Caine's arcade in an amazing true story of a little boys' desire to invent. Caine inspired me to write these lessons in order to seek Caine's creativity in their own teaching.

1. Caine’s
Arcade Y6
Technology
Unit
By Joanne Villis
Inspired by Caine
Created for Y6 Teacher Renee Lambi
Shared with the word in August2014

2. AUSTRLIAN TECHNOLOGIES CURRICULUM
• Generate, develop, communicate and document design ideas and processes
for audiences using appropriate technical terms and graphical
representation techniques (ACTDEP025)
• Apply safe procedures when using a variety of materials, components, tools,
equipment and techniques to make designed solutions (ACTDEP026)
• Negotiate criteria for success that include consideration of sustainability to
evaluate design ideas, processes and solutions (ACTDEP027)
• Develop project plans that include consideration of resources when making
designed solutions individually and collaboratively (ACTDEP028)

3. Lesson 1: Childhood toys and games
Let students know that the topic for discussion will be
childhood toys. Ask students to think about the toys they liked
to play with when they were little? Maybe, they could think of
the younger students at school playing with toys? They could
think about toys that their little brother or sister like to play
with? Place students into groups and ask one group member
to be the scribe. As a group create a list of childhood toys.
Come back together as a class and share each group’s list. Are
there any similarities? Is there a common theme?

4. Lesson 1 continued…
Next, ask students to form their groups again but this time the
focus of discussion is games you invented. What games did
you invent as a child? What games did you like to play? The
focus of this discussion should be on games which don’t
require manufactured toys/appliances.
Come back together as a class and share each group’s
discussion. Some students may be willing to share their
invented games with the whole class. Is there a common
theme?

5. Lesson 2: Caine’s Arcade
Tell students they are going to watch a short film
about a boy named Caine, who invented his own arcade. As
students watch the film, ask them to focus on Caine’s
inventions. When the film has finished, create a class list of
Caine’s inventions. Then, create a second list of the materials
that Caine used. I would watch the film a second time with
students, pausing it and discussing some of Caine’s inventions.
I would also add new information to the class list.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faIFNkdq96U

6. Cross Curriculum Ideas and Multiple Intelligences
I haven’t included these as actual lesson numbers as they are not
directly related to the technology content descriptors:
Ask students to consider the following question:
What lessons can be learned from Caine’s arcade?
Visual/Spatial: Choose a lesson from the film and represent it visually
using an illustration, photography, op art etc.

7. Cross Curriculum Ideas and Multiple Intelligences
Auditory/Musical: Write a rhyme/song about Caine. Use an app
called Garage Band to record and enhance your rhyme/song.
Verbal/Linguistic: In pairs, create a list of question you would like to
ask Caine. Then write the responses you think Caine would give. Or,
write a readers theatre script about Caine’s arcade.

8. Cross Curriculum Ideas and Multiple Intelligences
Physical/Kinesthetic: Create a role play of Caine creating his arcade
or people playing in his arcade.
Logical/Mathematical: Invent a realistic yet more profitable way of
managing Caine’s arcade. Would you charge an entry fee? Would you
charge a price per game? How will you manage prizes? How will you
source prizes? How much will they cost? Then calculate your costs
and profits for a day at Caine’s arcade.
Interpersonal and Intrapersonal learners may opt to join in or
complete individually and of the suggested ideas.

9. Lesson 3 & 4: Investigating materials
Tell students that they are going to be given the opportunity to make
their own arcade game in pairs. Each pairs’ arcade game will then be
put together to create a class arcade. However, there are a few
processing we need to complete as a class before forming pairs.
The first process is to investigate recyclable materials and basic
joining materials. Present students with a range of materials (boxes,
card, toilet rolls, plastic bottles, pipe cleaners, junk art, plastic bags,
paper, masking tape, glue, sticky tape etc) and ask them to consider
how they might conduct an investigation to test the properties of the
materials? What might they like to find out?

10. Lesson 3 & 4: Investigating materials continued…
I am a big fan of the ‘sticky note approach’. Ask students to write one
question on a ‘sticky note’ that they would like to investigate.
Students then place their sticky notes in a central location so that
students can read and share their investigative question. Then ask
students to choose one question to investigate.

11. Lesson 3 & 4: Investigating materials continued…
This style of posing investigative questions links with the year 6
Science content descriptor:
With guidance, pose questions to clarify practical problems or inform a
scientific investigation, and predict what the findings of an
investigation might be (ACSIS232)
Invite students to plan their investigation. They will need to include
an aim, prediction, list of materials, method and some way of
recording data. Allow students time to conduct their investigation
and share with the class. This process will hopefully provide students
with important information about the properties of the materials and
joining techniques.

12. Lesson 5 & 6: Research
Allow students to research Caine’s arcade online. There are many
online examples of student’s inventions. Also encourage students to
research arcade games. For example, students may like to research
different types of arcade games, how they are constructed and how a
player wins. Ask students to record their knowledge using note
taking.
I would then ask students to form small groups and share their
knowledge. Another way to share student knowledge is to ‘hand over
your whiteboard to students’. I saw this idea on Pinterest and it really
works!

13. Lesson 5 & 6: Research continued…
All you need to do is to write a topic
in the middle of your whiteboard and
invite students to share their
knowledge. There is one rule though.
Students must read what others have
written before writing as you can not
rewrite a comment or piece of
information which is already on the
board. To the right is an example of
what my class wrote when the topic
was climate/weather.

14. Lesson 7 & 8: Design
During this phase students are invited to work individually or with a
partner. Inform students that they are required to create an arcade game
using junk art. During this process they need to document:
- A diagram of their arcade game
- A list of the materials needed
- A description of joining methods
- A description of how their arcade game will be played

15. Lesson 7 & 8: Making
During this stage students are encouraged to follow their deign. However,
if they make changes along the way this is all right as long as they
document their changes in design.
If you have mobile devices I would utilise the camera function and allow
students to take images of their making process. If you have an iPad, use
Explain Everything to allow students to annotate their making process.

16. Lesson 9 & 10: Playing and Feedback
Allow students to play each other’s games. You may like to create your
own student evaluation rubric in order for students to provide feedback
to each other. I personally feel that too often we ask our students to
evaluate their design product by writing a reflection or evaluation essay.
Why not ask peers to do their evaluation by ticking a box in a rubric?

17. MODIFIED Y3 Teaching Ideas
I used the video of Caine’s Arcade with my Year 3 class. They were so
inspired by the video that they watched it over and over again. As a class
we decided that we would like to design, make and play our own arcade
games. We were learning money in Math at the time so I linked this unit to
math.
Y3 Content Descriptor for Money and Financial Mathematics:
Represent money values in multiple ways and count the change required
for simple transactions to the nearest five cents (ACMNA059)

18. IMAGES of Y3 Arcade Games

19. IMAGES of Mr May’s Y2 Class playing our Arcade
Games

20. IMAGES of Mr May’s Y2 Class playing our Arcade
Games

21. IMAGES of our Math recording

22. IMAGES of our Math recording

23. Copyright
I give permission for the following:
Adaptations and sharing of this resources is for educational purpose only. I do not
give permission for commercial use of this work. When sharing or adapting this
work I ask that you give credit to the original creator, Joanne Villis at
http://intertecheducation.edublogs.org/ .These ideas may be used for non-commercial
purposes only. The discussion questions in relation to Caine’s Arcade
were modified from the work of Kieran Donaghy’s blog Film English.
Contact details:
http://intertecheducation.edublogs.org/
jvillis@inter-tech.com.au
http://www.pinterest.com/joannevillis/