using “spore hero” to demonstrate evolutionary structures ... · web viewusing “spore hero”...

BrianMeld Teaching Guide: Spore Hero 1

Spore Hero

Are Video game creatures stranger than real organisms?

Using “Spore Hero” to demonstrate evolutionary structures and function of organisms

for Seventh Grade Biology

Written by

Erik Frey

http://brainmeld.wordpress.com/video-game-teaching-guides/


Table of Contents

Teaching Guide Overview..............................................................................................3Spore Hero Description...........................................................................................................4Using Spore Hero in the Classroom..........................................................................................4The Advantages of Teaching with Games.................................................................................5Goals and Objectives..............................................................................................................6Grade Level Standards and Content Area..................................................................................6Where the Game fits into the Curriculum..................................................................................8What Teachers Need to Know Before Beginning.......................................................................8Hardware Requirements..........................................................................................................9

Lessons Overview........................................................................................................9Lesson One..........................................................................................................................10

Lesson One Goals and Objectives...................................................................................................11Lesson One Setup..........................................................................................................................12Lesson One Activity/Gameplay.......................................................................................................12Lesson One Follow-up/Debriefing...................................................................................................14Lesson One Extensions.................................................................................................................. 15

Lesson Two.........................................................................................................................16Lesson Two Goals and Objectives...................................................................................................16Lesson Two Setup..........................................................................................................................17Lesson Two Activity/Gameplay.......................................................................................................18Lesson Two Follow-up/Debriefing..................................................................................................19Lesson Two Extensions..................................................................................................................19

Teacher Resources.....................................................................................................20References.................................................................................................................21About the Author......................................................................................................22Appendices.................................................................................................................23



Teaching Guide Overview

Middle school students are fascinated by animals.

They love to recount stories about their pets and many post

vignettes to You Tube. Often, teachers capitalize this

connection as an icebreaker at the beginning of the year in

science class. Additionally, students love to draw their pets regardless of their artistic skill.

Seventh grade is also a cornucopia of information about all sorts of creatures as well. By this

time students have visited zoos, perused dozens of books and web sites and have been

exposed to years of animal facts. They are fascinated by the dramatic sizes and shapes of

living things, but more so by the truly amazing abilities that certain organisms posses.

Because of this innate interest and curiosity, it is a pleasure to teach genetics and evolution to

seventh graders. In the past, teachers have used different methods for sparking creativity

among their students by having them design their own creatures. Usually this is on paper or

using clay, then describing what abilities and movements the creature would use. Spore Hero

provides an engaging, creative method for students to experiment with their imagination and

compare their creations to those that exist (or have existed) in the real world.

Students have a natural ability to connect structure and function when exposed to a

visual (phenotypic) representation of an animal. In the classroom a lively discussion ensues

when a drawing of the ancestor of a giraffe is shown next to a modern photo of a giraffe. They

learn according to state standards such as Darwin versus Lamark, (Holdrege, 2003) that the

giraffe did not grow a longer neck over time, but the tiny gene pool represented by longer

necked giraffes had a successful selection for survival. Mythical creatures are useful as well for



demonstrating the connection between structure and function. A picture of a griffin evokes a

robust reaction from the class as to how this creature would have moved and behaved.

Spore Hero Description

Spore Hero is a Wii based extension of the very popular computer based game

“Spore”. In the spin off, the player creates their character based on both physical attributes

and abilities. The character embarks on exploration, quests and battles. The player (or

players) is the “Hero” that defends the planet against invading aliens that crash on the planet

(reminiscent of Lilo and Stitch). A major feature of the player, or Hero, is the ability to

constantly change or morph by changing appendages, which subsequently affect their

abilities. As the player accumulates blue shards (Spore Hero points and currency), they have

the ability to find a safe area to evolve called a “nest”. In this place, the game is temporarily

paused as the creature can change their physical appearance, which in turn allows them new

and improved abilities (evolutionary functions) when they leave the nest. These added

strengths include new appendages for defense when battling enemies as well as eyes and

different beaks or mouths for eating or completing different quests.

Using Spore Hero in the Classroom

This game will provide students the ability to create animals and bring them to “life”.

