about adaptation. The students develop their problem solving skills by completing

tasks that require them to be aware of their creature’s physical abilities, and make

modifications as needed. This teaching guide includes activities and directions on how

Spore Hero for the Wii can be a successful learning tool in your 7th grade science

curriculum.


Spore Hero DescriptionElectronic Arts debuted Spore Hero for the Nintendo Wii gaming console back in

October of 2009. The game was actually a spin-off of Spore, a single –player, life

simulation game originally developed by Maxis for Windows and Mac operating

systems. It was developed from the ground up to utilize the functionality of the Wii

Remote, which allows the game player to control the characters in the video game with

gesture movements using the Remote and the Nunchuck from motion sensor technology.

Its E-rating, provided by the Entertainment Software Rating Board, means that it’s ok for

7th grade students to play. The story starts out with the main character crashing onto a

planet full of friendly species of animals. At the same time, an evil creature crash-landed

as well and is threatening to ruin the planet. Only your creature has the power to fight the

spreading evil and defeat the bad creatures ruining the planet. To do this, your hero must

go on missions to earn new body parts and adapt to ever-changing circumstances by

adding or switching out new body parts. Through trial and error, the game player must

decide which of the body parts to add to your creature and where to place them to make it

be able to navigate through the world and defeat the evil creatures it meets.


Using Spore Hero in the Classroom

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In Spore Hero, the survival of animal species is directly related to their ability to

adapt to their changing environment. Spore Hero gives students the power to fully

manipulate body parts such as mouths, eyes, claws, appendages, wings, and hands. The

placement, size, quantity, and location on the part on the body are all important factors to

consider when “designing” their creature. The feedback of their decisions and designs is

immediate when navigating through the virtual environment. The content standards

addressed by this learning unit are of the California Life Science standards set for the 7th

grade level (CDE, 2000). Some additional higher-level science content standards are

addressed as well; ecological issues, trait dominance, environmental pressures on

organisms, mutations, shrinking or elimination of unused body parts.

The Advantages of Teaching with GamesGames and simulations are effective learning tools for students. Aldrich (2004)

stated that simulations can directly add valuable cyclical and systems content. They can

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teach at these levels to tap so much more of student’s capabilities. He described “the

transformation in experience will be as right and dramatic as going from watching black

and white movies to watching color movies” (Aldrich, 2004).

One reason why games are effective in instruction is that they constantly engage

the learner’s attention in what’s going on at the moment. Prensky’s (2004) statement

regarding digital learners level of mastery is directly related to their level of engagement

with the content. Video game designers are aware of the gamers’ attention, and judge the

effectiveness of a game by seeing how well it keeps the gamer glued to the video game.

Video game designers ask themselves, “How can we get our users to keep playing this

game for hours?”

One way this works is according to the regime of competence principle. Gee

referred to this feeling as a notion of “simultaneous pleasure and frustration” and how life

simulation video game design constantly challenges the player’s abilities and makes the

tasks just difficult enough to complete. Gee (2003) stated that it is this that drives the

gamer to continue playing. We can translate this into the engagement that we want in our

lessons and in our curriculum. Video games already have this inherent ingredient. All we

need to do is to tap into that potential.

Goals and ObjectivesAfter successfully completing this lesson, students will be able to:

Identify phenotypes (physical characteristics) that are the most useful in

navigating through sections of the game by playing the game, completing

a data table of observations, and writing a short conclusion of their

experience.


Explain how the extinction of a species occurs when the environment

changes if a species is not able to adapt to survive by playing the game,

reflecting on their failed attempts, and writing a short conclusion of their

experience.

Explain Darwin’s reason for suggesting that natural selection is the

mechanism of evolution by citing examples of Darwin’s statements in the

game experience.


battling other creatures in the game by playing the game, completing a

data table of observations, and writing a short conclusion of their

experience.

Explain how the statement “survival of the fittest” applies in the game

situation for lesson two by challenging other creatures to battles and

modifying body parts to be more successful in battles.

Grade Level Standards and Content AreaThese standards were obtained from the California Science

Content Standards for 7th grade (CDE, 2000).

Evolution3. Biological evolution accounts for the diversity of species

developed through gradual processes over many generations. As

a basis for understanding this concept:

a. Students know both genetic variation and environmental

factors are causes of evolution and diversity of organisms.

b. Students know the reasoning used by Charles Darwin in


reaching his conclusion that natural selection is the

mechanism of evolution.

c. Students know how independent lines of evidence from

geology, fossils, and comparative anatomy provide the

bases for the theory of evolution.

d. (not covered)

e. Students know that extinction of a species occurs when

the environment changes and the adaptive characteristics

of a species are insufficient for its survival.

