Washington Social Studies + ELA · Grades 11–12

Following the
Salmon Home

Build the relationships that made the salmon journey possible—and show what was at stake when that journey was blocked.

Start the challenge See the final pitch

Your proof is the reasoning. A finished board game is not required.

Ocean Columbia River system Spokane River

FlowChanges the cost

EnergyLimits movement

TimeShapes decisions

The design brief

Keep a connected river working.

Develop a cooperative game concept in which players sustain the relationships that enabled salmon to travel through the Columbia River system and into the Spokane River before dams blocked passage.

Driving question Who and what depend on a connected river—and what changes when that connection is broken?

Your rules should make a documented relationship playable. Your pitch should explain the consequences of disconnection, whose accounts shaped the design and what the model leaves out.

Grade bandGrades 11–12Social Studies + ELA

Design time90–120 minutesOr three short class periods

Game target15–20 minutesCooperative play

Final evidenceConcept pitch + Q&ANot a finished game

Keep it focused One shared objective Keep something connected Three mechanics at most One example turn No trivia core loop No Indigenous identity role-play Three credible sources minimum Evidence for every major claim

Washington alignment · Grades 11–12

The standards are in the work students do.

Students develop an inquiry, evaluate sources, construct and qualify a claim, translate evidence into a multimodal model, and defend the concept before a meaningful audience.

English Language ArtsResearch → compose → present

ELA.11–12.R.5–6Analyze perspective, purpose and genre; evaluate whether a text helps audiences understand experiences and ideas.
ELA.11–12.W.1, 3, 5Compose a multimodal claim, integrate and attribute evidence, then revise for purpose and audience.
ELA.11–12.SLDF.1, 3Participate in evidence-based civil discussion and present a clear, attributed line of reasoning.
ELA.11–12.RML.1, 4–5Conduct inquiry, verify claims across sources and evaluate expertise, credibility, perspective and bias.

Class 1Question + investigate

Build a compelling question, read across sources and document credibility, perspective and corroboration.

Class 2Model + challenge

Turn a defensible claim into mechanics, test what the model emphasizes and identify what it leaves out.

Class 3Pitch + deliberate

Present to peers, answer an evidence question and revise the concept after feedback.

Alignment uses the current Washington Grades 9–12 Social Studies Skills standards ↗ and the formally adopted 2026 Washington ELA standards ↗. OSPI identifies 2026–27 as an exploration and implementation year; the ELA standards are required beginning in 2027–28.

Teacher-curated starting points

Begin with evidence, not an imagined river.

Use these sources to establish historical context, migration science and the present-day story. Students should also locate at least one additional source and explain why it is credible and necessary.

History & relationshipSpokane Tribal History

Begin with the Tribe’s account of salmon, waterways and Spokane life.

Spokane Tribe of Indians ↗ Migration scienceAn Incredible Journey

Explore life cycle, upstream migration and adults’ reliance on stored energy.

NOAA Fisheries ↗ Systems modelUpstream Fish Migration

Consider energy reserves, temperature and cold-water refuges across a river network.

U.S. Geological Survey ↗ Then and nowSalmon Reintroduction

Connect the historical challenge with living restoration and reintroduction work.

Upper Columbia United Tribes ↗

What can recent popular games teach us?Five design patterns to adapt—not copy

Connect a habitat

Cascadia ↗ makes habitat corridors and species needs visible through placement.

Build a landscape together

Dorfromantik ↗ turns a shared landscape and evolving goals into a cooperative puzzle.

Manage one connected crisis

Daybreak ↗ asks players to coordinate evidence-based actions across an interconnected system.

Interpret incomplete evidence

Pentiment ↗ makes historical interpretation and the long consequences of choices part of play.

Repair rather than expand

Terra Nil ↗ reverses the usual expansion game by making ecological restoration the objective.

Eight guided rounds

Move from inquiry to a defensible public pitch.

Write concise working responses and attribute the ideas you use. Your answers will be assembled into a pitch outline at the end.

