Activity 2E: “What Do You Know” Game

Overview

Students play a “What Do You Know” game to learn about local plants and animals while practicing addition, discussing questions with multiple answers. Through gameplay and math story problems, they explore aquatic ecosystems, share ideas, and build knowledge collaboratively.

Activity Type
Game, Hands-On

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Class Time
70 minutes

Level
Grade 1

Focus Questions

  • What do we know about the characteristics of plants and animals?

Enduring Understandings

  • Plants and animals can be sorted into groups based on different characteristics.

Engage

20 minutes

Introduce the game board for the “What Do You Know” game by asking some questions: What animals eat fish? What plant grows in the water? Where would you find a whale? These questions are to raise the idea of having more than one answer for a question. The game supports and integrates local plant and animal characteristics and helps children practice addition.

Show students the game board, and together name the animals and plants and follow the path of numbers on the board. Explain the rules of rolling the dice, adding the two numbers and then move that many spaces. Players pick up a card on each roll where they land on a picture and follow the information on the card. The goal is for students to discuss the information that has more than one answer. For example, “go to the space that has an animal that eats fish” could be a seal, eagle, or bear!

Explore

30 Minutes

This game is for 3 to 4 students to play. Either make enough game boards so everyone can play the game in small groups or use this game during “math games” time or center activities. Children will play until the first one gets to 100. Let children decide how to end the game. (Does a player need the exact number? Or can they land on 100 with an “over” number.) The instruction cards are intended to initiate a discussion about marine/river animals and plants in an aquatic environment.

Explain

10 minutes

The debrief could happen in a small group of students who were playing or bring it back to the big group and have everyone discuss the ideas that have more than one “right” answer. Students will share something they learned while playing the game.

Elaborate

10 Minutes

Use math story problems to solve addition problems. Extend the idea of using concepts of animals to solve number problems by using addition story problems about aquatic animals.

Evaluate

Observe children as they play the game—encourage sharing of ideas, taking turns, and strategies. Support those students who need more experience and/or information with animals and plants on the game board. Math story problems can be adjusted with a variety of numbers to best match the needs of the class.

Teacher Needs

Teacher Prep

  • Collect and organize materials.
  • Prepare science notebooks.
  • Create templates for class charts on chart paper in advance.
  • Create a template for class “Creature Features” book pages.
  • Read Teacher Background for more information.

Substitutions: In Activity A, shells of marine or freshwater animals can be collected, borrowed, or purchased. Those collected from nearby beaches are best. If shells are not available, substitute buttons, pattern blocks, pressed or fresh plants, bones or animal parts (teeth, beaks, tusks, etc.) or rocks in the sorting activities.

It will be helpful to have a list of local aquatic creatures, or a book that assists children in starting to know what is in their local environment. Posters, charts, and field guides are also useful as resources.

Materials List

For extensions:

    Student Needs

    Prior Knowledge

    Students should be able to take turns and listen to one another. They should have experience using describing words. Prior sorting opportunities would be helpful. They should know or learn how to write “clues” without giving too much information.

    Vocabulary

    characteristics, color, comparison, crustacean, describe, details, echinoderm,  estimate , features, invertebrate, length, measurement, mollusk, size, shape, sort, texture, venn diagram, weight
    Words for specific animal parts: antennae, claws, jaws, legs, pincers etc.

    Standards

    Science GLEs Addressed

    K-12 Standards A2, C2, G4

    Ocean Literacy Principles

    • The ocean supports a great diversity of life and ecosystems.