They will be able to see how their creation fares in the “world” and what modifications

(evolution) would show survival or extinction. They face various foes that have specific

strengths such as flying, diving attacks. When their creature is defeated, the user has a chance

to restart the level, accumulate more strength and then choose different appendages to be

more successful. To connect to the class, the teacher will explain how these would represent



a mutation that was essential for survival. In the above example, two extra legs provide an

excellent blocking motion against the diving attack. The game itself is analogous to different

environmental evolutionary scenarios. An organism can be successful in one type of situation

depending on the predator population as well as the characteristics of the environment in

which they live.

The Advantages of Teaching with Games

Spore Hero represents a type of video game that harnesses the power of the

programming strengths of computer hardware and software. The interactive abilities are

remarkable: students have a tremendous amount of control over their characters both in

physical appearance and movement abilities, a new trend in gaming. This provides a strong

connection or buy-in from the student (Aldrich, 2004). Video games stimulate a different

combination of learning skills in the brain. A University of Iowa study (Scroogs, 2008),

showed that doctors proficient in video games made 35% fewer mistakes and were 27%

faster than their non-gaming peers. Hand eye coordination is not the only benefit students can

reap from video games. NASA has used video games and digital simulations for reducing

stress and training through biofeedback for years (Braukus, 2009).Moreover, they support the

sense of a “mind over matter” sense of well-being that is also linked to increased self

motivation for engaging in tasks. Video games designed specifically for science education

are remarkably sparse. Some Second Life sites run by medical schools set up medical

scenarios that students are challenged to diagnose. Others like “NanoMission” and “Immune

Attack” (both funded by the National Science Foundation, Appendix) are in development and

are geared for high school and college science. Many games presented at the Middle school

level are little more than drill exercises using technology. Spore Hero however, has several



engaging aspects. The student can design, control and name their creature, thus establishing a

sense of ownership. The planet environment is lush, biological and engaging. The various

quests, riddles and activities have an element of fun and whimsy. One example is to prevent

an alien from eating all the red fruit from a tree valuable to the players. The solution is for

one’s character to knock down a pile of fruit so the alien eats it all and gets so full that it

can’t move.

Goals and Objectives

Upon successfully completing the lessons in this guide, students will be to:

1. Explore a range of appearances and abilities of organisms, (real, extinct and created)

2. Understand the relationship between structure and function of an organism

3. Assess the interaction between an organism and its environment

4. Determine the relative strengths and weakness of an organism and its predator

5. Establish an optimum combination of attributes that will result in an organism’s

survival

Grade Level Standards and Content Area

This segment will follow the relevant California State Standards for Seventh Grade

Cellular Dynamics

2. A typical cell of any organism contains genetic instructions that specify its traits.

Those traits may be modified by environmental influences.

As a basis for understanding this concept, students know:

c. an inherited trait can be determined by one or more genes.



e. DNA is the genetic material of living organisms, and is located in the chromosomes of

each cell.

Evolution

3. Biological evolution accounts for the diversity of species developed through gradual

processes over many generations.


a. both genetic variation and environmental factors are causes of evolution and diversity of

organisms.

c. how independent lines of evidence from geology, fossils, and comparative anatomy provide

a basis for the theory of evolution.

e. extinction of a species occurs when the environment changes and the adaptive

characteristics of a species are insufficient for its survival.

b. organ systems function because of the contributions of individual organs, tissues, and

cells. The failure of any part can affect the entire system.

c. how bones and muscles work together to provide a structural framework for movement.

E.3.b: Students know the reasoning used by Charles Darwin in reaching his conclusion

that natural selection is the mechanism of evolution.

E.3.a: Students know both genetic variation and environmental factors are causes of

evolution and diversity of organisms.

Structure and Function in Living Systems



5. The anatomy and physiology of plants and animals illustrate the

complementary nature of structure and function.


a. plants and animals have levels of organization for structure and function, including

cells, tissues, organs, organ systems, and the whole organism.

