Break the class up into 14+ groups. The simulation works well with groups of 10-20 students. I'm sure variations of this will probably work with single player "cultures." (post ideas if you have them!)

Each group creates their own culture,step-by-step, as we go through each aspect of culture in class, completing their ownethnography about their culture.

The main event is the World Simulationin which all cultures interact with one another. The goal of this simulation is simple: to figure out how the world works (or at least allow students to *think* about this big question).

Here is a trailer for the simulation as it is ran by Michael Wesch at Kansas State University:


The simulation can be recorded on roving cameras and edited into one final "World History" video, drawing connections with real world history. A video created by the Spring 2007 class at Kansas State is available for download here.

There are two sets of rules for the simulation. One for colonizers and another for everybody else.