1Research

Ground the idea

Build an inquiry before building a game.

SSS2.9–12.1–4
SSS1.9–12.4
ELA.11–12.RML.1, 4–5

Shared driving question: Who and what depend on a connected river—and what changes when that connection is broken? Develop a supporting question that helps your team investigate one part of that larger inquiry.

Our supporting inquiry question Our evidence-based insight Three or more sources—and our credibility check

2Goal

Purpose before features

Make a claim the game can defend.

SSS1.9–12.1–3
SSS4.9–12.1–2
ELA.11–12.W.1, 3

After playing, people should understand…

During play, the team is trying to…

The team succeeds if… The historical or systems claim our design will defend A competing interpretation or counterclaim we must address

3Audience

Design with people, not for them

Who will play—and who is represented?

SSS1.9–12.3–4
ELA.11–12.R.5–6
ELA.11–12.W.2

Our intended players

People and knowledge holders the design must respect

4Mechanic

Make the system playable

Choose how players experience connection.

SSS1.9–12.5
ELA.11–12.W.1, 3

Our primary mechanic Build connectionsPlace or link evidence-based river, habitat and passage routes. Coordinate pressuresManage energy, time, temperature and refuge as one connected system. Interpret evidenceCompare information before choosing what the team should do.

Players repeatedly __________, which helps them understand __________. Our three-step turn

5Engagement

Show the decision

Pitch one turn—not the whole rulebook.

SSS4.9–12.2
ELA.11–12.W.3
ELA.11–12.SLDF.3

What creates meaningful pressure? Describe one turn in which players must interpret evidence and make a consequential choice. What does this decision help players notice?

6Power

A cross-cutting check

Examine the story inside the system.

SSS1.9–12.3–4
ELA.11–12.R.6
ELA.11–12.RML.4–5

G Whose history of the river is being told? A Who is represented, consulted and empowered to object? M Who receives agency, resources, danger and victory? E Does anything feel authentic because it repeats a familiar story? S Who verifies accuracy, provenance and consequences?

One change this check caused us to make

7Limits

Keep the trade-offs visible

Show what changes when connection is broken.

SSS3.9–12.5–6
SSS4.9–12.2
ELA.11–12.W.3

Our most important constraint or compromise Our “Then and Now” connection

8Pitch

Make the case

Prepare to defend the concept publicly.

SSS3.9–12.1
SSS4.9–12.3–4
ELA.11–12.SLDF.1, 3
ELA.11–12.W.5

Game title

One-sentence hook

Why is this idea better as a game than as a poster, report or slideshow? The hardest evidence question our audience may ask—and our response

Your final deliverable

Build the three-to-five-minute pitch.

Your responses below are organized into a speaker-ready outline. Empty sections remain as prompts until you complete them above.

1
The hook
Title, tagline, intended players and estimated play time.
2
The inquiry + claim
Your compelling question, defensible claim, counterclaim and source credibility.
3
How connection works
What players keep connected, the mechanic, shared pressure and three-step core loop.
4
One consequential turn
Show the pressure, the choice and what players notice.
5
Why it matters
Power check, compromise, Then and Now, and the case for using a game.
6
Question + response
Defend the evidence, listen to feedback and identify a revision.

Copy-ready outlineUntitled salmon game

Standards-aligned evidence of learning

Assess the inquiry, reasoning and communication.

01 · SSS2 / RMLInquiry & source judgment

A compelling question drives the work. Students evaluate authority, perspective, credibility and corroboration across at least three sources.

02 · SSS1 / R / WClaim & reasoning

The concept advances a precise claim, uses relevant evidence, addresses another interpretation and makes its limitations visible.

03 · SSS3 / WConnection & consequences

The mechanic represents a documented relationship, while the explanation shows what changes when passage is broken and connects that history to the present.

04 · SSS4 / SLDFPublic communication

The pitch fits its audience, attributes sources, presents a clear line of reasoning and responds thoughtfully to questions and feedback.