Where the Game fits into the Curriculum

Students have completed the chapter on Genetics, Evolution and Structure and

Function. The game will be successful when the class has finished a post-test on the above

topics. A crucial element to tie the game to the curriculum standards is the ability to evaluate

the phenotypic changes that their creature needs based upon feedback from the game (see

Appendix). For instance, students need to be able to differentiate between phenotype and

genotype (Appendix). In Mushroom Valley, there is an area with falling rocks. Adding

wings will enable the character to clear more of the rocks without collisions, but still have

strong feet for running and blocking. The genotype aspect comes into play when students

change their creature in the nest; by experimenting, they may find that putting wings on

their creature’s hands works better than on their back.

What Teachers Need to Know Before Beginning

Teachers need to be competent with Spore Creature Creator 2D

(http://www.spore2d.com/) and the Wii game Spore Hero. In addition, they need to know

tricks and pitfalls that students might fall into. The teachers make it clear the relationship

between structure and function of the animals shown. In addition, the concept of “battling” is

described in the context of survival and thus the passing of DNA to the next generation. It is



important for teachers to emphasize that their creature are not fighting for gratuitous

violence. These battles are founded on competition for food or territory or dominance as

studied in class according to the standards. The combat is not always to the death, as is

possible to evade a fight (like the stone monster) and still maintain the requisite genotype to

survive, thus propagating a species.

The teacher also needs to be able to demonstrate and explain the Creature Creator on

the laptop as well as describing the controls on the Wii console. The teacher should not take

too much time playing the game, for this age level needs a ratio of 10:2. (Ten minutes of

instruction followed by two minutes of transition.) A timer will be needed to aid the students

as well.

Hardware Requirements

1-Nintendo Game Console and Television/Projector, two controllers, fresh batteries (use

rechargeable batteries

2-Creature Creator on class laptops, 2 students per laptop

Lessons Overview

The teacher demonstrates creating a creature on a laptop with a projector. The menu

of appendages is explained including how and where attachments are made. Students are

made aware of their choices on the limits of the hardware and how it slows the processors.

The site Sporepedia (http://www.spore.com/sporepedia) is explored to show the vast

collection of creatures that are registered, (over 145 million). The teacher will show different

categories discussing the merits of a certain physical attribute that might have evolved,

therefore showing the rough idea of species.


http://www.spore.com/sporepedia


Students will then make their own creatures, name them and give them certain

abilities. This alone is a very powerful part of game play and it sets Spore Hero apart from so

many video games. They will practice moving their creature and honing powers and skills.

They need to be able to relate their creation to a real life organism or combination of several

organisms. Students work first on laptops with Creature Creator, and then continue through

two Wii stations for Lesson Two. While the Wii consoles are being used, the students from

Lesson One will print their creature and describe its genotype and abilities (powers)

manifested by its phenotype.

Lesson One

Students will start with a favorite animal and make a representative animal using the

Spore Creature generator. This organism can be found in printed encyclopedia or an

online resource for animals. Students will focus on how genotypes (DNA) may have

produced the phenotypes. They will choose any organism, living or extinct and

create a digital representation of it. If they add new or different part, they must be

able to explain which additional organism contributed to their amalgamation. This is



a combination of genetics, evolution and structure and function of living organisms.

For this lesson students find actual living organisms that resemble Spore Hero

creatures: plant kingdom, Venus flytrap, insects, sea creatures, lizards, snakes,

spiders, dinosaurs, birds and mammals are some examples.

Lesson One Goals and Objectives

After successfully completing this lesson, students will be able to:

a- Modify their Spore Hero creature as closely as possible to resemble

their real-life or extinct organism

b- Name their creature and print out a copy

c- Discuss the question “Is Spore Hero so outlandish compared to real

life creatures?”

d- Compare their Spore Hero creature to their real-life creature

e- Explain how the genotype evolved to produce the physical attributes

of their creature



Lesson One Setup

Students will watch a demonstration by the teacher on the use of the creature

generator. This will be on the class laptops so groups of two students will work in

sync with the demonstration. The teacher will start with an example of an organism

like a scorpion and then using the Creature Creator, build a scorpion-like organism.

The class can help along by describing how many appendages the scorpion has,

where they should be attached, where the pincers need to be attached and building the

tail as well. Removing parts is as easy as grabbing module and deleting using delete

key or throwing in trash.