Investigation and experimentation 7. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and

conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding

this concept and addressing the content in the other three

strands, students should develop their own questions and

perform investigations. Students will:

a. Select and use appropriate tools and technology

(including calculators, computers, balances, spring scales,

microscopes, and binoculars) to perform tests, collect

data, and display data.

b. (not covered)

c. Communicate the logical connection among hypotheses,

science concepts, tests conducted, data collected, and

conclusions drawn from the scientific evidence.


d. (not covered)

e. Communicate the steps and results from an investigation

in written reports and oral presentations.

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Where the Game fits into the Curriculum Students must be aware of Charles Darwin’s statements regarding evolution of

species.

Students must be aware of the functions and shapes of different body parts (eyes,

appendages, mouth, etc.) and what advantages some organisms have regarding the

placement of these parts, quantities of the parts, and removal of the parts from

their bodies.

Students must know the difference between genotype and phenotype

Students must know the principle of dominance in traits

Students must know how body shape and type are advantageous to organisms

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What Teachers Need to Know Before BeginningPrior to implementing these lessons, teachers need to be familiar with the use of

the Wii Remote and Nunchuck controllers. Please refer to Appendix A for the game

controls. Teachers must play the game for at least 2 hours prior to starting the lesson,

which is about as much time as the students will be playing the game. This is to

familiarize the teacher with the environment that the creature needs to navigate through

to obtain the body parts and complete the tasks in the lessons.

Teachers must understand the comfort level of the students with regards to

technology and console gaming. If some students are unfamiliar with either experience, it

would benefit the inexperienced student to be placed in a group with students who are

familiar with this technology. This will make them more comfortable playing the game.

Hardware Requirements Televisions with RCA inputs for the Wii console system

Enough Wii consoles for every television available

Wii controllers with nunchucks (1 set per console)

Enough copies of Spore Hero for each console

Projector with RCA inputs for presentation in class


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Lessons Overview Lessons should take 4 class periods over a period of 4 days, with a period length

of 50 minutes, totaling 200 minutes on instructional time

A 20-minute tutorial will be administered before instruction actually begins.

Refer to Appendix A for game controls. This will be a handout to be given to all

the participants. Each student is to spend at least 5 to 10 minutes getting used to

the controls, and may have to rotate with other students if they are working in

groups of 3 or four to accommodate if there are not enough consoles for each

student.

Appendix B is a checklist of tasks they need to complete before they actually start

the lesson. This checklist is designed to familiarize the students with common

tasks that they need to perform throughout game-play, and is necessary to be

successful in the lesson.

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The teacher will spend about 3-5 minutes at the start of each lesson to present the

tasks that the students need to complete for the lesson. The teacher will then

oversee the student’s progress in completing the worksheets provided, and

provide assistance if needed.

Lesson One

The purpose of this lesson is to identify the geological and environmental factors

that would determine the best combination of physical characteristics, and identify those

physical characteristics as well. This lesson will start the discussion on how a species

may develop adaptations to their environments for survival.

Lesson One Goals and ObjectivesAfter successfully completing this lesson, students will be able to:


navigating through sections of the game by playing the game, completing

a data table of observations, and writing a short conclusion of their

experience.

Explain how the extinction of a species occurs when the environment

changes if a species is not able to adapt to survive by playing the game,

reflecting on their failed attempts, and writing a short conclusion of their

experience.

Explain Darwin’s reason for suggesting that natural selection is the

mechanism of evolution by citing examples of Darwin’s statements in the

game experience.


Lesson One SetupThe teacher will review Darwin’s theory of Evolution with the students,

along with the definition of the word phenotype. The teacher then needs to divide

the students into groups of 3 or 4, depending on the availability of the consoles.

Each student should be given a copy of Appendix A before the start of the lesson,

and the teacher should have the students complete the checklist provided in

Appendix B. The teacher will hand out Appendix C at the start of the lesson, and

the students will complete the table and turn both Appendix B and C in at the end

of the lesson.

Lesson One Activity/Gameplay (Day 1)1. The students in each group will identify the order in which they will be

playing the game for the lesson before starting. Students are to rotate enough

times so that each person has an opportunity to play the game for at least 10

minutes.

2. The first player fastens the Wii controller to their wrist, and makes sure that

the connection to the Nunchuck is secured.

3. Start the game from the beginning by clicking on “START” on the Spore

Hero start up screen. Follow the simple directions on the screen, double-

checking the connections on the controller and that you have enough space to

maneuver when playing the game.

4. Select “PLAY NOW” and point to any “EMPTY” save game space to begin

the opening sequence.

5. Navigate through Mushroom Valley, complete different tasks, and obtain as

many body parts as possible.