Lesson One Activity/Gameplay

The class will learn to name the creature, choose parts from the menu, save

and test their creature. This program is similar enough to the Wii, so the class will be

engaged at this point. Students take turns creating their creature and need to decide

what parts will give certain powers to their animal. Wings for flying attacks and

mobility, legs for movement and kicking, mouths for biting and grabbing and tails for

attacks with venom.



Students will follow the menu items on the laptop and move their cursor to

modify the placement of the legs, tail and pincers. After a part is attached, use the

arrow keys to rotate the view to see all sides of the creature. With over 400 parts and

multiple morph spots, the designer has a tremendous control of the physical aspects of

building their creature. This degree modification can be compared with thousands of

generations of mutations and genetic change representing millions of years. Morphing

features represents evolution and it enables different abilities and powers.



Lesson One Follow-up/Debriefing

Students will obtain a printout and describe their creature to the class. Creatures

presented. In the discussion, students will point out the relative strengths and weaknesses of

their peers’ animals. They also discuss the process that they used to create their special

creatures, with mouths to eat and talk, colors of their body and interesting appendages with

creative attributes. This will create a natural desire to move to lesson two, engaging in

adventures and battles especially when placed in high quality visual environments.



Lesson One Extensions

Use Spore Hero Creature Creator to create crazy, wacky animals, include sea

creatures and insects, by using the options and menus of the program. Then, the class will use

their researching methods to find a real life organism that most closely resembles the

fictitious creature. This will apply to an extension of the classification of living things.



Lesson Two

Lesson Two will focus on the relationship between structure (phenotype) and

function. The Wii game will now allow the student to utilize the features and abilities

of their creatures in different action settings. At first, this entails exploring the

environment and collecting blue shards for energy and points. Then their creature will

be able to perform tasks and embark on quests. At some point, the creature will be

challenged by an alien to combat. For all of the above activities, the creature (Hero)

will rely upon the physical attributes with which it has been created.

Lesson Two Goals and Objectives

After successfully completing this lesson, students will be able to:

a- Determine how these specialized attributes allow them to succeed against

each other

b- Describe how these battles reflect real life? Which moves are real?

c- Explain the rational behind the confrontation: is it food, territory?

d- What powers and advantages are relevant to victory and how does the

phenotype to support this?

Example: The 10 in centipede shares territory with a tarantula and both are 400

million years old. They are both predators. Spiders have two curved fangs that inject

venom, but the scorpion if victorious will feast upon the spider. However, the

whistling spider has no web, hunts prey, is as large as a hand, has powerful venom

that can kill a dog, and can kill scorpion. It also has a powerful, venomous tail and

powerful pincers for holding prey.



Lesson Two Setup

Students will explore natural enemies and predators in real life and determine which

abilities lead to a successful battle, including animals that retreat to survive. In

addition they will explain why one animal can defeat another, but succumb to a

different one. In the examples below, the spider defeats the wasp, but is later defeated

by the scorpion. Looking at scenes from nature help students make correlations

between attribute and function as well as sparking interest and debate when they make

their creatures and put them into action.



Students will find classic predator matchups that they can simulate using creatures

from Spore Hero. Some examples are: Cobra versus mongoose, polar bear versus

bull walrus and giant squid versus sperm whale.

Lesson Two Activity/Gameplay

Using the creatures they have generated, students will start exploring the different

levels of The Spore Hero planet including following the quests and gaining power

from the blue shards. When they encounter a predator and engage in battle, they

should predict the outcome based on the attributes of each combatant. After the

outcome, they have an opportunity to take their creature back to their nest and

depending on the amount of power and other abilities they have collected, students

can modify their animal and try they battle again. The Wii controls are a powerful

aspect of the game. The student can control their creature’s movements, attacks and

defense with a combination of the “A” and “B” buttons and simple hand

movements. Particularly effective are the “dive” and “charge” moves. No arrow

keys are needed. For more advanced moves, the “2” button is pressed timing it with

a block or attack. This adds a quicker or more powerful movement of their creature.