6. Periodically update your creature with new body parts as you obtain them.

Collect at least 10 new body parts, and complete the answers to the data table

as you travel about Mushroom Valley. If the students complete the data table

in the time allotted for the period, they are to continue navigating and

progressing through the game.

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Lesson One Follow-up/Debriefing (Day 2)

The follow-up for Lesson 1 includes going over the information the

students filled out in Appendix C and having an in-class discussion about the

questions posed in Appendix D. The teacher should navigate through the game on

a projection screen, following the directions from Day. The teacher should then

open the discussion by identifying the possible uses of several body parts that the

teacher obtained to start, and to identify the possible benefits and pitfalls of

keeping that body part on the creature. The teacher must also discuss how the

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environment the creature navigates through will dictate which parts are beneficial

and which are detrimental to the creature. This discussion should take up the two-

thirds of the class period, with the teacher always posing questions for the

students to answer to continue the flow of the discussion. Students are then asked

to complete Appendix D for the remaining third of the period, and turn it in at the

end of class.

Lesson One ExtensionsStudents should complete an online survey of their experience using a

video game to cover content in their life science class. This survey should take

about 5 minutes to complete, and will ask them questions about their experience.

The survey can be accessed at the link below, and should be posted on a teacher

page where the students can access it at any time after the lesson.

Video Game Survey for Spore Lesson

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dF8yZFYxT2pBX2tFZlZOTHdnOGdMU0E6MQ


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Lesson Two

This lesson is designed to identify what body parts would be the most beneficial

for creatures fighting for their survival in nature. Since battling with other creatures is a

major component of Spore Hero, the students must spend some time thinking about what

physical attributes would help their creature win more fights as they progress through the

game’s storyline. Students will then reflect on what body parts and adaptations real living

species must have in order to hunt for food, ward away predators, or survive

confrontations.

Lesson Two Goals and ObjectivesAfter successfully completing this lesson, students will be able to:


battling other creatures in the game by playing the game, completing a

data table of observations, and writing a short conclusion of their

experience.

http://www.videogamesblogger.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/spore-hero-wii-screenshot.jpg


Explain how the statement “survival of the fittest” applies in the game

situation for lesson two by challenging other creatures to battles and

modifying body parts to be more successful in battles.

Lesson Two SetupThe teacher will review the statement “survival of the fittest” with the

students and have a short discussion of what they think the statement means. The

teacher will prime the students by asking them to think about what body parts

would be necessary for their creatures to be able to obtain food, fend off attacks

from other creatures, and deal punishing blows to other creatures. The teacher

tells the students that they are to remain in their same groups, and they are to

continue using the creature that they created from the first lesson. The teacher also

needs to provide Appendix E at the start of the lesson. The handout will be

completed by each student, and turned in at the end of the period.

Lesson Two Activity/Gameplay (Day 3)1. The students in each group will identify the order in which they will be

playing the game for the lesson before starting. Students are to rotate enough

times so that each person has an opportunity to play the game for at least 10

minutes.

2. The first player fastens the Wii controller to their wrist, and makes sure that

the connection to the Nunchuck is secured.

3. Start the game from the beginning by clicking on “START” on the Spore

Hero start up screen. Follow the simple directions on the screen, double-

checking the connections on the controller and that you have enough space to

maneuver when playing the game.


4. Students are to load Spore Hero and start from where they left off in Lesson 1.

5. Students are to obtain a new body part, use it on their creature, and find

another character to battle with. The body part recently obtained must be used

in the battle at some point.

6. Students are to repeat step 2, and continue battling until they have obtained 10

new body parts, and have used each one at some point in a battle against

another creature.

7. Students are to keep track of their game play experiences in Appendix E,

complete the worksheet, and turn it in at the end of the period. If the students

complete the task before the end of the period, then they should continue

navigating and battling though Mushroom Valley until the end of the period.

Image retrieved from http://www.hookedgamers.com/images/989/spore_hero/screenshot_wii_spore_hero014.jpg

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Lesson Two Follow-up/Debriefing (Day 4)The teacher will start out the debriefing day by playing the game on the

projector for the students, battling at least two different creatures using at least

two new body parts obtained for each of the battles. The teacher then starts the

discussion with the class about what physical attributes would be the most

beneficial when battling other creatures. The teacher must mention that many

species fight each other for resources and may need to fight each other for

survival. Some physical attributes that the teacher may bring up would be

camouflage, exoskeletons, venom, and sharp appendages. The discussion should

help them answer the questions found in Appendix F. The last 15 minutes of the

period will be spent completing Appendix F, and the students will turn the

worksheet in at the end of the class.