In addition, complex combinations are simple to execute as a result of the hand-eye

design of the Wii controllers. Blue Shards allow a creature to regenerate. Using the

“C” key gives the player a view from the creature’s point of view, helpful when

exploring and looking for detail.

Lesson Two Follow-up/Debriefing

When a level has been completed, the class will have a discussion and an assignment

to write a short synopsis of the action that took place. They should be specific in

describing what well and what needed to be improved. Like real biology, a creature

can’t have everything. There are trade-offs and biological compromises. Students

should include modifications they made to their character and the action that led to

that decision. The teacher will set up small groups to facilitate enough time to allow

meaningful discussions.

Lesson Two Extensions

Students choose matchups between different classmate (or group) creations and

predict the outcome. They play the game and discuss the outcome. These exercises

do not have to be based on real life scenarios. For example a Stegosaurus and an

elephant would exhibit vast differences in life style, ability to feed and communicate

as well as theoretically engaging in a battle. Have the class discuss what

modifications both might need to be victorious. Explore the morphing possibilities in

the nest to see the limits of the program.



Teacher Resources

Giant centipede versus tarantula:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf8pAwGsuF4&feature=related

Polar Bear versus Bull walrus:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob_oD1IsYbE&feature=related

Computer animated spider versus scorpion!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yhUu5omEJU

Sporepedia: Encyclopedia of Spore Creatures:


100 million Spore creations:

http://www.sporeillustrated.com/

Creature Creator Tutorial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFDFlMYp37U&feature=related

Smart Games for Science, National Science Federation:

http://www.supersmartgames.com/blogcategory/General_Sciences/

Note: all videos need to be screened and just the video shown. Comments on YouTube are

highly inappropriate, but the content of the video is fabulous.


http://www.supersmartgames.com/blogcategory/General_Sciences/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFDFlMYp37U&feature=related

http://www.sporeillustrated.com/


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yhUu5omEJU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob_oD1IsYbE&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf8pAwGsuF4&feature=related


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

Braukus, Michael. (2009). Video Games may Lead to Better Health Through NASA

Technology. National Science Foundation. Retrieved May 2010 from

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/news/releases/2000/00-063.html

Holdredge, Craig.(2003). The Giraffe’s Short Neck. The Nature Institute. Retrieved May,

2010 from http://www.natureinstitute.org/pub/ic/ic10/giraffe.htm

Scroogs, Amber. (2008). Studies show video games stimulate brain function.

Retrieved May 2010, Daily Reveille; http://www.lsureveille.com/opinion/studies-show-

video-games-stimulate-brain-function-1.918569


http://www.lsureveille.com/opinion/studies-show-video-games-stimulate-brain-function-1.918569

http://www.lsureveille.com/opinion/studies-show-video-games-stimulate-brain-function-1.918569

http://www.natureinstitute.org/pub/ic/ic10/giraffe.htm

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/news/releases/2000/00-063.html


About the Author

Erik Frey is a science, math and music teacher and fan of Leonardo da Vinci and 7th

graders. He lives in La Mesa with his wife Jane, a musician and their three kids. He believes

that science is art and that we are perpetual students. He is excited about the wealth of new

technology that will be available to his 8 year old son (when he’s not playing baseball).

Originally a New Yorker, California is definitely the place to be and develop digital

educational materials for middle school, online and in the classroom.



Appendiceshttp://forum.spore.com/jforum/posts/list/43820.page :

Definition:

PhenotypeThis is the "outward, physical manifestation" of the organism. These are the physical parts, the sum of the atoms, molecules, macromolecules, cells, structures, metabolism, energy utilization, tissues, organs, reflexes and behaviors; anything that is part of the observable structure, function or behavior of a living organism. GenotypeThis is the "internally coded, inheritable information" carried by all living organisms. This stored information is used as a "blueprint" or set of instructions for building and maintaining a living creature. These instructions are found within almost all cells (the "internal" part), they are written in a coded language (the genetic code), they are copied at the time of cell


http://forum.spore.com/jforum/posts/list/43820.page


division or reproduction and are passed from one generation to the next ("inheritable"). These instructions are intimately involved with all aspects of the life of a cell or an organism. They control everything from the formation of protein macromolecules, to the regulation of metabolism and synthesis.


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