Lesson Two ExtensionsStudents may be more aware of the power of video games as learning

tools than their teachers. They are usually not concerned about what they may be

learning as a result of playing a video game, but maybe their minds have never

really been prompted to think about it. The teacher will give the students an

assignment that requires them to think of a video game that they are currently

playing at home for leisure or entertainment that may have some educational

benefit to them. The students are to write a short paragraph about a video game,

and what topics or problem-skills they are learning or exercising by playing it.


Teacher Resources Gamefly.com is a great site to take a look at video game reviews, gameplay

controls, and has some tutorial videos and FAQ’s that will help teachers get

started with Spore Hero.

Neoseeker.com is a forum where teachers can obtain information about Spore

Hero walkthroughs, which is a narrative guide on how to navigate and complete

the tasks in the Spore Hero game.

The Sporum – the official Spore forum is a forum where teachers can view

discussions, obtain strategies and hints, and find answers about anything that has

to do with the Spore series.

Spore.com has several tutorials on how to perform certain game actions and gives

tips on how to defeat the creatures that the Spore character must face throughout

the game.

http://forum.spore.com/jforum/forums/list.page


ReferencesAldrich, C. (2004). Simulations and the future of learning. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.

CDE. (2000). Science content standards for California public schools: Kindergarten

through grade 12. Retrieved on October 22, 2010, from

http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/sciencestnd.pdf

Gee, J. P. (2003). High Score Education. Wired, 11(5). Retrieved on October 3, 2010,

from http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.05/view_pr.html

Prensky, M. (2004). What can educators learn from computer games about engagement

and children? Speech delivered at CoSN, February, 2004. Retrieved on October 3,

2010, from http://www.marcprensky.com/speaking/++Prensky-Speech-CoSN-

13min.wmv

http://www.marcprensky.com/speaking/++Prensky-Speech-CoSN-13min.wmv

http://www.marcprensky.com/speaking/++Prensky-Speech-CoSN-13min.wmv

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.05/view_pr.html

http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/sciencestnd.pdf


AppendicesAppendix A: Game Control Handout

Creature Creation

Navigation and Battle


Appendix B: Introductory Checklist for Spore Hero Lesson

Instructions: Students must complete the tasks below and demonstrate each task for the instructor before moving on to the lessons. This checklist is designed to cover simple game tasks that the student will need to do throughout the game. In order to receive credit for the checklist, the student must obtain a stamp from the teacher once the tasks have been completed. This checklist will be turned in at the end of the Spore Hero Unit Lesson, along with the other worksheets for credit.

Checklist:

_____ Break out of the egg

_____ Add a mouth to be able to eat

_____ Break up 5 Blue Meteors

_____ Pick up a fruit and eat it

_____ Fight Espee and defeat Espee for a combat lesson

_____ Meet the Chief, complete the task, and change your name

_____ Add an arm

_____ Add or modify your feet

Name: ______________________________

Period: ______________________________

Stamp for completion:


Appendix C: Data Table for Spore Hero, Lesson 1

Name: _________________________ Group Number: ____________________

List the body parts that your group obtained for the first lesson. Discuss and identify the answers to the remaining areas of the data table. You need not use complete sentences for your answers.

Body Part In what ways did you use this body part?

In what environment(s) could this body part be useful for your creature?

In what environment(s) could this body part be bad for your creature?


Appendix D: Debrief for Spore Hero, Lesson 1


Instructions: Answer the questions with complete sentences, and as clearly as possible.

1. What phenotypes (physical attributes) did your group find during the first day of gameplay were the most useful for your creature?

2. Draw a simple picture of your creature with what your group determined to be the best combination of attributes.

3. Give two examples of when your creature failed to accomplish a task because you did not have the right body parts. Relate this how the extinction of a species could happen.

4. Restate what Darwin said about natural selection and how this applies to Spore Hero.


Appendix E: Data Table for Spore Hero, Lesson 2


List the body parts that your group obtained for the second lesson. Discuss and identify the answers to the remaining areas of the data table. You need not use complete sentences for your answers.

Body Part How could this body part be used in battles?

What advantages does this body part have during battles?

What disadvantages does this body part have during battles?


Appendix F: Debrief for Spore Hero, Lesson 2


Instructions: Answer the questions with complete sentences, and as clearly as possible.

1. What phenotypes (physical attributes) did your group find during the second day of gameplay that were really helpful in battling other creatures?

2. Draw a simple picture of your creature with what your group determined to be the best combination of attributes for battling other creatures.

3. Name a specific body part you used in Lesson 2. State why this body part is beneficial during battles, but not helpful or bad for completing tasks or navigating from Lesson 1.

4. State what phenotypes or attributes would be the best combination for an all-around creature, which would be good at completing tasks and surviving battles.

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